Order of the Portal



The Order of the Portal was an esoteric Christian religious organisation, founded by Aleta B. Baker at Boston, Massachusetts with reported chapters in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, and other U.S. cities. The teachings of the order were described as being "founded upon the secret teachings of the Master Jesus," as well as "eternal verities of the older Masters, such as were taught in Egypt and India, as well as in ages past" that were all embodied "in the teachings of Jesus."

Leadership
Per Hartmann's Who's Who in Occultism, New Thought, Psychicism and Spiritualism for 1927, the executive leadership of the order was:
 * First Master: Madame Aleta (Pres.)
 * Second Master: Henry E. Merrill (Treas.)
 * Third Master: Harvey C. Merrill (Sec.)
 * Fourth Master: Charles S. Hill (Vice Pres.)

Chapters
Local groups required only four members to form a foundation, and there were reported to be study groups of the order in several major cities on the U.S. East Coast during the 1920s through 1930s, these working to facilitate lecture tours by Baker.

Teachings

 * Members of the order practised what was called the "First Formula", a method described in Baker's Biune Corpus-Christi (1938) as taking "the place of esotericism attained by extreme fasting," and which was "founded upon the symbolic use of the point and the circle," the aim being the refinement and raising of vital power toward the end of replacing "the desire of the blood" with "the yearnings of the divine soul-spirit."