Apotheosis

Once again, the Wheel of the Year has turned, and we find ourselves in the newest Leap Year.  Traditionally, the New Year is a time for resolutions and new beginnings.  But Mercury is now in retrograde, and as such is in the midst of its three-week do-si-do across the Capricorn-Aquarius cusp.  So presently, I would argue that it is a more optimal time for introspection and contemplation, so that you would have well-crafted plans to launch around the time the Sun moves into Aquarius.

Perhaps part of your contemplation includes seeking out an esoteric group, organization or Order.  In fact, I have seen a number of inquiries as of late on public forums alluding to exactly that.  Usually, the seeker states their interest in a particular spiritual path, but laments that there are no such groups in his/her area.  Respondents do their best to assist or sympathize, but easy answers are usually at a premium.  Still, I think it is still necessary for the seeker – any seeker – to do one’s level best to help oneself.

When it comes to esoteric Orders, most of my time is spent advising people what to look out for and what to avoid.  Here, I would endeavor instead to advise seekers what to look for and what to do to be successful in their endeavor.

With the ubiquity of the Internet, it is all too easy to jump into social media, ask a question and expect easy answers.  We as a society have all but taken this for granted in the 21st century.  So at risk of sounding trite, I find myself forced to start my consultation with the most basic of questions.


Question #1: “Did you look?” 

When I was first seeking out Golden Dawn Orders in 1997, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon AvatarSearch.  It billed itself as the search engine of the occult Internet.  It folded a dozen years later, but it was the tool that got me to the threshold of the organized Golden Dawn community.

Nowadays, Google is your friend, and many well-known organizations out there will have websites, set up with pages displaying all of their locations.  Setup and hosting of a website is extremely easy and cheap these days, more especially with WordPress, so even the smallest, most isolated group out there can have a public face.

The ease of Internet publicity is a boon for most every esoteric group, but it could also be a stumbling block for seekers as well.  It means that any charlatan can present him/herself as a spiritual guru.  Even some of the larger esoteric groups out there use their websites as a huge marketing ploy instead of a channel for the Light, and they will be more than happy to trumpet their locations world-wide to bring you in.  Remember that spiritual groups identify themselves as esoteric for a reason; they are supposed to value the virtues of privacy, secrecy and proper discretion.


Question #2:  “Did you ask?”

Search engines and social media are a great launching point, but they are not the be-all and end-all.  Your search for a spiritual life is a harbinger of actually living a spiritual life; you get out what you put in and you reap what you sow.  So if you are truly interested in esoteric spiritual groups that are actually spiritual and esoteric, you need to talk to those who are in the know.

Talking to experienced folks online will get you a better feel for spiritual paths and organizations in general.  However, if you are looking for local groups specifically, you will find such communications will give you scattershot results at best.  Besides, even if a person knows about a group, they may not have the relevant contact information at hand (or rather, the authority to divulge that information).

It is important, in this age of the Internet, to not forget the resources in your own neighborhood.  Remember that new age bookstore downtown?  More likely than not, it is struggling to keep its doors open, so go visit it.  Most of them have flyers plastering the walls, and maybe one of them has just the contact information you’re looking for.  If not, get to know the proprietors.  Part of this path is getting to know people of a like mind, is it not?  In fact, I would recommend you find the five closest occult stores nearest you and visit them all.  You will likely find that, by the time you get to the fifth closest, you won’t be within your city limits anymore.  This alone will give you an idea of the strength of the esoteric community around you (or at least its public face, anyways).


Question #3: “Did you do what was asked of you?”

Bear in mind that most any esoteric order with an operational history that goes back decades, or even centuries, is going to be a little “old school”.  Some will require you to fill out an application form, whereas others may ask you to send an inquiry via post with a self-addressed stamped envelope included.  You might be interviewed, or asked to write a short essay about why you would want to join their group.
 
This is another mark of a good esoteric group, because it shows that they are circumspect and their tradition is for the select few.  Dues might come into play, but they are much more interested in your dedication and zeal than your money.  Their tradition is important to them, and they are going to respect it by not only walking the path themselves, but also by bringing in people who are serious about walking it as well.
 
So if you’re not willing to fulfill the requests made of you as a candidate, that’s just an indication to them that you are not going to put in the time and effort in their tradition, and you simply won’t find yourself becoming one of their initiates.   There is a reason why this quest is called the Great Work; it takes a great deal of work to achieve it.  Your spiritual life is too important to TL;DR.


Question #4: “Is your priority enlightenment or convenience?”

So far, I have addressed the “I’m looking to join an esoteric group” part of the goal, and it is true that most seekers will spend most of their time considering what spiritual path seems best for them at the time.  But what is often left glossed over is the “but there are no groups in my area” portion.  When a seeker hits this very common initial obstacle, they will often drop their aims and wander off for something less than ideal but closer to home.

Success in your spiritual journey is more than just picking the right path for you.  It is also about following the right guides and walking the path with the right companions.  Even in this modern day, esotericists are few and far between, and good people are hard to find in any age, so why would you think that you would find them in your own backyard?

When all is said and done, proximity is one of the worst reasons to join an esoteric group.

The fact of the matter is, unless you are extremely lucky, you are going to have to travel to get initiated.  More often than not, you will have to cross borders, whether they be state, province or country.  Many groups have attendance and participation requirements of their members, so you will be expected to travel as such on a somewhat regular basis.  As you progress through your group’s degrees, the pool of members will become shallower, and you will probably need to travel even farther for higher level initiations, perhaps even overseas.

None of this should come as any surprise.  The fanciful notion of the young seeker traveling leagues to find his or her spiritual guru is practically iconic.  Yet when it comes to the seekers of today, few seem to realize that they need to get out of their armchairs in order to go off on a spiritual adventure. 

When you started looking for the Light of Occult Knowledge, what part of that gave you the impression that any of this was meant to be convenient?

Since time immemorial, those esoteric few who hear that call to be more than human go to the Mountain of Initiation for enlightenment.  The Mountain does not come to you.

All this can really be boiled down to one very simple question: "Why?"  Why do you really want to join an esoteric group?  The answer to that simple question should end up being deep and complicated.  This is why the words “KNOW THYSELF” are inscribed in the pronaos of the Temple.  It is important, if not downright incumbent, to be completely honest with yourself as to what truly is compelling you to seek initiation, long before you ever approach the Temple.

You only have one opportunity to take your first step on your spiritual journey.  Make it sure-footed and true.

Esoteric Orders: A Survival Guide
          Section I: How To Find An Esoteric Order

Last Chapter: Claims to Fame, or the Question of Esoteric Grades

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By now, if you’ve chosen to interact with a good Order which does not automatically accept anyone with a credit card, you will likely find yourself at a point where you’re in front of an interview panel, whether it be a conference call or face-to-face.  Most of these kinds of interviews consist of the panel drilling the candidate with all sorts of questions, and the interviewee finds himself navigating a veritable minefield.  Any aspirant would likely feel anxious at such a prospect, and that is completely understandable.

However, such an occurrence need not be a one-way street.  It is an opportunity, not only for them to judge if you’re right for them, but for you to judge whether or not their Order is right for you.  You shouldn’t be the only person on the hot seat in an interview like this.  Furthermore, if you are denied candidacy because you asked too many incisive or uncomfortable questions, then they’re not the people you want to join anyways.

Below is a fairly comprehensive list of questions you could potentially ask during your interview.  You are not going to get answers to all of them, nor should you.  Esoteric Orders should have some level of privacy for their members and their information.  If they let it all out for you, then you can be reasonably sure what will happen with information about you as well.  What may be even more valuable, however, are the things that are not said, or what information is to be gleaned from reading between the lines.

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As a part of my initiation, will I be expected to swear an oath?

Such obligations are commonplace among esoteric Orders.  Depending on your faith, though, undertaking an obligation in such a manner might be in transgression with your religious doctrines.


Is there any clause contained in the oath which may conflict with my civil, moral, religious or familial duties?

Most Orders which are Freemasonic in nature, or are descended in some way from Freemasonry, will assure you, right in the Initiation ceremony, that this will not be the case.  However, there are some Orders which, in their higher grades, contain Oaths which obligate you to put the Order before your family.  This is a cultish practice and should be avoided at all costs.



Is there anything in the oath which may require me to swear an obligation to a person?

See above.  If you want a quick and easy litmus test to determine whether or not an organization is a cult, this is it.


Does your organization have written and ratified articles of incorporation, ordinances and/or by-laws?

Orders are called Orders for a reason.  They run on structure, rules and regulations.  The “house not built by hands” is instead built on principles.  If you are in a sizeable group that has no written by-laws and is led by a singular head who rules by fiat, you are not in an Order, you are in a cult.  Furthermore, a spiritual organization must also be ruled by the spirit of its laws.  If the leaders of the group leverage the by-laws to their advantage, or twist the letter of their by-laws to use against their members, then there is a different sort of power and control issue in the group, despite it not being a cult.


What is the history and origin of your organization?

For this answer, you’ll want to be reading between the lines as much as listening to the information given.  Truth be told, for the vast majority of esoteric groups out there, their origins are humble and their histories relatively short.  There is no dishonor in this, and for those who willingly admit it, credit them for the virtues of honesty and humility.  On the flip side, if the alleged history is long and their origins shrouded in antiquity and secrecy, that simply means that the tale is tall and there is much more cause to spend time in the efforts of busting the myth.  (Odds are it won’t be too difficult.)


Does your organization have a Charter, or Warrant of Constitution?

For any larger or self-declared worldwide orders, this is basically a follow-up question to the above.  Any well-established order worth its salt is going to issue some sort of writ of authority for their lodges to operate under their auspices within their tradition.  The important information upon such a document would be its date of issue and those whose hand had bestowed the warrant.  Witnessing but a single signature upon a charter may prove cautionary, as it could indicate there is only one person at the Order’s head.


How many Chiefs are there in this organization?  What are their grades?  How did they achieve them?

Similar to the previous question, you’re looking here for a cooperative group of leaders who spent years upon years working hard in their tradition and taking their lumps for their honors.  Spiritual growth, like alchemy, takes time, attention, care, and most of all, perseverance.  A solitary chief claiming a grandiose title because he performed a single ritual and “crossed the Abyss” is nothing but an alchemical flash in the pan.


Are there dues and/or initiation fees?

Few and far between are the Orders which run completely pro gratis, and they are to be cherished.  In reality, however, they are typically taken for granted, which usually lends them to either begin assessing dues or fold altogether.  Good organizations then will have some sort of stipulation in case of poverty, so that no sincere seeker of the Light will be turned away simply based on the inability to pay dues.


What do the monies pay for?

Spiritual organizations will always have expenditures for consumable supplies, such as candles, incense, charcoal, and esculent items for eucharistic rites or mystical repasts.  Temple furniture and regalia are also common expenses and, although they are more durable goods, they too need to be repaired or replaced from time to time.  Some groups also have regular expenses related to the rental of a hall or lodge for their meetings.  This is the kind of answer you will likely get.

The information you are poking around for, however, is to try and find out if the head of the Order is getting any financial recompense, simply for holding the position.  Such begs the following question.


Are the financial books open?

In a healthy organization, the finances of an organization are managed by a treasurer and audited by some sort of governing board.  In such a case, the books may legitimately be closed to the overall populace.  Yet oftentimes, the person holding the purse strings is also holding the reins of power.  This may be necessary in a small spiritual circle, but remember that the two slipperiest slopes to corruption come in the form of money and power.


With whom will my personal information be shared?

If a secret society expects itself to remain secret, it is only right to expect that same kind of courtesy extended back to the people who wish to join it.  If such an Order has a formal application process, the information you provide should only be shared with the membership coordinator, the Chiefs of the Order, and the leaders of its closest affiliated group.


How many active members are there in your group, and how far is the next closest group?

Members of many Orders are oath-bound not to reveal the personal information of any individual member, but asking not who, but how many, should be a reasonable enough question to answer.  Some Orders are secretive about where their groups are located.  Some publish them prominently on their website.

By and large, size and distance, as well as the locations of an Order’s groups, are relative.  Its importance comes in when you’re considering joining an Order which claims to be international and flourishing.  Even then, having the next closest group be 500 or so miles away from you is actually rather close in the grand scheme of things.


Will I have a full Initiation team?

This is not to suggest that a small Initiation team is by default less effective.  It again goes back to verifying extravagant claims of Orders with worldwide temples brimming at the top with magical members.  Typically, by the time you arrive at the temple door and find your Initiation team is two people, out of a temple of two people, your application fee and dues money have already been long past spent.


Is there any portion of the Initiation, or any subsequent Initiations, ceremonies or rituals, which contain elements of any physical abuse to the flesh?

Ritual bloodletting was not an uncommon facet of Initiations in antiquity.  Some organizations carry on that ancient tradition.  Others consider such a practice to be barbaric and anathema.  Either way, this is something every Initiate should know up front.  Furthermore, regardless how you feel about such a practice, you would do well to remember that we live in the era of bloodborne pathogens.  The magical path is perilous enough without having to willingly open up a vein.


Will I be given a magical name or motto?

Being given a nickname among your friends is fine, but when it comes to your magical identity, the only person determining that should be you.  There is a Talmudic tenet that states that declaring your identity is a way of determining your destiny, and no person other than you should establish the aims, goals or destiny of your magical life.


What are the criteria for determining advancement within the organization?

Whatever the answer may be, you’re looking here for consistency and uniformity across the board.  Things like quizzing, testing and performance evaluations are good methods for this.  Naturally, exceptions can and should be made, but again, Orders are built on rules.  If the head of a group gets to decide free and clear who advances and who doesn’t, then fairness ends up being strictly optional.


Has anyone been blocked from advancing for any arbitrary reason and how often does that happen?

Sometimes, a head of an Order needs to take things into his own hands.  Still, such cases should be rare and, as much as possible, in accordance with the by-laws of the organization.  If the arbitrary cases are the norm rather than the exception, then the Chief is capricious at best and autocratic at worst.

The other thing you’re trying to root out here is any trace of prejudice among the leadership.  Granted, certain organizations exclude categories of people, and some of this is entirely reasonable.  For example, members must be of legal age, or Satanists are barred admittance from a Christian Mystical Order.  This should be spelled out up front, and only you can decide if such discrimination is acceptable to you.  However, if you start hearing insensitive or snide comments about people based on their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or something similar, chances are the Order does not solely judge its members on their merits alone.


Will I be denied answers to questions that are technically above my grade level?

This is going to be a matter of preference from group to group.  Personally, I’ve just found such a practice to be little more than a source of pretentiousness.


Can I study individually outside my Order studies?
 
Again, only you should get to decide how you want to live your spiritual life.  If a mentor or Chief outright forbids it, then there are significant control issues in the organization.


Will I be assigned a personal mentor, and what grade will he be?

A single Chief can’t be expected to mentor everyone in the group, so commonly, mentors are assigned to new Initiates.  Typically, your assigned mentor should be a fairly high grade, or at very least, a couple full grades ahead of you.  Anything less may be an indication of mismanagement of the group or some other issues.  On the flip side, if a large group only has its head as its teacher, you may need to be careful that what you would be receiving is in fact teaching and not indoctrination.


Are there any mentor-student relationships that are more than just mentor and student?

Relationships in occult circles are notoriously common.  This should be no surprise when unusual people share similarly unusual interests.  What you’re looking for here is any indication of favoritism.  Most of the better Orders out there do not allow people in a relationship to be a mentor and student, so as to not give off the slightest illusion of impropriety.  On the other hand, I know of one Order whose Chief started bringing his Neophyte girlfriend into Inner Order meetings, and that was one of many reasons which caused a major schism.


How do mentors, and especially the Chiefs, handle questioning and criticism, constructive or otherwise?

The one thing that is certain is that the spiritual path is not smooth, and those who tread upon it will have moments of disagreement with other such seekers.  What should be expected at these times is that the mentors and Chiefs should act like the adults in the room.  If they are able to listen much more than they speak, and approach conflict with composure, and even compromise, then these are the people you want to follow.  If the attitude of their leadership is to expect their students to fall in line, and to be seen and not heard, then the students are not the only ones who have some growing up to do.


How much influence will they have over my personal life?

Chances are the answer you get will be “none”, but this is something you will need to check against time and time again.  Such meddling begins slowly, like making backhanded comments about people with which you associate.  Before long, you may be cautioned to stay away from ex-members who have “fallen from the path”.  You may even face disciplinary action or be ostracized if you keep those lines of communication open.  That kind of peer pressure may be found in high school, but should never be found in esoteric schools.  Furthermore, if such control tactics are used heavily and frequently, you might just be in a cult.


How do I report any misconduct, and is there an appeals process?

It would seem that very few esoteric organizations have any sort of formal process for transgressions, ethical or otherwise.  Appeals, if any, usually go to a Chief, if so allowed.  What you’re really looking for here though is a feel for how an organization treats its whistleblowers.  The best Orders out there will perform due diligence of the claims from the lowest Neophyte, without fear or favor, and if found to have merit, even a Chief may topple.  The worst will punish the whistleblower, if not outright expel him, and circle the wagons of the power base in order to save face.


When was the last time you had to expel someone and why?

This is a follow up from the previous question.  Chances are you won’t get a lot of details here, if any, but perhaps you can at least get a time frame.  If an Order has a lot of expulsions, there is one thing that all those expulsions have in common, the Chief who did the expelling, and that is precisely where the true problem lies.  The most solid and stable Orders have a strong egregore, and such currents have a way of cleansing themselves.  Either way, rare should be the times that a head of an Order should have to oust a fellow by fiat.  Any expulsion is an indication of a categorical failure, and the ex-member, the leader, the group and the Order all have their own share of the blame.


When was the last time the head of the Order apologized for something?

The initial reaction you will probably get here is anything from a pregnant pause to stunned silence.  Upon first glance, one might think that a Chief who apologizes too much would be weak, but nothing could be further from the truth.  He who is exalted is humble, and should be able to admit mistakes when he makes them.  Those Chiefs who cannot bring themselves to admit their own wrongdoings are guilty of spiritual pride, the very vice of the Adept.  Those organizations which prop up their Chiefs as unquestionable and infallible are not esoteric Orders, they are cults, plain and simple.  So if you get an answer to this question that drifts away from a direct answer and turns into a two-minute hagiography of the head of their Order, you too should take a turn, as in simply turn around and walk away.

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Next Chapter:  A Quick Reference Guide to Logical Fallacies

Esoteric Orders: A Survival Guide
          Section I: How To Find An Esoteric Order

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You’ve always known you’re a little different.  Going to school was always mentally tough, not because of the coursework, but because you never really fit in.  You always knew when your best friend was having a rough day, because you could feel it in your gut.  You could see things other people couldn’t see, and you couldn’t say anything, because people would laugh and call you crazy.  So you kept it all inside, alone and afraid to tell anyone.  What people called anxiety, you called survival.

Your parents made you go to church every Sunday, but you felt like you didn’t fit in there, either.  Your pastor said that the pentagram is evil and Satanic, but there was always something about it you liked.  There were other things your priest said at church that just didn’t jibe with what you read in the Bible.  You looked up the word “occult” once in the dictionary, because you were taught in Sunday School that the occult was "a tool of the Anti-Christ", but you found out the word comes from the Latin “occultus”, meaning nothing more than “hidden”.  Unlike the masses, you still have your critical thinking skills turned on.

Mythology had always intrigued you, especially the Greek and Egyptian.  There was always something about the tales of Apollo that resonated with you.  You also couldn’t help but notice some parallels with the religion you were brought up with, too.  You’ve wondered what the early church was like.  It couldn’t have been as political and screwed up as it is now, or in the Middle Ages, for that matter.  Besides, you’ve always thought of yourself as more spiritual than religious.  You’ve always felt there was a “Higher Power” out there, whatever he, she or it is.  You never felt or found that connection, however, in church.

So one day, the moment hit you.  You were tired of feeling alone and seeking by yourself, so you decided to look for a group of people who shared the same curiosity, mindset and beliefs that you had.  You weren’t exactly sure what you were looking for, but you were going to look for it anyways.  You talked to a couple of friends, the ones that weren’t muggles, and they had heard whisperings about a group or coven nearby, but nothing that really piqued your interest.  The only other connection you had was the one in the wall that led to the Internet.

There’s a reason why the Web is called World Wide.  You can find anything you want there (and a whole lot more of what you don’t want).  You signed up to a few Yahoo groups, joined a few on Facebook, stumbled upon alt.magick and ran away almost screaming.  You asked a few newbie questions, got chided a bit from the old guard, but also got a referral to a website that apparently is everything you’re looking for.

So you type in the web address, and the browser pulls up a very well-designed, good-looking site.  Obviously, these people know what they’re talking about.  They profess a long-standing history, and are offering to share age-old secrets that will transform your life.  You could be part of a world-wide society of like-minded people for the first time in your life.   They even have training courses through their "online cyber-circle".  All you need to do is click on “Sign Me Up”, send your money through PayPal and you’re in!

And maybe that worked out for you!  There are plenty of esoteric organizations out there with rock-solid teachings, taught by smart, knowledgeable mentors, run by compassionate and wise leaders.  However, there are also plenty of organizations whose members are sycophants, teachers who are charlatans, and leaders who are charismatic poseurs.  Some of these groups suck so much time, energy and money out of their members, and demand such tight control of their lives, that they could be easily classified as cults.  Others are more insidious; they have bright, nurturing teachers, but unwittingly, they are psychological enablers for a horribly toxic chief.  You’ll never see that stuff, though, from the “ooh, shiny” website.

But how does someone, completely new to the scene, who doesn’t know anyone in the esoteric community, know who to trust and who to avoid?  It’s not like you can drop a couple hundred dollars and have an online service do an “occult background check” on someone.  Querying the community just seems to go around in circles.  Ask a dozen people about an Order and you’ll get two dozen opinions, along with a whole lot more confusion than when you started.  In exasperation, you go back to your gut, and that “Sign Me Up” button sure would feel good right about now.

Not so fast.  The Quest for the Great Work is one that lasts a lifetime, no matter when you start.  A lapse in judgment now, regardless of whether it is based in a lack of information or lack of wisdom, can send you on a detour of several years.  Then, when you leave that Order with a pretty website and an easy sign-up button, you will find yourself essentially right back where you started, more battered and bruised, psychologically or otherwise, than you originally were.  At that point, you might even walk away, feeling jaded and tarring the entire community with the same tainted brush.  (And who could blame you, really?)

We, the writers, have taken those detours and suffered those lumps.  We write now so that you don’t fall into the same organizational pits that we did.  We cannot tell you which Order, coven or mentor is right for you, but with this guide, we hope to clue you in on which types of Orders, covens or mentors are wrong for any seeker of the Light.

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Next Chapter:  Orders in the Age of the Internet

The term Sub Rosa denotes that all meetings and activities taking place "under the Rose" are to remain secret and confidential.  This has been a long standing tradition across centuries and societies.  It is said that even some confessionals had roses painted on their ceilings to assure confidentiality between the parishioner and the priest.

The vow of secrecy is focused on again and again in the Neophyte Initiation of the Golden Dawn, even to the point of saying "thy blood may be poured out and thy body broken" if the vow of secrecy is compromised.  The crowning achievement of the Golden Dawn system, and of the aspiring Neophyte him/herself, is then the admittance to the Inner Order, or the Roseae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis, through the Adeptus Minor Initiation.  This initiation takes place in a seven-sided chamber often referred to as the Vault of the Adepti or the Tomb of the founder of the Rosicrucians, Christian Rosenkreutz.  So would it be any wonder that, on the ceiling of the Vault itself, is painted a large, brilliant White Rose?

I have seen a few Vaults in which the Rose on the ceiling is painted as per the petals on the Rose Cross of the Adept.  Although aesthetically pleasing, I find this to be technically incorrect.  In various Inner Order ceremonies, it is said that "The Heaven is above and the earth is beneath, and between the Light and Darkness the Colours vibrate."  It is clear to me that the ceiling is the undifferentiated Light, the floor the Darkness, and the colors vibrate on the Walls of the Vault, and everything that exists in between.  Furthermore, based on the diagram below, if the petals of the Rose were to be colored in, they would at least show some grayscale shading, and they do not.

The diagram below is the common image we think of when laying out the ceiling of the Vault:

Diagram 77: The Ceiling of the Vault from Crowley's The Equinox

Now take a look at the following diagram, showing the Chief Adept in the Pastos:

Second Entry: 5=6 Adeptus Minor Initiation

 Again, Venus door in the West, the Mars wall North by East, and the Jupiter wall South by East, as specified.  But note that this is a view from the ceiling downward.  So if Diagram 77 before has the same configuration as per the arrangement of the walls, that view must be from above the ceiling downward.  If that is the case, the view from inside the Vault itself, looking upward, would be a mirror image of what is actually shown in the diagram.

This is actually relatively easy to confirm, by the second layer of petals in the Rose, which are seven in number and are attributed to the planets, just like the walls are.  So the Peh petal, which is attributed to Mars, should be pointed toward the Mars wall, the Resh petal toward the Sun wall, etc.  (So if you're looking up at the ceiling of the Vault wall and the Peh petal is on your upper left, then it is pointing towards the Jupiter wall and your White Rose is technically reversed.)

The proper arrangement actually lines up a number of different elements within the Vault as well.  The Heh petal in the East, attributed to Aries and Fire, should be lined up right above the disc of the Lion, the Fire Kerub, on the Altar.  Just so, the Ayin petal, attributed to Capricorn and Earth, will be above the disc of the Bull, the Earth Kerub, the Lamed petal, Libra and Air, above the Man, and the Cheth petal, Cancer and Water, above the Eagle.  Lastly, the Adept lying in the Vault, will align his multi-colored Rose Cross with the White Rose on the ceiling, petal per petal in columnar fashion.  This makes perfect sense, if you consider the petals as rays of Light, descending vertically in the Vault, passing through the volume where the spectrum of colors vibrate, to manifest upon the Rose Cross of the Adept, whom while laying in the Pastos, is still above the floor, where the black Darkness reigns.

When I was going through the regimen of the Outer Order, by far the hardest grade for me was Philosophus.  I have almost no planets in the Fire signs in my natal chart, and oh, how it showed.   I struggled with the spiritual alchemy of it all, sometimes mightily, but most of the time pathetically.  My wife sometimes reminds me of the scorch marks I left on her, but then I remind her that she was in Theoricus at the time, just fanning my flames.  I had taken no longer than six months in any previous grade.  Philosophus would take me a year and a half.  There were many a time that I didn't think I would make it, but I managed to overcome, thanks to a little help from my friends and loved ones, scorched or otherwise.

The peculiar thing about it now is, out of all the Golden Dawn initiations I conduct, by far the most efficacious ones are the Philosophus initiations.  With a proper opening of the Fire Tablet, salamanders come pouring out and start nipping at everyone's heels.  Closing the same, there follows a noticeable draft felt at the ankles.  So I boggle at the ease of working with the element of Fire, because it gave me so much grief when I went through its Grade.

I was discussing this paradox with my wife while in the car tonight, and I made a realization.  I was reminded of my struggles with social anxieties in my teenage years, and they were much harder and took a lot longer to overcome compared to my paroxysms in Philosophus.  The Hiereus tells us in the Neophyte Initiation that "every obstacle can at length be conquered by perseverance", but what I just discovered is, the longer you persevere, the stronger you become.

Besides, I didn't engage in the quest for the Great Work because I thought it would be easy...