7 stage ascent in the Mithras Mysteries
One of the oldest writings concerning the 7 stage ascent is by the heretic Church Father, Origen (185-254 A.D.). In his book Contra Celsum (Against Celsus), Origen quotes the Pagan writer Celsus concerning the 7 stage ascent described by the participants in the Mithras Mysteries: These things are obscurely hinted at in the accounts of the Persians, and especially in the mysteries of Mithras, which are celebrated amongst them. For in the latter there is a representation of the two heavenly revolutions,—of the movement, viz., of the fixed stars, and of that which take place among the planets, and of the passage of the soul through these. The representation is of the following nature: There is a ladder with lofty gates, and on the top of it an eighth gate. The first gate consists of lead, the second of tin, the third of copper, the fourth of iron, the fifth of a mixture of metals, the sixth of silver, and the seventh of gold. The first gate they assign to Saturn, indicating by the ‘lead’ the slowness of this star; the second to Venus, comparing her to the splendor and softness of tin; the third to Jupiter, being firm and solid; the fourth to Mercury, for both Mercury and iron are fit to endure all things, and are money-making and laborious; the fifth to Mars, because, being composed of a mixture of metals, it is varied and unequal; the sixth, of silver, to the Moon; the seventh, of gold, to the Sun,—thus imitating the different colors of the two latter.
- Lead -Saturn
- Tin - Venus
- Copper - Jupiter
- Iron - Mercury
- Mix - Mars
- Silver - Moon
- Gold - Sun