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ALCHEMY:The Black Artsau
ALCHEMY:
THE BLACK ART
By David Cherubim
(Frater Aurora Aureae)
Written in 1994 e.v.
Anno IVii (Year 90).
Copyright © 1999 e.v.
All Rights Reserved.
Issued by the
Order of the T.·.G.·.D.·.
(Thelemic Golden Dawn)
in association with the
Aleister Crowley Foundation
INTRODUCTION
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
In this scientific and technological age, the ancient Art and Science of Alchemy is
looked upon as mere rubbish of the past, a dark and fanciful cloud upon the sky of
history. Yet this, I venture to say, is not the case at all; and this I shall endeavor to
demonstrate to you through words of practical insight and wisdom, since Alchemy,
in our modern school of thought, is the True Science of every wise and practical
WoMan who lives upon the face of the earth.
Alchemy is comparable to the Great Sun of the Ages which ever shines bright in the
infinite sky. It is not the fault of the Sun if we cannot see it; it is due to own lack of
vision. Yet the Sun ever shines bright for those who have eyes to see, and in seeing
the Sun we become enlightened!
Now the word Alchemy is an Arabic term consisting of the article "al" and the
adjective "khemi". Aleister Crowley, the eminent Golden Dawn Magician of the 20th
century, stated that this word means "that which pertains to Egypt," and that a
rough translation of it would be "The Egyptian Matter."
Traditionally, Alchemy is supposed to have originated in ancient Egypt. Alchemists,
also called Hermetic Philosophers, recognize Hermes Trismegistus, or
"Thrice-great Hermes", as the legendary founder of their Royal Art, and Hermes
Trismegistus is identified with the ancient Egyptian God Tahuti (Thoth in the
Coptic). Alchemy is called, among other things, the Black Art in reference to its
alleged Egyptian origin. It is also called the Hermetic Art or Hermeticism in respect
of its legendary founder.
The ancient Chinese were performing Alchemy as early as 500 B.C. But the
science of Alchemy in China was originally a spiritual system, dedicated to a
mystical end; it was later in the course of history that it took on other forms, whereas
in ancient Egypt the Art of Alchemy originated as a metallurgical craft. The
teachings of Alchemy as a spiritual science can be found in the sacred writings of
the Chinese Sage Lao Tze, who was the founder of the Grand Philosophy of the
Tao. Alchemy plays a vital part in esoteric Taoism. It is, in fact, the secret tradition of
Taoism, its inner teaching as opposed to its outer philosophy.
In the Buddhist Mahayana Avatamsaka Sutra reference is made to the alchemical
Elixir of Life. It is written in this Sutra: "There exists a Hataka juice or essence.
One measure of this solution can transform one thousand measures of
bronze into pure gold." In the Hindu Atharva Veda, which is older than 1,000
B.C., there are also mystical words concerning the Elixir of Life. The systematic
procurement of this celebrated Elixir constitutes the Magnum Opus or Great Work
of Alchemy.
There is a legend which claims that Alchemy was originally the Sacred Art of the
Sons of God mentioned in Genesis before the Great Flood. These were the "Fallen
Angels" or "Fallen Stars" of God who mated with the women of earth and taught
them their Sacred Craft. There is another legend based on Genesis which states
that Abraham was the founder of Alchemy, as well as of the Qabalah; that the
Wisdom of Alchemy was transmitted to his son Ishmael who was born from Hagar,
so that the Arabs and Sufis are the true holders of the sacred keys of the alchemical
Art; whereas the Qabalah, which was transmitted to Abraham's son Isaac, who was
born by Sarah, became the sacred tradition of the Jewish people.
Putting aside all legend and myth, the actual foundations of the philosophic
principles of Alchemy are to be found among the ancient Greeks, Byzantines and
Arabs. The principal Greek school for Alchemy was founded by Zosimos in
Alexandria around the 4th century A.D. Zosimos asserted that Alchemy was the
Sacred Art of the Egyptians. Alchemy traveled from Alexandria to Byzantium in the
5th century and it was eventually adopted by the Arabs. After conquering Egypt in
the 7th century the Arabs continued their alchemical researches, and from the 7th
to the 11th centuries Alchemy was introduced to all the countries that they
conquered. From the 9th to 11th centuries Spain especially became one of the
great Hermetic centers of the world.
Alchemists assert the famous Tabula Smaragdina, the Emerald Table of Hermes,
to be the chief exposition concerning their alchemical operation by which they
achieve the Great Work of the Sun. Legend has it that this Emerald Tablet was
discovered by soldiers of Alexander the Great in the hands of Hermes' mummy in
the Great Pyramid of Gizah, which was, according to legend, the Tomb of Hermes
himself. Hermes was supposed to have engraved the sacred words which were
discovered upon the Emerald Tablet. The earliest record of the philosophy of the
Emerald Table can be found in the Leyden Papyrus which dates back to
approximately 300 A.D. and was discovered in the year 1828 in the tomb of an
anonymous Egyptian Magician of Ancient Thebes.
Love is the law, love under will.
THE EMERALD TABLE
By Aleister Crowley
Utter the Word of Majesty and Terror!
True without lie, and certain without error,
And of the essence of The Truth. I know
The things above are as the things below,
The things below are as the things above,
To wield the One Thing's Thaumaturgy -- Love.
As all from one sprang, by one contemplation,
So all from one were born, by permutation.
Sun sired, Moon bore, this unique Universe;
Air was its chariot, and Earth its nurse.
Here is the root of every talisman
Of the whole world, since the whole world began.
Here is the fount and source of every soul.
Let it be spilt on earth! its strength is whole.
Now gently, subtly, with thine Art conspire
To fine the gross, dividing earth and fire.
Lo! it ascendeth and descendeth, even
And swift, an endless band of earth and heaven;
Thus it receiveth might of duplex Love,
The powers below conjoined with those above,
So shall the glory of the world be thine
And darkness flee before thy SOVRAN shrine.
This is the strong strength of all strength; surpass
The subtle and subdue it; pierce the crass
And salve it; so bring all things to their fated
Perfection: for by this was all created.
O marvel of miracle! O magic mode!
All things adapted to one circling code!
Since three parts of all wisdom I may claim,
Hermes thrice great, and greatest, is my name.
What I have written of the one sole Sun,
His work, is here divined, and dared, and done.
ALCHEMY:
THE BLACK ART
An Official Publication of the
Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn
(Order of the T.·.G.·.D.·.)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
ALCHEMY IN THEORY
CHAPTER I I
ALCHEMY IN PRACTICE
CHAPTER III
DE MAGNUM OPUS SOLIS
(ON THE GREAT WORK OF THE SUN)
CHAPTER I
ALCHEMY IN THEORY
Alchemy is called the Royal Art (Ars Regia). Of this there are three basic types.
These are Artisinal Alchemy, the Outward Work; Mystical Alchemy, the Inward
Work; and Sexual Alchemy, which, after a certain manner, partakes of both these
methods of attainment. Artisinal Alchemy is dedicated to producing the "external
gold" of material splendour, whereas Mystical Alchemy is dedicated to producing
the "internal gold" of spiritual splendour. In either case, the actual object of the
Great Work is one: to manufacture the Stone of the Philosophers. It is with this
stone that the Alchemist performs his transmutations, whether such be spiritual or
material in kind.
In a nutshell, Artisinal Alchemy is the art of transmuting base metals into gold. To
attain success with this material form of Alchemy, when combined with the mystical
aspect, is said to be an outward sign of the accomplishment of the inward work of
Spiritual Transformation; this is, in fact, its only justification in the world of Magick.
For gold is a material symbol of a spiritual reality, typified by the Sun of Light. Gold is
the perfect metal of all metals, the most exalted form of the mineral kingdom. It is, in
fact, the alpha and omega of the mineral kingdom. In the Philosophy of Alchemy it
is asserted that all base metals are imperfections of gold, and that all metals are
ordained by Nature to become the Perfect Gold of the Sun. The base metals are but
accidental phenomena due to an unfavorable environment in Nature. The Alchemist
seeks to remove from all base metals their disorderly imperfections or base
characteristics to bring them to their true state of natural order and to transmute
them into the Living Gold of Sol.
Whether or not the Alchemist can actually convert base metals into gold, I cannot
honestly say. I have never witnessed nor have I ever attempted to perform this type
of alchemical operation, at least not in this incarnation. My principal justification for
even writing about this particular branch of Alchemy is that this material form of
Alchemy is symbolical of the spiritual and psychological aspect. In fact many have
denied the validity of Artisinal Alchemy, stating that such is purely symbolical of an
interior operation that is spiritual and psychological in kind. This may in fact prove
true to many of you, but from the scientific and magical point of view it would be but
an act of folly to deny the possibility of transmuting base metals into gold. Thus did
Eliphas Levi, the famous French Magus of the 19th century who Aleister Crowley
claimed to be in a past life, write the following words: "Yes, gold can be made
really and materially by means of the Stone of the Sages." History fully
supports the possibility of this phenomenon. We cannot ignore the experiences of
those in the past who have either succeeded in this sublime work or who have
witnessed it first hand.
Let us, for example, take into account Johann Baptista van Helmont, the famous
Belgian Physician and Chemist who coined the word 'gas' from the Greek word
'chaos.' He claimed to have performed an actual transmutation of mercury into gold,
and he recorded and published this fact in his work "The Garden of Medicine." In
1618 this scientist was one day visited by an unexpected stranger who gave to him
a few grains of powder. Concerning this powder, van Helmont recorded: "I saw
and handled the Philosopher's Stone. It was a saffron-coloured powder,
very heavy, and it glittered like splinters of glass." Van Helmont also recorded
that the stranger was seeking to "convince an illustrious scientist whose work is an
honour to his country." Van Helmont was, indeed, convinced of the validity of the
operations of Artisinal Alchemy after successfully performing a transmutation with
the powder, whereas he previously denied the possibility of this phenomenon.
Let us also take into account Helvetius (Johann Friedrich Schweitzer), the
Physician-in-ordinary to the Prince of Orange, who was a vicious opponent of
Alchemy. But on the 27th of September, in the year 1666, a stranger appeared unto
him who had with him a small ivory box which contained a powder the color of pale
sulphur. Regarding this powder, the stranger said: "You see this powder, well,
Sir, there is enough of the Philosopher's Stone here to transmute forty
thousand pounds of lead into gold." This stranger did not give to Helvetius any
of the powder, nor did he perform a transmutation with it, but he did show Helvetius
some gold which he said was the product of a transmutation performed by an
Adept. Helvetius was not convinced, however, and demanded a demonstration. The
stranger refused his request, but did say that he would seek to obtain permission
from the Adept, and if the Adept agreed he would return in three weeks time.
Helvetius, it should be noted, did manage to pilfer a few grains of the powder under
his fingernail, but with it he achieved nothing. When the stranger returned in three
weeks, he confessed this fact to the stranger who laughed and told him that if an
actual transmutation was to be achieved the powder must be wrapped in either a
lump of wax or piece of paper to protect it from the fumes rising from the base
metal, which would otherwise take from it the power of transmutation. He departed
shortly after this, saying that he would return the next day. But he did not return.
Through the insistence and impatience of his wife, Helvetius inevitably attempted
the transmutation without the assistance of the stranger, and, to his utter surprise, it
worked! He had first transmuted an old piece of lead piping which he put in a
crucible over a fire. When the lead pipe melted his wife dropped the powder on to it,
which was contained and protected in wax; and at the end of a quarter of an hour
the lead was successfully transmuted into gold. After this became a known fact, the
transmutation was successfully performed under strict scientific observation in the
official laboratories.
It has been asserted that the famous Alchemist Eirenaeus Philalethes was the
stranger who appeared unto van Helmont in 1618 at his laboratory in Vilvorde and
who visited Helvetius in 1666 at The Hague, which is near Amsterdam. It is believed
by some that his real name was Thomas Vaughan. However, it is known that
Vaughan died in 1666, and it was in this same year that Philalethes appeared in
Amsterdam after many years of traveling, at which time he gave to Jean Lange his
book "The Open Door into the Secret Palace of the King" to be translated into Latin.
Sir Isaac Newton, the father of Classical Physics, took this book to heart and
studied it for over 20 years. This Alchemist was also much respected by Robert
Boyle, a famous British Physicist and Chemist who enunciated the law of the
compressibility of gases and who discovered the part played by oxygen in
combustion. Boyle also financed the publication of Newton's "Principia" and he has
been called the father of modern Chemistry and the harbinger of the "Scientific
Method". Boyle himself was a lover of Alchemy, but always skeptical at heart, yet he
did attempt to transmute base metals into gold, but to no avail, which fact he
admitted in 1661 in his important treatise called "The Skeptical Chymist".
Moreover, let us take into account the infamous Sir Edward Kelly, whose real name
was Talbot. Sir Aleister Crowley asserted that he was Talbot in a past life. Talbot
was born at Worcester, England, in 1555. After breaking the law and having his
ears cropped, he departed from Worcester for Wales where he purchased for one
pound sterling an alchemical manuscript and two forms of a powder, one white and
the other red, from a man who took them from the tomb of a Catholic Bishop. Being
unable to understand the manuscript, he secretly returned to London and contacted
the astrologer Dr. John Dee, who was able to decipher it, and by it they successfully
performed a transmutation. This resulted in the development of a most peculiar
relationship between Kelly and Dee which has left its strange mark on history.
Now Kelly was not a very modest man, and he saw no harm in boasting of his
power. He performed public transmutations in Prague, the capital of Bohemia. As a
result of this he was invited to perform a transmutation in the court of the Emperor
Maximilian II of Germany, who, because of Kelly's success, conferred upon him the
rank of Marshal of Bohemia. But soon he was imprisoned by the Emperor for not
being able to make more of the powder by which he performed his transmutations.
Dee, seeking to help Kelly, told the Emperor that he would assist Kelly to make more
of the powder, and the Emperor released Kelly. They failed, however, in their efforts;
and Kelly, out of frustration, killed a guard and was again imprisoned by the
Emperor. Yet in jail he wrote an alchemical treatise called "The Stone of the Sages",
which he sent to the Emperor promising to reveal the secret of the powder if the
Emperor would set him free. The Emperor, however, did not believe him. Kelly
therefore attempted to escape from jail, but he only managed to brake both of his
legs and two ribs in the process. He died as a result of these injuries in 1597.
Now with regard to Mystical Alchemy, its formula and operation is spiritual and
psychological in kind. The famous Psychologist Carl Gustav Jung and the
well-known Golden Dawn Magician Francis Israel Regardie were both inclined to
interpret the operations of Alchemy from a purely psychological point of view. Jung
wrote a well known book called "Psychology and Alchemy" (1953) and Regardie
wrote an illuminating book called "The Philosopher's Stone" (1938). Both of these
authors make it an evident fact in these books that they envisage Alchemy to be
nothing more than a psychological operation dedicated to a mystical end. Jung was
completely fascinated by Alchemy, and he invested an immense amount of his time
investigating the symbols and principles of this Art. Regardie himself was an Adept
of Alchemy, and though he envisaged Alchemy to be a psycho-mystical process of
initiation, he nevertheless did expound the sexual secrets of Alchemy in his magick
book "The Tree of Life" (1932), yet with the essential, magical point of view that this
physical aspect of Alchemy is also dedicated to a spiritual cause.
From the point of view of Mystical Alchemy, the Philosopher's Stone is not a powder
or any sort of material object, but rather is it a spiritual object, being a symbol of the
True Self. The Mystical Alchemist, also called the Alchemystic Philosopher, does
not seek to manufacture the Philosopher's Stone to produce the material gold of
Nature, but rather to produce the Divine Gold of the Spirit. To attain the
Philosopher's Stone is, in this particular case, the attainment of enlightenment,
which is the illumination of the aura or Soul of Nature with the Divine Light of Sol,
and with this comes the power to illumine the world which is the Divine Gold of the
Spirit.
The Eastern System of Kundalini Yoga affords us a basic clue into the interior
operations of Mystical Alchemy. Kundalini Yoga aims at the awakening of various
centers of psychic force in the Ethereal Body. These are called Chakras or
Cakkrams. Although there is literally a Chakra for every nerve in the body, there are
seven in particular which are of vital importance in the Science of Kundalini Yoga.
These Chakras are symbolized by seven Wheels ascending the spinal column
which the Yogi endeavors to initiate into whirling motion, to awaken their subtle
energies and vitalize his consciousness with their occult currents of power. This is
accomplished by way of awakening the Primary Nerve Current known as the
Kundalini or Serpent Power. The Serpent (Kundalini) is a phallic symbol,
representing the creative force of reproduction or Sexual Energy. The Kundalini is
Sexual Energy -- the Libido -- also called Shakti (Power) in the Sanskrit tongue. It is
by this Sexual Power that the Chakras are literally transformed into veritable centers
of cosmic radiation, illuminating the soul, mind and body of the Yogi with the
Celestial Light of the Sun.
The seven Chakras, which are also called Padmas or Lotuses, are the occult
centers of psychic energy in the human body. They are not really a part of the
human body, but rather correspond to certain parts of it, thus we call them occult
(secret). The Chakras are secret centers which generate Prana and are a part of
what is termed the Subtile or Ethereal Body. As Lotuses they exist upside down
until the awakened Kundalini strikes upon them and makes them right side up. In
this they are slain and transformed, purified and consecrated. It is an essential
object of the training of the Magician in the New Order of the Golden Dawn to
awaken the Kundalini, and thereby accomplish this inner work with the Chakras.
Any proper system of initiation must necessarily awaken the conscious experience
of these centers at some level, as they represent the true initiation of the soul.
There are seven steps to this internal initiatory operation of Yoga. These seven steps
correspond with certain alchemical, astrological and magical principles. The number
seven is of great importance in Hermeticism. Note that there are seven letters in the
words Sulphur, Mercury and Vitriol, which are names for the three alchemical
Principles. There are also seven alchemical Metals which are linked with the seven
traditional Planets of Astrology. And to correspond with these and other important
concepts of the Septenary, there are seven Steps of Initiation in the New Order of
the Golden Dawn. The symbol of the New Order of the Golden Dawn is, in fact, a
Gold Cross (4) surmounted by a White Triangle (3), giving us the number seven.
This symbol represents the Great Work of Alchemy. Such is also the alchemical
symbol for Sulphur which denotes the SECRET FIRE of Alchemy. This
SECRET FIRE, which is the First Matter of the Great Work, is the Kundalini or
Serpent Power of Yoga.
Moreover, the Cross represents the four Grades of Zelator, Adeptus Minor, Adeptus
Major and Adeptus Exemptus; and the White Triangle represents the three grades
above the Abyss called Magister Templi, Magus, and Ipsissimus. In alchemical
terminology the Cross represents the four so-called Aristotelian Elements called
Fire, Water, Air and Earth; and the Triangle represents the three Principles of
Trimaterialism called Sulphur, Salt and Mercury. The Cross further represents the
four elemental Chakras of Yoga called Muladhara, Svadhistthana, Manipura, and
Anahata; and the Triangle represents the three higher Chakras called Vishudhi,
Ajna and Sahasrara.
Muladhara is the Root Chakra, Svadhistthana is the Navel Chakra, Manipura is the
Solar Plexus Chakra, Anahata is the Heart Chakra, Visuddhi is the Throat Chakra,
Ajna is the Pineal Chakra, and Sahasrara is the Crown Chakra. In Alchemy these
Chakras are linked with the seven Metals called Lead, Iron, Tin, Quicksilver,
Copper, Silver and Gold. These Chakras are also linked with the seven traditional
Planets of Astrology called Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Luna, and Sol.
The seven Metals and seven Planets correspond with the seven Chakras as
follows: Lead and Saturn correlate with the Muladhara Chakra; Iron and Mars
correlate with the Svadhistthana Chakra; Tin and Jupiter correlate with the Manipura
Chakra; Quicksilver and Mercury correlate with the Anahata Chakra (or alternatively
the Sahasrara Chakra); Copper and Venus correlate with the Vishudhi Chakra;
Silver and Luna correlate with the Ajna Chakra; and, lastly, Gold and Sol correlate
with the Sahasrara Chakra (or alternatively the Anahata Chakra).
Of the seven Chakras, only six are visible to the inner eye of the Yogi. Sahasrara,
the so-called seventh Chakra, is an invisible and ineffable centre which cannot be
classified as a Chakra per se. Yet it is with this Invisible Chakra that the Yogi or
Magician seeks to integrate himself. For this so-called Chakra represents the True
Self of the Yogi or Magician which, in Alchemy, is symbolized by the Stone of the
Philosophers.
Now there are innumerable centers of Prana in the Subtile Body called Nadis which
are commonly defined as Nerves. Prana is the vital, creative energy in Nature which
animates and maintains all life and it is the subtle link between the visible and the
invisible. Nadis are subtle nerve channels of Prana. The word Nadi is derived from
the Sanskrit root "nad", which signifies motion. The various petals of the Chakras
are Nadis. Prana moves or circulates in the Nadis, governed by the currents of the
Sun and Moon. Purification of the Nadis is one of the most fundamental exercises
of Yoga proper.
There are three principal Nadis of Yoga. These are called Ida, Pingala, and
Sushumna. Of these three the latter is the most important. Sushumna starts in the
lowest Chakra Muladhara (5 cm. above the anus and 5 cm. behind the penis).
Within the Sushumna is another Nadi called the Vajrini which contains yet another
Nadi called the Citrini. The inmost part or centre of the Citrini is called the Brahma
Nadi. However, it is not really a Nadi, but a vivara, that is, a hollow passage. The
opening of the Citrini initiates the process or makes open the gate through which
the Kundalini can enter the Kula Marga or Royal Road to the Crown Chakra. Such
is called Brahma-Dvara.
The Kundalini is asleep, closing with Her mouth the entrance to the Sushumna,
until She is awakened in the Muladhara Chakra. When the Kundalini (Shakti) is
awakened, by way of proper initiation, She enters the Royal Way in the Sushumna
and rises through it to unite in orgasmic ecstasy with Her lover Shiva who is
concealed in the Brahmarandhra (Sahasrara Chakra). In Her ascension to the
Brahmarandhra She pierces with puissant passion the various petals of the
Chakras which, in effect, blossom into beautiful and fragrant Lotuses of Light. And
when Shakti embraces Shiva in the Sahasrara, then are all the Chakras made one
in the blissful, eternal blossoming of the Supernal Lotus of infinite petals.
Ida and Pingala, like Sushumna, start in the Muladhara Chakra and rise to the Ajna
Chakra, but, unlike the Sushumna, they rise with an inverse, serpentine movement.
Ida is to the left of the Sushumna and its nature is lunar and feminine. Pingala is to
the right of the Sushumna and its nature is solar and masculine. When Ida and
Pingala meet at the Ajna Chakra they enter the Sushumna, making a triple knot,
and again they are separated and, ergo, annihilated. That is, they are discharged of
their Prana which then rises through the Sushumna to penetrate and kindle the
Sahasrara Chakra, allowing for the ecstatic, orgasmic embrace of Shakti and Shiva
which, as you might gather, constitutes the greatest victory in Kundalini Yoga.
In the Science of Alchemy, the seven Chakras are linked with the seven Planetary
Metals; Sushumna, Ida and Pingala are linked with the three alchemical Principles
called Mercury, Sulphur and Salt; and Kundalini is linked with AZOTH, the
SECRET FIRE of Alchemy which is the Prime Agent of the Caloric Operation of
the Sun. This SECRET FIRE, or the AZOTH of the Sages, is the Serpent Power
which transmutes the base metals into the Perfect Gold of the Sun. AZOTH is also
a name for the Stone of the Wise, and this gives us a clue into the nature of the
SECRET FIRE itself. It is written in the Sixth Key of Exodus: "Our Stone is an
Astral Fire which sympathizes with the Natural Fire, and which, as a true
Salamander receives its nativity, is nourished and grows in the Elementary
Fire, which is geometrically proportioned to it."
AZOTH was the name of the Grand Secret postulated by Eliphas Levi, which he
also called the Great Magical Agent, concerning which he wrote: "This Agent,
disguised by the ancient philosophers under the name of the First Matter,
determines the forms of modifiable substance, and we can really arrive by
means of it at metallic transmutation and the Universal Medicine. This is
not a hypothesis; it is a scientific fact already established and rigorously
demonstrable."
Basil Valentine, a fifteenth century German monk of the Order of Saint Benedict,
employed the word AZOTH for the SECRET FIRE, which is not the common fire of
Nature, but the Inner Fire of Spirit which cannot be seen with the eyes. In
paradoxical language, it is a Watery Fire or a Fiery Water. It is the Universal Sperm
of Creation, the Semen of Shiva, the Seed in the Metals, the Prime Agent (Primus
Agens), also called Virgin's Milk and the Water of the Wise. It is the Alkahest of
Paracelsus who was the famous German Swiss-born Alchemist, Rosicrucian and
Physician of the 16th century. It is the Fire Water, Hell Water, of Johann Baptista
van Helmont, which purifies and dissolves the metals, and which he described as a
salt. Eliphas Levi defined it as the Fluidic and Living Gold of Alchemy. Such is also
called Philosophical Mercury, concerning which Roger Bacon, a famous Alchemist
of the 13th century, said: "I could transmute the seas, were there enough
Mercury."
This SECRET FIRE is both male and female, solar and lunar, fiery and watery in
nature. Ergo, it is also called the SECRET WATER and is symbolized by the Great
Sea. It has been said: "Chemists use fire for burning; we use water." This
Secret Element has a double nature; it is a dry heat combined with a warm moisture.
The first real task of the Alchemist is to discover this Fire-Water Element. Thus it is
called the First Matter of our work. However, it is not only the First, but also the Last
Matter of our work. Thus did Eliphas Levi call it "the efficient and final principle
of the Great Work." Note, in this connection, that the word AZOTH is composed
of the first and final letters of the Qabalistic Alphabet, that is, Aleph and Tav. For it
represents the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End of Our Royal Art.
To transmute the base metals into the Perfect Gold of Nature or, in other words, to
open and transform the Chakras, the Alchemist must discover for himself the
SECRET FIRE of Alchemy, the AZOTH of the Sages, the Serpent Power or
Kundalini of Yoga, which is the Great Arcanum itself. No one can reveal to another
the mystery of this SECRET FIRE; it can only to be discovered for and by oneself.
It is with this SECRET FIRE alone that the Alchemist purifies the seven Metals and
extracts from them the three Principles of Alchemy called Sulphur, Salt and
Mercury.
The SECRET FIRE of Alchemy is sometimes called Mercury, but also Sulphur or
Salt. This, however, is a blind, but it is also a clue into the nature of AZOTH. It
serves to indicate its primary nature, which is threefold. AZOTH contains within
itself the three Principles of Sulphur, Salt and Mercury, which are not actual
chemical substances, but rather are they the three modes of the operation of The
One Thing. Depending on the context of its nature and application, this SECRET
FIRE can be given the name of any one of the three Principles.
Now according to the Alchemist Raymond Lully (1229-1315): "In order to make
gold we must first have gold and mercury." To this he added: "By Mercury, I
understand that mineral spirit which is so refined and purified that it gilds
the seed of gold and silvers the seed of silver." Eliphas Levi, commenting on
this, said: "Doubtless he is here speaking of OD, or Astral Light. Salt and
Sulphur are serviceable in the work only for the preparation of Mercury; it
is with Mercury above all that the Magnetic Agent must be assimilated and
as if incorporated." Levi's OD, or Astral Light is, of course, the SECRET FIRE,
which is the Prime Agent of Our Majestic Work which, when combined with gold,
produces more gold. In this regard, let us diligently take into account the illuminating
words of Philalethes: "In addition to gold, which is the body and the male
element in our Work, another sperm is needed, which is the spirit, the soul,
or the female. This element is fluid Mercury; it looks like ordinary
quicksilver but is purer and more tenuous."
The Mercury referred to above as the SECRET FIRE is not the Mercury which
goes to make up one of the members of the alchemical Trinity of Principles. Rather
is it the Philosophical Mercury, whereas the Mercury of Trimaterialism is called
Philosophers' Mercury or Quicksilver. The only similarity between these two
Mercuries is that neither of them has any link with the chemical Mercury. Other from
this they are separate substances, though quite often, as we have witnessed above,
the word Mercury is used in a general manner, even for Philosophical Mercury.
Philosophical Mercury is the Salt or Sulphurated Mercury which is extracted from
the First Matter by the successful application of the SECRET FIRE. Eliphas Levi
wrote: "To know how to extract from all matter the pure Salt which is
concealed in it is to possess the secret of the Stone." In this may you
consider that the Salt to be extracted from the First Matter is dual in nature; it is a
synthesis of Mercury and Sulphur. The Greek letter Upsilon represents this dual
nature of Salt. It is divided into two branches which spring from one root. The two
branches are symbols for Sulphur and Mercury, whereas the root symbolizes Salt.
In color symbolism, one branch is red and the other is white, and the root is black.
Salt is the foundation or root of this work; and it is the means whereby Sulphur is
united with Philosophers' Mercury. Levi informs us: "All that is material contains
Salt, and all Salt can be converted into pure gold by the combined action
of Sulphur and Mercury."
Zosimos of Panopolis, a famous Alchemist who lived in the 4th century, said: "Our
Gold which possesses the desired quality can make gold and tint into
gold. Here is the great mystery -- that the quality becomes gold and it then
makes gold." And what is this Gold which we must have to make more gold? In
the "Rosarium Philosophorum" (1550), written by an anonymous author, it is said:
"Aurum nostrum non est aurum vulgi" (Our gold is not the common gold). And
Roger Bacon informs us: "Gold is the perfect substance, composed of
mercury, that is pure, homogeneous, brilliant, red; and of equally pure,
stable, red sulphur that is incombustible. Gold is perfection."
It was the famous Geber (Jabir ibn Hayyan), an Islamic Alchemist and Sufi of the
8th century, who proposed that all minerals are composed of Sulphur and Mercury.
Then came Al-Razi, another Islamic Alchemist, who proposed a third elemental
ingredient. Eliphas Levi proposed that these three alchemical Elements, when
volatilized and fixed alternately, compose the AZOTH of the Sages. Paracelsus said
that everything in Nature is composed of these three Elements. In the Qabalah
these three Elements are OD, OB and AOUR, which are the three modes of the
operation of The One Thing -- the Active, Passive, and Equilibrated -- represented
on the Caduceus of Hermes by the twin Serpents and the central globe on the staff
around which the twin Serpents entwine.
As stated above, Salt is a synthesis of Sulphur and Mercury, which are also called
Gold and Silver, Sol and Luna, Fire and Water. The seven Metals are formed from
the combination of Sulphur and Mercury in the Salt of the Metals, and the
difference between the Metals is based on the proportion of these two Principles in
their composition. But Mercury is outwardly Mercury and inwardly Sulphur, and
Sulphur is outwardly Sulphur but inwardly Mercury. Each one of the three
Principles are dual in nature, and are therefore similar in their essential composition.
Thus to possess knowledge of the nature and application of one of these Principles
is to possess the knowledge of all three Principles. We are therefore instructed to
discover and extract the Salt from the Metals and through this are we able to extract
the Sulphur and Mercury from the same. This Salt is like unto a secret seed or
sperm which contains the other two Principles. Such is the First Matter of Our
Majestic Work which makes for the sublime conversion of the Elements which, may
you note it well, constitutes the attainment of the Great Work. As Arnold of Villa
Nova, a 13th century Alchemist, declared: "Convert the Elements, and you
shall have what you desire."
In the Golden Treatise of Hermes Trismegistus it is written: "In the caverns of the
metals there is hidden the Stone that is venerable, splendid in colour, a
mind sublime, and an open sea." The caverns of the metals can be linked with
the Chakras of Yoga. To extract the stone from the caverns of the metals is, in
Kundalini Yoga, the extraction of the Prana from the Chakras that is accomplished
by the Kundalini which is our SECRET FIRE. This stone, or Heavenly Salt, is
represented by a Cube made of six squares. Such is the Folded Cross of six
squares which is the Rosicrucian Cross with the Rose in its centre. The Rose is
hidden in the centre of the Cube or Folded Cross; it represents the Great Secret
itself. By the unfolding of the Cube is this Great Secret revealed. Recall, in this
regard, that the stone contains and is the product of Sulphur and Mercury. The
Rose that is in the centre of the Cube is the Secret of the Union of Sulphur and
Mercury. To unfold the Cube, which is to extract it from the metals, and to acquire
the Rose on the Cross, is to also extract the Sulphur and Mercury from the metals.
In terms of Kundalini Yoga, the unfolding of the Cube is the opening of a Chakra by
the Kundalini which extracts from it the Prana which contains in itself the currents of
the Sun and Moon.
From the point of view of Jungian Psychology, Sulphur and Mercury are the
Animus and Anima. Animus is Sulphur or the Fiery Masculine Principle of the Sun,
and Anima is Mercury or the Watery Feminine Principle of the Moon. Just as
Sulphur is outwardly Sulphur but inwardly Mercury, and just as Mercury is
outwardly Mercury but inwardly Sulphur, so is the Animus the Soul of a Woman
and the Anima the Soul of a Man. And just as the Anima is unconscious in man
and the Animus unconscious in woman, so is Mercury concealed in Sulphur and
Sulphur concealed in Mercury. Sulphur and Mercury are, in Oriental Philosophy,
the celebrated Yin and Yang. In the symbol of Yin and Yang it will be observed that
Yang contains Yin and Yin contains Yang. The Child of the interplay of Yin and
Yang, and also the source of their balanced activity, is the Mystical Tao. This Tao,
which is the Salt in metals, is also the Stone of the Philosophers that is obtained by
extracting the Salt from the metals, and from this Salt do we extract the Sulphur and
Mercury to reunite them in the Hermetic Vessel. In psychological terms, such is the
attainment of the balance between the two extremes of consciousness, or the two
aspects of the Psyche, which, in other terms, is the cultivation of harmony between
the two cerebral hemispheres of the brain which are the Sulphur and Mercury of our
neurological system.
Let us now take into account the history of the development of the theory of the
so-called Aristotelian Elements which play such an important role in the Philosophy
of Alchemy. This theory commenced with a Greek Philosopher named Thales
(640-546 B.C.), who proposed that all things were composed of one element, which
he claimed to be Water. Anaximines (560-500 B.C.), a contemporary of Thales,
agreed with his theory, but proposed that the element was Air. Heraclitus (536-470
B.C.) proposed that the element was Fire. Empedocles (490-430 B.C.) proposed
that there was more than one element, and that Water, Air and Fire, to which he
added another element called Earth, were the primary elements of the Universe.
Plato (428-348 B.C.) proposed another element which he said was the true Primary
Element of which the other four elements were made. This fifth element Aristotle
called Hule.
Plato proposed that Hule was the prime matter of the Universe with four
fundamental properties of hot, cold, moist, and dry, and that it was the combination
of these properties in pairs which produced the four elements. Fire is hot and dry,
Water is cold and moist, Air is hot and moist, and Earth is dry and cold. Aristotle
later proposed another fifth element, the Quintessence or Ether, which he claimed
to be like fire. The theory that all things were composed of these primary elements
remained strong till the 17th Century, when Robert Boyle published "The Skeptical
Chymist" in 1661, in which he made a critical examination of the Aristotelian theory
of the elements.
From the point of view of modern day science, this theory of the ancients is a closed
book. But from the point of view of Hermeticism, this theory is still a useful tool to be
applied in the operations of the Great Work, particularly in that branch of
Hermeticism called Mystical Alchemy. This, as we shall see, is a most practical point
of view, for the application of this ancient theory takes on a new meaning in the
works of Mystical Alchemy, since in this branch of Hermeticism the so-called
Aristotelian Elements are interpreted in a different light than that of ancient science,
though the theory of these elements is still proposed in a similar manner as it was
done by the ancients.
Putting aside all modern day criticism of this theory, let us each judge for ourselves
whether or not this ancient theory still holds any value for us today when applied to
the Great Work. The elements of this theory, as they are proposed in Hermeticism,
are not the elements which the ancients thought to compose the Universe, but
rather do they denote empirical principles which play a vital part in the constitution of
our existential lives. Let us therefore interpret this theory in the illuminating light of
metaphor, and not in the literal sense when we approach it in this lesson where it is
applied to the practical applications of Mystical Alchemy.
Now from the point of view of Sexual Alchemy the Great Work is to manufacture the
Philosopher's Stone by the skillful application of the sexual act between a man and
a woman. In this material form of Alchemy the simple adage holds true: "It takes two
to tango!" This constitutes the fundamentals of Sexual Alchemy, which we call Our
Master Work and the Labour of Hercules, but most especially the Mass of the Holy
Ghost. The whole secret of this Magnum Opus is symbolized by the Union of the
Rosicrucian Rose and Cross. This symbol is the same as the symbol for Venus,
which is a modification of the Egyptian Ankh, which is itself a combined symbol of
the Cross and Circle. The Cross symbolizes the Masculine Principle and the Circle
or Rose symbolizes the Feminine Principle.
The formula of this Great Work is further represented by the geometrical symbol of
the Hexagram. This ancient symbol of Eastern origin is composed of two interlaced
triangles indicating the Union of Fire and Water. It also indicates the union of the
Phallos and Kteis. The upright triangle is the Phallos, whereas the inverted triangle
is the Kteis. And these two triangles united into a single figure symbolize the Child
of the Phallos and Kteis, which we call Our Lapis Philosophorum, the Stone of the
Philosophers. The Hexagram is a geometrical symbol of the Stone of the
Philosophers, also called Lapis Mercurius, the Stone of Mercury. Ergo, it is a
symbol of what we call "the Mystery of Mysteries" and "the Secret of Secrets",
which is also symbolized by the Hermetic Androgyne or Hermaphrodite who is the
Mercury of the Sages. Fire and Water united produce the element of Air which is
symbolic of the Mercury of the Sages, or of the Mercury that is produced by the
Secret Union of Sulphur and Salt.
Such is the magical formula of the Rose and Cross, which is the central mystery of
the True Rosicrucians; and by the proper use of this magical formula we may
accomplish the Great Work and transmute the base metals into the Perfect Gold of
the Sun. In the symbolism of the Rosy Cross, the Rose is synonymous with the
Moon and the Cross is synonymous with the Sun. The Adept of Sexual Alchemy is
one who accomplishes the Great Work of uniting the Rose and Cross or Sun and
Moon to produce the Stone of the Philosophers, the Elixir of Life, and the Medicine
of Metals.
Another important symbol of Sexual Alchemy is the Triangle surmounted by a
Cross. Eliphas Levi wrote: "Now the Triangle surmounted by a cross signifies
in Alchemy the end and perfection of the Great Work." And in the Neophyte
Ceremony of the New Order of the Golden Dawn, it is proclaimed to the Candidate:
"The Cross surmounting a Triangle has many special meanings. But principally it
represents the Stone of the Wise, the Medicine of Metals, and the Elixir of Life,
which is the object of the Great Work, the Knowledge of which is concentrated in
the Secret Sanctuary of our Holy Order. This Stone of the Wise is the Secret of
Secrets, the Grand Arcanum of the Sacred Mysteries. By its power, all manner of
miracles can be accomplished. By its power, the Adepti of Magick can attain eternal
youth, perfect joy, and true wealth. But most especially can it assist you in the
attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of your Holy Guardian Angel and in
the accomplishment of your True Will."
In a duly constituted Temple of Initiation in the Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn,
the Sun (Hadit), the Moon (Nuit), and the Child of Their Mystick Union
(Ra-Hoor-Khuit), are represented by three Officers in the Temple who are called the
Royal Prince, the Royal Princess, and the Very Honoured Hierophant. The Prince
is the Sun, the Princess is the Moon, and the Hierophant is the Child of Their Holy
Union. In all the Initiation Ceremonies of the New Order of the Golden Dawn, the
Great Work is impressed on the mind of the Candidate by way of these three
principal Officers, who also represent the three Principles of Sulphur, Salt and
Mercury.
In the Neophyte Ceremony of the Thelemic Order of the Golden Dawn, it is
proclaimed by the Royal Prince: "I am the Royal Prince of the Sun who stands
beside this Neophyte to signify his/her Male Self, the Force of Light in action in
his/her soul; and I am the Secret Flame within the heart of this Neophyte, ever
burning bright to nourish him/her with Life and Beauty and the Eternal Wisdom." It
is then proclaimed by the Royal Princess in the same ceremony: "I am the Royal
Princess of the Moon who stands beside this Neophyte to signify his/her Female
Self, the Force of Darkness in the soul of Nature; and I am the Secret Aspiration of
the soul of this Neophyte, ever seeking to nourish him/her with Love and Bliss and
the Eternal Understanding."
The Very Honoured Hierophant then proclaims in the same ceremony: "In thee
ever, O Neophyte, are the Royal Forces of the Sun and Moon, and in thee ever do
they seek union, so that without that union there is no true equilibrium in the soul.
Thou shalt do well to know and unite these two Forces within thyself, so that thou
mayest be without suffering and attain true harmony within."
Moreover: "Let the Sun and the Moon unite, and let them bear an Hermaphrodite!
Let a Child be born from this holy union. And lo! it shall be the Stone of the Wise,
and the Medicine of Metals. And so shalt thou perform the Great Work of the
Sages. And so shalt thou accomplish the Supreme Goal of the Adepti of Light."
CHAPTER I I
ALCHEMY IN PRACTICE
Let us begin this practical part of our lesson with the subject of Mystical Alchemy.
As previously explained, the Philosopher's Stone in this branch of Alchemy is not a
powder or any sort of material object; it is rather a spiritual object, being a symbol of
the True Self. To acquire this stone in Mystical Alchemy is to attain the ideal identity
of our inmost nature. In the Philosophy of Magick, such is called "the attainment of
the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel." It is by this
attainment alone that the Mystical Alchemist is able to transmute all base metals into
the Perfect Gold of the Sun, conforming all things to his/her True Will. But there are
various forms of alchemystical practice to attain the Stone of the Philosophers and
to effect this Supreme Transmutation.
Mystical Alchemy can be practiced through the Eastern techniques of Kundalini
Yoga. However, there is a form of Occidental Kundalini Yoga. Such is one of the
central mysteries of the royal system of initiation in the New Order of the Golden
Dawn. This system, as previously explained, is sevenfold, having seven principal
grades or steps of initiation. Each one of these initiatory steps directly corresponds
to the awakening of one of the seven Chakras. The actual alchemical process
begins with the First Grade of the Zelator.
In the Thelemic Ceremony of the Zelator, the Hierophant proclaims the following to
the initiate: "The word Zelator is from the ancient Egyptian Zaruator, signifying
`Searcher for Hathoor.' Hathoor is otherwise called Het-Heru, that is, the House of
Horus. This House of Horus is Nature Herself, the Temple of the Elements, of
which you are a zealous student." Moreover, the Hierophant proclaims: "Zelator is
further the title of the assistant of an Alkhemist who must keep the Fire burning in
the Athanor or Alkhemical Furnace. The Alkhemist of the Operation is the Inner
Self, the Athanor is the human body, and the Fire is the Sacred Flame of the True
Will. As a Zelator you must keep this Fire burning in your body and brain, by
constant dedication of yourself to the Great Work of doing your True Will, that you
may fulfill the Law of Thelema."
Unknown to many, the twenty-two Atu of Thoth or Major Arcana of Tarot
symbolically describe a form of Occidental Kundalini Yoga or an alchemical
operation of Self-Transformation. They represent particular stages in the Great
Work, or stages in what is called the "process of individuation" in the field of
Psychology. The Tarot is, to all intents and purposes, a symbolic book of
Self-Initiation, a method and means of realizing by oneself the wisdom of one's True
Self without the guidance of a visible teacher, but by way of an invisible teacher who
is, in fact, the One Teacher of which every visible teacher is only a symbol. In Tarot
this One Teacher is Thoth, who is the Mercury of the Sages.
In the Masonic book "Morals and Dogma", by Albert Pike, we find the following
comment on page 777: "He who desires to attain to the understanding of the
Grand Word and the possession of the Great Secret, ought carefully to
read the Hermetic philosophers, and he will undoubtedly attain initiation,
as others have done; but he must take, for the key of their allegories, the
single dogma of Hermes, contained in his Table of Emerald, and follow, to
class his acquisitions of knowledge and direct the operation, the order
indicated in the Kabalistic alphabet of the Tarot." This comment contains one
of the most important clues to the practical understanding of the Royal Art and
Science of Alchemy. In my own opinion, for whatever worth it may hold for you,
without Tarot the Art of Alchemy is a meaningless operation, and this extends to all
other fields of the Hermetic Science. Thus did Eliphas Levi declare: "All secrets of
the Qabalah and Magic, all mysteries of the elder world, all sciences of the
patriarchs, all historical traditions of primeval times, are enclosed in the
Hieroglyphical Book of Thoth."
It has been said that the word Taro is derived from the Egyptian terms Tar (Road)
and Ro (Royal). Thus the Tarot is the Royal Road of Initiation. To travel this regal
road we work with the twenty-two Atu of Thoth in accordance with the Qabalistic
scheme of the Tree of Life, commencing our alchemical journey with the Serpent's
Tail at the place of Atu XXI at the Path of Tav on the bottom of the Tree of Life, and
we end at the Serpent's Head at the place of Atu 0 at the Path of Aleph at the top of
the Tree of Life. The Serpent embraces within its coils the twenty-two Paths and it
ascends from Tav to Aleph. Such is the Path of Initiation by which the Mystical
Alchemist can attain the Stone of the Philosophers to effect the Supreme
Transmutation. The Serpent in this operation is, of course, the SECRET FIRE of
Alchemy or the Kundalini of Yoga without which nothing can be accomplished.
There is, however, another method of traveling the Royal Road, but concerning this
I must maintain a certain degree of silence, lest I reveal what must be discovered for
and by oneself. Yet the nature of this secret operation is so obvious that it is like a
light that is so bright that it makes one blind. In this tarotic alchemystic operation the
Qabalistic scheme of the Tree of Life is not employed in the same manner as it is in
the operation that is explained in the above paragraph. It is rather an operation that is
independent of the system of initiation that is outlined on the Tree of Life, yet it does
in fact partake of the mysteries of this system after another manner. But this
operation is only for the few, and thus it is concealed beneath the veil of the obvious.
It is only revealed to them who are duly prepared to execute its formula. To others it
will seem a meaningless path.
Astrology, the Science of the Stars, also has a story to tell us. In this science there
are seven traditional Planets and twelve Signs of the Zodiac. As previously
explained, the seven traditional Planets are linked with the seven Chakras of Yoga
and seven alchemical Metals, and they also represent seven stages in the Great
Work. Most sevenfold systems of initiation are based on the astrological model of
the seven traditional Planets. The alchemical Metals themselves grow in the bowels
of the earth under the magical influence of the Planets. In the Mithraic Mysteries the
initiate climbed seven metallic steps representing his ascent into the seven
Planetary Spheres, and Zosimos defined Alchemy as the Mithraic Mystery.
The Signs of the Zodiac also represent distinct stages in the Great Work, but there
are twelve of these stages instead of seven. These twelve stages are defined by the
nature of the Zodiacal Signs themselves which have planetary and elemental
attributions. The Circle of the Zodiac, called the Path of the Sun, is the Circle of
Initiation, containing twelve distinct Signs or stages. Like the images of the Atu of
Thoth, the Signs of the Zodiac are images of archetypes in the Collective
Unconscious which can be systematically evoked and consciously experienced for
the attainment of the Philosopher's Stone.
In each of these methods the principal theme is the realization of a single object: the
True Self. Such is the Indivisible Self of the Universe, the One without a second.
The great secret of Alchemy can be summed up in a few simple words: "All is
One." This is the meaning of the Greek motto "en to pan" which, note it well, is
composed of three words with seven letters, which relate to the Three Principles
and Four Elements of Alchemy, to the seven alchemical Metals or Interior Stars, and
to the seven Steps of the Great Work which are the seven Grades of Initiation. One
of the symbols of the Great Work is Ouroboros, a Serpent forming a Circle by
swallowing its own Tail and which bears this Greek motto upon it. The Circle that is
formed by this Serpent gives us a clue into the nature and operation of the Great
Work itself.
Now this Oneness or Unity of All is concealed in a secret substance called First
Matter (Prima Materia), which is not matter in the common sense, as it is perceived
by our human senses; it is the potential rather than the actual; it is matter in its
metaphysical sense. According to Thomas Vaughan: "If thou dost know the
First Matter, know also for certain that thou hast discovered the Sanctuary
of Nature." In the Yoga System of Patanjali, the First Matter is called Prakriti, the
primal source of the three Gunas or Qualities of Nature. Prakriti is the Soul of the
World (Anima Mundi), also called the Great Mother. In the Qabalah, She is
Neschamah, the higher Soul of Nature whose formless form remains pure and
unchanged behind all change and diversity in form. She is the eternal essence in all
things, the secret substance of all visible and invisible objects in Nature.
"The squaring of the circle" is one of the most important interpretations and
definitions of the Great Work of Alchemy. The Circle represents Unity, the First
Matter of our work, and the Square represents the Four Elements of Nature which
emanate from and return to the Circle. In Alchemy it is asserted that the metals are
composed of the Four Elements, which the ancient philosophers called Fire, Water,
Air, and Earth. The actual differences between the metals are the result of the
particular proportions in which the elements are combined in the metals. Gold itself
is the natural result of a particular combination of the elements. The other metals of
Alchemy are also combinations of the elements. By extracting and purifying the
elements in the base metals, thereby reducing the metals to their pure state of Prima
Materia, and then by skillfully converting the actual proportions in the combinations
of the elements which constitute the life of the metals, the metals can be
transformed into gold.
By purifying an object of the Four Elements we are left with a fifth element which we
call the Quintessence and the First Matter of our work. In WoMan this fifth element
is called his/her Spirit. Now in Mystical Alchemy the elements represent the human
senses. Fire is the sense of sight, Water is the sense of taste, Air is the sense of
smell, Earth is the sense of touch, and Spirit is the sense of sound. The fifth
element of Spirit, unlike the others, has a direct link with our True Self, which is the
Crown of our alchemystical work. To attain this fifth element we must first purify or
deprogram ourselves. Then must we recreate or reprogram ourselves in accordance
with our True Will. When the True Self is attained through its so-called purification,
or, in other words, when we rise above the elemental senses, it is then that we are
able to properly recreate ourselves, to reprogram our systems, or to recombine the
elements to fit in with our new perspective. But first we must purify our systems;
only then are we truly fit and freely able to properly consecrate ourselves to the Great
Work, to reprogram ourselves in accordance with our True Will, and to effect the
Supreme Transmutation.
To deprogram ourselves is not really an act of elimination but of purification. In this
case the elemental senses are to be purified. The senses, as commonly applied in
the world, are material in nature, causing an identification of consciousness with the
material plane at the expense of the spiritual. But we cannot realize our True Self if
our senses are bound to the material world; they must become the vehicles of our
True Self. The senses must be purified and then magically dedicated to the Great
Work if we are to attain the same; and this dedication must not be partial, but whole.
For the senses are the instruments which we must use in the operation of the Great
Work; they are the essential, creative vehicles of our True Self which need to be
completely lustrated and then magically consecrated to the True Self for the proper
execution and essential fulfillment of its True Will which is the attainment of the
Great Work itself.
What is needed first is for you to realize your True Self beyond your elemental
senses by eliminating your identification with them and their innumerable desires,
and in this profound realization is the very act of purification. If a WoMan can
witness something, it means that he/she is beyond that thing, for awareness is
transcendence. We are always witnessing our senses in the form of desires, usually
becoming identified with them. We take into account no measure of the True Self
which is beyond the senses and desires, but instead we become slaves to our
senses. But if we go within and acknowledge our True Self beyond our senses, and
become a witness rather than an animal, then do we transcend our senses and gain
the power to master them. The True Self is the ultimate source of the elements,
therefore we must be the True Self to master them. But this does not mean that we
have to give up our senses with all their delicious desires. It is all a matter of what we
are identified with, our True Self or our desires. We are not our desires, but they are
a part of our personality which is the divine expression of our soul.
The laboratory wherein to perform and accomplish this alchemystical work is
naturally the Body of WoMan. And since a WoMan's body is his/her own and not
another's, it is a simple fact of Nature that only that WoMan can work upon
him/herself to accomplish the Great Work. No person can do the work for us; we
must all do it by our own individual efforts. Mystical Alchemy is a personal science, a
sublime and effective system of Self-Initiation. Only you, as a single individual, can
calculate and follow your way up the Great Mountain of Hermetic Attainment. It is
entirely a matter
