The Three Degrees of initiation

Years ago, I became interested in the theme of initiations, trials, ordeals, etc - as part of the Hero's Journey, of course, but also in relation to the Gnostic approach, which considers our essential nature as a spark of light, that has slowly fallen into matter, and becomes trapped, and seeks to escape again.

I came across an interesting book, in my mother's collection, by Colin Still, "Shakespeare's Mystery Play - a Study of The Tempest".  The only review I can find of this appears on a theosophical site, and doesn't really elucidate the story as he tells it.

I made the above 'chart' as a way of clarifying for myself the ideas the book contains.  I can not find this model in any other traditions, and can also find almost nothing about Colin Still (although T.S.Eliot and W.H.Auden seem to have known of his work), so this stands alone.

He uses the four elements, and the three 'transitional' phases between them, making seven steps, in all.

In regards to The Fall, we can see how light/consciousness gets tempted down to this earthly plain, and then can - with sufficient effort or luck, escape again, through a series of initiations, which appear in many traditions.

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It turns out that Colin Still is not quite as obscure as I assumed, and I found more references to his work in Northrop Frye's late notebooks, etc.  More research needed...