Two banners hang in the Hall of the Neophyte—these banners are vital. They represent duality, of light and dark, working from the positions of East and West just as the pillars work from North and South. These banners serve as barriers and signposts for the eastern and western parts of the hall. They act as reflectors, allowing light to travel from one end of the Temple to the other and back again, creating a kind of handball court where light itself bounces between the banners.

The Banner of the East symbolizes Divine Light and its operation through nature's forces. It represents the Macrocosm—the world beyond our Sphere of Sensation or senses. The banner features a gold cross on a white background, with a hexagram superimposed upon it. The upward triangle is red and the downward triangle blue, symbolizing Fire and Water—opposing forces united. At the center of the gold cross, a white "T" represents Tav, the initial pathway we must traverse as we climb from Malkuth to Yesod on the Tree of Life. It is also the final pathway through which Divine Light manifests from the higher Sephiroth into Malkuth, the physical world. The banner's white background symbolizes Ain Soph Aur, the Divine White Brilliance, which you will learn more about later.

The banner is suspended by a gold-colored bar and red cord, with a white pole at its base. Even this supporting structure carries meaning—the purified will directed toward the Higher.

The Banner of the East serves as one of the Hierophant's tools, who represents Osiris the Redeemer in the 0=0 Initiation. It acts as a shield during initiation, helping to ward off negative energies through the combined power of the banner's infused energies and the Hierophant's expanded energies. This combination aids the purification process in the Hall of the Neophyte.

The Banner of the West will be detailed further in the Zelator grade. Its White Triangle represents the three paths connecting Malkuth with other sephiroth, while the Red Cross signifies hidden Divine knowledge. This knowledge can be discovered through the three paths emerging from Malkuth. As we ascend the Qabalistic Tree of Life, we may understand and obtain true Divine nature. Together, the Cross and Triangle embody the forces of light and life. The central cross, known as the cross of Tiphareth, represents necessary self-sacrifice—the surrendering of ego and old habits required for achieving and realizing our Higher Self. In the Temple of Isis Mighty Mother, the Red Cross is bordered in gold, the highest of metals, obtained through the darkness of putrefaction.

The Banner of the West, unlike the Banner of the East, is on a black background. This represents a darkness or ignorance of the outer world. Yet the white triangle is the light that shines through the darkness, yet the darkness comprehendeth it not. The Banner of the West is also an appropriate symbol of protection and exorcism. Now let us not conjure up ideas in our minds about what exorcism is. When we speak of exorcism, what we are talking about is barring the Qlippothic or negative energies from our own sphere of sensation. It is also a symbol of barring out negative energies outside our sphere of sensation as well. In this sense, it is used as a fitting symbol in pathworking and in Astral projection. The memorization of the Banner of the West and projecting it forward becomes a very strong etheric symbol of protection.