We can now consider the stages of the initiation ceremony, which are five in number, as follows:

1. The "Presence" revealed.
2. The "Vision" seen.
3. The application of the Rod, affecting:

a. The bodies.
b. The centers.
c. The causal vehicle.

4. The administration of the oath.
5. The giving of the "Secret" and the Word.

These points are given in due order, and it must be remembered that this order is not idly arranged, but carries the initiate on from revelation to revelation until the culminating stage wherein is committed to him one of the secrets and one of the five words of power which open to him the various planes, with all their evolutions. All that is aimed at here is to indicate the five main divisions into which the initiation ceremony naturally divides itself, and the student must bear in mind that each of these five stages is in itself a complete ceremony, and capable of detailed division.