I put the silver bars in the ancient forge and got the levers, inserted them in the slots, but when I pull them it says I'm missing something. What gives?

Once you put the lever in, you have to talk to the ghost guardian again and convince him you can help. Then they will use the lever and open the door.

I have made the levers but I cant use them with the statues. How do I activate them?

the levers are for after you get through the statues, to get past the statues, you need to find a book of hymns, The Taming of the Holy Fire. You need someone with the SCHOLAR tag to read the book, that will unlock a new option when you interact with the statues.

Thanks for the answer, I was stuck there for over an hour.

How does one get spirit vision? i cannot progress any further for that

Where can I find The Taming of the Holy Fire? I've been looking for like, an hour

How do you progress after that. Do you need to win persuasion rolls?

Taming of the Holy Fire is in one the many book cases in the Archives. Spirit Vision comes from one of the visits to that Soul Chamber (blue crystal) trippy places where you speak to the Gods. I forget which. You get that power added prior.

Is there any way to get the tag SCHOLAR if no one in your party has it?

Thats exactly where I am stuck!

If you have the red Prince with you, he can read it

No need to win persuasion rolls, i just consumed them and doors opened. :)

This is very buggy depending on the steps you take. I consumed both ghosts and could only open one of the vaults with a lever. I got to a point where I gave up, and was about to leave reapers isle, when suddenly my quest log updated for the quest after speaking to Malady. I went back and low and behold I could open the door with the shaft that didn't work repeatedly!!