"I place a miniature portrait of myself upon the altar of the secret chamber of your heart. This portrait, beloved, is the true likeness and representation of myself. I ask you to look upon me. And as you look upon me in that framed portrait, so ask me in your heart of hearts (for that is what the secret chamber of your heart is—your heart of hearts) if you might put on some quality of freedom’s flame, some grace, some skill in diplomacy, some rejoicing, some joy. And thus, virtue by virtue and quality by quality, you may also become a part of me as I am a part of you.

"This is the message I bring to you, beloved. I would bond with you as you would bond with me, through the attributes of the mighty Seventh Ray and the dispensation of the age of Aquarius.

"Therefore this dispensation requires of you somewhat more than the dispensation of El Morya, for you must go forth and express the virtues that you perceive as part of the dispensation of the Seventh Ray. And you must build upon those virtues, and you must arrive at the place where you can lay upon the altar of my heart, in my heart of hearts, in the secret chamber of my heart, these virtues developed, these deeds accomplished, entrusting to my heart the individuals you have liberated.

"Know, beloved, and remember that the Seventh Ray includes the priesthood of the Order of Melchizedek, which is for both sons and daughters of God. Reach, then, as far as the Violet Planet, and remember the mighty attributes of the ascended and unascended lifestreams who valiantly serve the violet flame. Through my heart, and my heart ultimately receiving you, you shall have much to offer, even the moving stream of the ever-flowing violet flame.

"So receive me, beloved. I shall be with you, taking you with me. You shall be with me, taking me with you. Do this, beloved, for we are brothers and sisters on the Path. We are opening the door of the Aquarian age! And we desire to open that door to a golden age!"

The romantic and enigmatic character of this picture has inspired many theories about its subject, meaning, history, and even its attribution to Rembrandt.

Several portrait identifications have been proposed, including an ancestor of the Polish Oginski family, which owned the painting in the eighteenth century, and the Polish Socinian theologian Jonasz Szlichtyng. The rider’s costume, his weapons, and the breed of his horse have also been claimed as Polish.

But if The Polish Rider is a portrait, it certainly breaks with tradition. Equestrian portraits are not common in seventeenth-century Dutch art, and furthermore, in the traditional equestrian portrait
the rider is fashionably dressed and his mount is spirited and well-bred.

The painting may instead portray a character from history or literature, and many possibilities
have been proposed. Candidates range from the Prodigal Son to Gysbrecht van Amstel, a hero of Dutch medieval history, and from the Old Testament David to the Mongolian warrior Tamerlane.

It is possible that Rembrandt intended simply to represent a foreign soldier, a theme popular in his time in European art, especially in prints. Nevertheless, Rembrandt’s intentions in The Polish Rider seem clearly to transcend a simple expression of delight in the exotic.

The painting has also been described as a latter-day Miles Christianus (Soldier of Christ), an apotheosis of the mounted soldiers who were still defending Eastern Europe against the Turks in the seventeenth century.

Many have felt that the youthful rider faces unknown dangers in the strange and somber landscape, with its mountainous rocks crowned by a mysterious building, its dark water, and the distant flare of a fire.