This is a letter to Sherifa (Svasri Kalyānakritā) from Adhyāpya of the Universal Brotherhood, in response to a question that Sherifa had proffered about sex. In addition, the author remarks on having visited an eastern branch of the Temple of the People, and notes that “our teaching as regards the coming of the Avatar is very nearly, if not entirely the same as that of the Temple.” A handwritten postscript states that author is safely in possession of Sherifa’s [astrological] chart.  (1 page)

This undated poem by Sherifa to her husband, Franklin, was likely penned around the time of their wedding on 25 June 1920. This is a transcription of the original draft. (1 page)

This piece was published by Sherifa in 1930. It is an allegory of “The Life Cycle of a Rose as Observed through the All-Seeing Eye.”  (6 pages)

This essay, which is not dated, was likely used as part of the educational material for the Assembly of Man. It is signed “Sherifa,” and it alludes to the “High Indifference,” which is a term Wolff coined in 1936. (6 pages)

This file contains two undated notes from Francia La Due (Blue Star); there should be many more. Doroethy Leonard, in an issue of the Sangha dated 1991, states that are “100s of letters” in this correspondence; in the 2009 draft of her biography of Wolff that she sent to SUNY Press, Leonard states that “All of these letters have been saved and filed as Blue Star Letters. However, unless typewritten, they are very difficult to decipher” (p. 77, footnote). Specific letters mentioned in this last source include: La Due’s “invitation for Sherifa to move to Halcyon” (p. 63); “A letter from Blue Star [that] thanks Sherifa for her work and her financial support” (p. 65); a letter from “early 1915” (p. 66); A 1912 letter from Sherifa to Blue Star concerning a dream, as well as Blue Star’s response to this letter (p. 77).

(2 pages)

This primer on Sanskrit was written by Sherifa during the time that she and Franklin spent at Hunter Flat in 1929 (at which time Franklin also penned his book on yoga). Sherifa’s familiarity with Sanskrit no doubt can be traced back to her time spent working in the Universal Brotherhood. (20 pages)

This is the original foreword to Pathways Through to Space, which was initially titled “From Point-I to Space-I.” This foreword was not used for the 1944 publication of Pathways; it is signed “Sarah A. Merrell-Wolff.”  (3 pages)

It is not known whether this piece was a channeled message or the work of Sherifa’s own hand. Nor is its exact date known, but it is likely from Sherifa’s time at the Temple of the People. (1 page)

This piece was published when Sherifa was involved with the Oriental Esoteric Society in Washington, D.C., an organization that was headed Agnes E. Marland. It is Sherifa's first publication.  (1 page)

This is another undated set of soliloquies, likely written the near end of Sherifa’s tenure at the Temple of the People.  (1 page)

Signed “Rama the Disciple,” this is a lesson from the Oriental Esoteric Head Center, which was founded by Albert Sarak, the “General Inspector of the Supreme Council of the Order of the Initiates of Thibet.” This material is from the time that Sherifa was associated with the Oriental Esoteric Society in Washington, D.C.  (8 pages)

This is a note from Sherifa to the “Archiscriptor of Zauberlicht” acknowledging her appointment to the office of “Archscriptorial Syndic of Zauberlicht” (that is, the typist of the Universal Brotherhood material presented here).  (1 page)

The author of this seven-lesson course on “Meditation and Healing” is not designated, and it is possible that it was a collaborative effort between Franklin and Sherifa Merrell-Wolff. It has listed under Sherifa for two reasons: (1) Sherifa did produce a seven-lesson course on “Occult Mediation.” The Lesson 1 in the course here, however, is not that found in the incomplete course listed above. So, it may be the case that this is a preliminary draft of the same course, or that it is a different course altogether. (2) In the Wolff’s joint work, Sherifa was tasked with the production of educational material, of which this course is clearly an offering. (28 pages + 1 edited copy of p. 2)

It is not known where this page belongs in the Wolff Archive. It begins with the scratched-out statement, “The whole scheme of Music as art is given in these paragraphs,” and it contains a quote from “Prof. Holborn of Oxford” that was published in an article written by Bertha M. Rhodes titled “The Child’s Introduction to Art” [The Kindergarten and First Grade Vol. 1 (Springfield, Mass.: Milton Bradley Co., 1916)]. This might lead one to believe that it was used for the Children’s section of the Assembly of Man educational material, but the remainder of the writing is clearly not designed for children.

The page introduces the term ‘Ni’, which is meant to refer to an “Art-Tone,” and the discussion employs Christian imagery and quotations. Sherifa clearly made handwritten edits to the page, so for this reason it has posted here. (1 page)

These pages appear to be notes that Sherifa wrote to herself while studying J. G. Hibben’s book, Logic: Deductive and Inductive (1905). They were found on the back of study notes placed in this book; these notes can be found on the “Notes” page under the Lectures, Notes and Outlines tab. (3 pages)

A seven-lesson course on “Occult Meditation” is listed in the Merrell-Wolff Library flyer that was distributed during the time that the Wolffs were associated with the Sufi Order of the West; so, this document has been dated “ca. 1923.” This is Lesson 1 in the course, which consists of eight lithographed pages bound in a blue cover with ’SAMW’ embossed on the front. The price of the course is noted as “$10.00.” Whether the remaining six courses were published is not known (but see the next entry, “Meditation and Healing”). (8 pages)

The date of these two soliloquies is not known, but given their content, it may be around the time of Blue Star’s death in July 1922.  (1 page)

This is a transcription of Sherifa’s resignation letter from the Universal Brotherhood, in which she requests being moved to the “Stationary List.” As she explains to Dr. Snell (the Guru), her work with the Universal Brotherhood primarily involves the study of documents, and she feels the need to work with people—that is, to “experience” Truth rather than to read about it.  (1 page)

This treatise is clearly based derived from theosophical reference material, upon which Franklin and Sherifa relied heavily for lecture material during 1929 and 1930. It is signed “Sherifa,” but it may be the case that this was a summary of a theosophical source that was used as material for one of Franklin’s lectures. (1 page)

This was written for a wartime (1942) convention, and its tone reflects the mood of the day. (4 pages)

This essay, which is not dated, was likely used as part of the educational material for the Assembly of Man. It is signed “Sherifa,” but its tone and content are not consistent with her productions. It may be the case that this was co-authored with her husband. (6 pages)

Francia La Due claimed the ability to channel the Theosophical masters, particularly Hilarion, Morya, and Koot Humi, whose messages guided the work of the Temple of the People. Before her death in 1922, La Due would teach Sarah the “art” of channeling these Masters, and the Wolff Archive contains a large number of Sarah’s channeled messages; the only two dated from 1920 are found here.  (1 page)

This file contains channeled messages dated June to December 1921.  (8 pages)

By far the largest number of Sherifa’s channeled messages in the Wolff Archive are from 1922, by which time Sherifa was channeling Hilarion, Morya, Koot Humi, and sometimes even Blue Star herself (after her passing in July).  (195 pages)

The transcriptions of Sherifa’s channeled messages here are not dated.  (2 pages)

The material in this file consists of typescript lectures (“sūtras”) on metaphysical topics meant for students of the Universal Brotherhood. These sūtras are clearly written and are rich in historical and doctrinal detail—which suggests that they were penned by Merwin-Marie Snell, the founder of the Universal Brotherhood and a scholar of comparative religion and philosophy. These sūtras are not simply scholarly dissertations, however; they contain practical information and are meant to be studied in order after a student receives an appropriate mantra. A few lessons are missing from this file, as noted below. In addition, there are several pages of instructions for the reproduction of this material interleaved in the file, and several pages contain Sherifa’s handwritten notes. The sūtras are organized under the categories below, which have their page number in the file indicated:

1. Instructions to Trial Adhyāpyas who are about to receive the Trial Mantra, 2
2. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the Trial Mantra, 24
3. Instructions to Ćarakas who are about to receive the First Ćaraka Mantra, 104
4. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the First Ćaraka Mantra [Incomplete]
5. Instructions to Ćarakas who are about to receive the Second Mantra, 205
6. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the Second Mantra [Incomplete]
7. Instructions to Ćarakas who are about to receive the Third Ćaraka Mantra, 405
8. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the Third Mantra, 418
9. Instructions to Ćarakas who are about to receive the Fourth Mantra, 466
10. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the Fourth Mantra, 476
11. Instructions to Ćarakas who are about to receive the Fifth Mantra, 534
12. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the Fifth Mantra, 553
13. Instructions to Ćarakas who are about to receive the Sixth Mantra, 634
14. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the Sixth Mantra, 642
15. Instructions to Ćarakas who are about to receive the Seventh Mantra, 719
16. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the Seventh Mantra [Incomplete]
17. Instructions to Ćarakas who are about to receive the Eighth Mantra, 770
18. Instructions to Ćarakas who have received the Eighth Mantra [Incomplete]

(950 pages)

The material in this file consists of sūtras meant for more advanced students of the Universal Brotherhood. These sūtras are prefaced by a warning for the need for protection against the “dangers from evils unseen.”

1. Rose Grand Directorium, 1
2. Yānic Postobligational: First Instruction to Quintobligates, 5
3. Second Quintobligates: Instructions to the Atićarakas, 44

(66 pages)

This is a rather elaborate application form used for membership in the Universal Brotherhood. At the time that Sherifa was associated with this organization, she was involved in producing (typing) the materials shown here (and in the next two entries below). Note that for many pages the verso is also included, so that readers can get a sense of the methods of identification used for this material.  (77 pages)

This essay, which is barely legible, is labeled as from 1937. It is in the process of being transcribed. (2 pages)