Dearly beloved friends:
It is with great pleasure that I am sending you the first of a series of engravings called The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. These engravings were made by Maarten de Vos (1532-1603), and were edited by Adriaen Collaert (1560-1618─) between the years 1580 and 1600.
The engraving of our study is called…
…VII DONA SPIRITVS S.
─’The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit’─
First of all, let me send you some interesting comments:
“The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are an enumeration of seven spiritual gifts that were first found in the book of Isaiah and that were much commented on by patristic authors. Isaiah is the first of the last prophets of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets of the Christian Old Testament.
The paragraph we refer to is this:
“Isaiah 11. Righteous reign of the Messiah.
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall ]grow out of his roots. 2 And the Spirit of the the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”
Isaiah was one of the most popular works among Jews in the Second Temple period (1515 B.C. to 70 A.D.) In Christian circles it was held in such high esteem that it was called the Fifth Gospel, and its influence extends beyond Christianity to English literature and Western culture…
The Greek and Hebrew versions of the Bible differ slightly in the way the gifts are listed. In the Hebrew version, the Spirit of the Lord is described with six characteristics: wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. The last characteristic —fear of the lord— is mentioned twice. In the earlier Greek translation —the Septuagint— the first mention of the fear of the Lord is translated as Spirit of Piety.”
The seven gifts mentioned in the Greek translation were then translated into Latin in this way:
- Sapientia, ‘wisdom’: True wisdom comes from the BEING.
- Intellectum, ‘understanding’: Understanding is the complete understanding of something that is worthy of our study.
- Consilium, ‘advice’: Good advice or good guidance only springs from the enlightened word of the Holy Spirit.
- Fortitudo, ‘power’: The psychic, animic or material powers are granted to us by the Holy Spirit.
- Cognitiō or Scientia, ‘knowledge’: True science enlightens scientists who deserve it.
- Pietas, ‘piety’: In the sense also of devotion to sacred things ─Piety or devotion are attributes of meek souls─.
- Timor Domini, ‘fear of the Lord’: The fear of the Lord can only be felt by those men or women who have already had testimonies of that great power of the BEING.
The names of the 7 later engravings are:
- Engraving 1: Spiritus Sapientiae, ‘the Spirit of Wisdom’.
- Engraving 2: Spiritus Intellectus, ‘the Spirit of Understanding’.
- Engraving 3: Spiritus Consilii, ‘the Spirit of Counsel’.
- Engraving 4: Spiritus Fortitudinis, ‘the Spirit of Power’.
- Engraving 5: Spiritus Scientiæ, ‘the Spirit of Knowledge’.
- Engraving 6: Spiritus Pietatis, ‘the Spirit of Piety’.
- Engraving 7: Spiritus Timoris Domini, ‘the Spirit of fear of the Lord’.
It is interesting to see that in this engraving the Holy Spirit is represented by a woman ─his spouse, the Virgin─, who holds in her right arm a scepter that culminates in a sacred eye ─the eye of omniscience, the eye that sees everything─. In her left the lady holds a sword, signifying justice. According to the Pistis Sophia, only the righteous will be declared to be partakers of the Light of Lights.
Likewise, it is striking to see the head of this Virgin surrounded by fire, because She is the fire of fire, the incarnation of the INRI of Christians, our true Mother from the beginning of creation…..
She, Stella Maris, wears on her head a crown full of pearls and a small globe on which a small cross appears. This is to signify that she in herself is the mercurial matter that is fecundated by the mystery of the cross.
At the base of this engraving we find the following Latin inscription: “Spiritvs Sapientiae”,’the Spirit of Wisdom.’
Then we find these phrases:
”Per me Reges regnant, et legum conditores iusta decernunt. Per me Principes imperant. Proverb. 8.”
Translation: ‘By me kings reign and rulers decree justice. By me Princes rule. Proverb 8.’
Undoubtedly, patient reader, it is the Holy Spirit who bestows the faculties for the kings to reign, for the princes to rule, and for those who have held in their hands the power to rule over the masses to decree sentences. But let us refer to the “true kings,” the “true princes,” and not to many vile characters in history who used power to harm souls or enslave them.
Beloved companions, thanks to the knowledge of the profound teachings of our Avatar ─V.M. Samael Aun Weor—today we all know that the Holy Spirit is one of the three primary forces of creation. We have also been told through the Kabbalah that the Third Logos —namely: the Holy Spirit— enjoys the attribute of Wisdom, just as the Second Logos has as an attribute Love, and the First Logos Omniscience.
It is not surprising, therefore, that since ancient times the Holy Spirit has been conceived as the giver of the gifts of the Spirit. And that is why he forms a binomial with his spouse, the divine Shakti, Mary, Marah, Adonia, Aka, Isomberta, Isis, Cybele, etc., etc., etc. She and He bestow virtues and gifts on those who deserve them, and on the basis of this they are equally capable of performing all kinds of miracles.
It must be emphasized to our companions that, as the psychological aggregates die in us, She, Stella Maris, develops in our spiritual continent innumerable virtues, potentialities, faculties and, in general, unifies the different autonomous and self-conscious parts of our own BEING. Unquestionably, all this transformation is, in itself, a metamorphosis that will change our identity, image and values.
When we read about the grandiosities that personages such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Beethoven, Velázquez were able to create, we are amazed at the works of art that these men were able to crystallize in this three-dimensional world. Let us remember Saint Teresa of Jesus, the famous Hildegard and her sacred visions, the seer Michel de Nostradamus with his spectacular clairvoyance, the wise efforts that the blessed Paracelsus managed to make to cure the sick, the revelations that the apostle John received on the island of Patmos and that we know today under the name of The Book of Revelation, etc., etc., etc. All the testimonies that the apostles had with the Great Kabir of Nazareth during the meetings they had with him after his resurrection, were possible because the Holy Spirit was with them and, for this reason, they ─including Mary Magdalene─ were able to answer Jesus’ questions.
I now add to you the content of Proverb 8 that deserves our attention and that, curiously, is addressed to Her, the immeasurable and immaculate Mother Kundalini. It seems like an exclamation of the Mulaprakriti or Cosmic Mother herself, let us see:
“Excellence and eternity of Wisdom:8 Does not wisdom cry out,
And understanding lift up her voice?
2 She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet;
3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the entrance of the doors:
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 O you, simple ones, understand prudence,
And you fools, be of an understanding heart.
6 Listen, for I will speak of excellent things,
And from the opening of my lips will come right things.
7 For my mouth will speak truth,
Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;
Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.
9 They are all plain to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver;
And knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies,
And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;
I am understanding; I have strength.
15 By me kings reign
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All the judges of the earth.
17 I love those who love me,
And those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 Riches and honor are with me;
Enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold;
And my revenue than choice silver
20 I traverse the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.
22 The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23 I have been established from everlasting,
From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth;
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
Or the primal dust of the world.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there;
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He established the clouds above,
When He strengthened the fountains of the deep;
29 When He assigned to the sea its limit,
So that the waters would not transgress His command;
When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman:
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
And my delight was with the sons of men.
32 “Now therefore, listen to me, my children,
For blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction and be wise,
And do not disdain it.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from the Lord;
36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul;
All those who hate me love death.”
I now give you some sentences to be meditated upon:
“The truth is of such excellence that when it praises small things it ennobles them.”
Leonardo da Vinci
“Truth is like duty: it imposes itself, it commands absolutely, and, whether difficult or easy, sweet or bitter, it is always good.”
Concepción Arenal
“For the wise no truth is bitter.”
Maurice Maeterlinck
“Every man is obliged to defend the truth, even if he does not always succeed in making it triumph.”
Manzoni
“All men seek the truth, but only God knows who has found it.”
Chesterfield
FAC QUOD FACIENDUM EST.
─‘Do what must be done’─.
KWEN KHAN KHU
