Michael Wynn's Occult Reference Library
PHILOSOPHER'S STONE,PHILOSOPHERS STONE

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18276066 GRIMM JACOB TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY VOL 1

nd the strong gen. in -es forbidding. but the whole idea may in the earliest times have taken far stronger root in south germany than in scandinavia, since the edda tells next to nothing of oski, while our poetry as late as the] 5th century has so much to say of wunsch. that it was not foreign to the north either, is plainly proved by the oshmcyjar= wunschdfrauen, wish-women; by the oskasteinn, a philosopher's stone connected with our wunschelrute, wishing-rod, and mercury's staff; by oskabyrr, mhg. wunschivint, fair wind; by oshabiorn, wish-bear, a sea-monster; all of which will be discussed more fully by and by. a fem. proper name osk occurs in a few places; what if the unaccountable oskopnir, saem. 188% were really to be explained as osk-opnir? opnir, ofnir, we know, are epithets of osi

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT AND MAGICK SPELLS

d or projected on other people whom we then unconsciously disliked because they mirrored our faults. in formal magick, the four elements are seen as providing natural energies for transforming wishes into reality. together they combine to form the fifth element- ether, or akasha- that represents pure spirit, or perfection. medieval alchemists attempted to create this elusive substance, called the philosopher's stone. it was said to turn base metal into gold and, as an elixir according to the eastern tradition, to cure all ills and offer immortality. these elements form the basis for raising power in formal magick and in less formal spells too and are represented by devas, the guardians of the watchtowers or the four main archangels. earth earth represents midnight, winter and the quarter a

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

tical persecution, and the profanation of the secrets of power, were equally dreaded. worse still, from our point of view, this motive induced writers to insert intentionally misleading statements, the more deeply to bedevil unworthy pretenders to their mysteries. we do not propose to discuss any of the actual processes. most readers will be already aware that the main objects of alchemy were the philosopher's stone, the medicine of metals, and various tinctures and elixirs possessing divers virtues; in particular, those of healing disease, extending the span of life, increasing human abilities, perfecting the nature of man in every respect, conferring magical powers, and transmuting material substances, especially metals, into more valuable forms. the subject is further complicated by the

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 2 2

ch wetteth not the hands" true, much "twaddle" was written concerning balsams, and elixirs, and bloods, which, however, to the merest tyro in alchemy can be sorted from the earnest works as easily as a "bart's" student can sort hair-restoring pamphlets and blackhead eradicators from lectures and essays by lister and m ller. thus frenziedly, at the age of twenty-two, p. set out on the quest of the philosopher's stone. visita interiora terrae rectificando invenies occultam lapidem veram medicinam; this is indeed the true medicine of souls; and so p. sought the universal solvent vitriolum, and equated the seven letters in vitriol, sulphur, 235 and mercury with the alchemical powers of the seven planets; precipitating the salt from the four elements- subtilis, aqua, lux, terra; and mingling fl

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 3 3

he hermetic and alchemical writings of aureolus philippus theophrastus bombast of hohenheim, called paracelsus the great, now for the first time translated into english. edited, with elucidatory notes, a copious hermetic vocabulary and index, by a. e. waite. 2 vols, 4to, cloth, 1894 (published 2 12s. 6d) 27s. 6d. alchemical writings of edward kelly, the englishman's two excellent treatises on the philosopher's stone, together with the theatre of terrestrial astronomy. by edward kelly, translated from the hamburg edition of 1676, and edited, with a biographical preface, emblematic figures. crown 8vo, cloth, 1893 (published, 7s. 6d) 4s. 6d. ashmole (elias) theatrum chemicum britannicum. containing severall poeticall pieces of our famous english philosophers, who have written the hermetique m

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 3

ssembled in convocation. the work ranks next to gober as a fountain-head of alchemy in western europe. it reflects the earliest byzantine, syrian and arabian writers. this famous work is accorded the highest place among the works of alchemical philosophy which are available for the students in the english language. the new pearl of great price. the treatise of bonus concerning the treasure of the philosopher's stone. translated from the latin. edited by a. e. waite. crown 8vo, 4s. 6d. net. one of the classics of alchemy, with a very curious account, accompanied by emblematical figures showing the generation and birth of metals, the death of those that are base and their resurrection in the prefect forms of gold and silver. a golden and blessed casket of nature's marvels. by benedictus figu

he generation and birth of metals, the death of those that are base and their resurrection in the prefect forms of gold and silver. a golden and blessed casket of nature's marvels. by benedictus figulus. with a life of the author. edited by a. e. waite. crown 8vo, 4s. 6d. net. a collection of short treatises by various authors belonging to the school of paracelsus, dealing with the mystery of the philosopher's stone, the revelation of hermes, the great work of the tincture, the glorious antidote of potable gold. benedictus figulus connects by imputation with the early rosicrucians. the triumphal chariot of antimony. by basil valentine. translated from the latin, including the commentary of kerckringius, and biographical and critical introduction. edited by a. e. waite. crown 8vo, 4s. 6d. n

t. contents_ the secret of the immortal liquor called alkahest_ aurum potabile_ the admirable efficacy of the true oil of sulphur fire_ the stone of the philosophers_ the bosom book of sir george ripley_ the preparation of the sophic mercury. the hermetic museum, restored and enlarged: most faithfully instructing all disciples of the sopho-spagyric art how that greatest and truest medicine of the philosopher's stone may be found and held. now first done into english from the latin original published at frankfort in the year 1678. containing 22 celebrated alchemical tracts. translated from the latin and edited by a. e. waite. with numerous most interesting engravings. fcap. quarto, 2 vols. very scarce, 35s. azoth, or the star in the east. a new light of mysticism. by arthur edward waite. im

ALICE A BAILEY04 A TREATISE ON COSMIC FIRE

ence the individual cells. this work of transmuting cell activity was begun on this planet during the last root-race, and the divine alchemy proceeds. the progress made is as yet but small, but each transmuted conscious cell increases the speed and the accuracy of the work. time alone is needed for the completion of the work. in connection with this matter of transmutation comes the legend of the philosopher's stone, which is literally the application of the rod of initiation, in one sense. division a- manas or mind and its nature i. three manifestations of manas- 179- a treatise on cosmic fire copyright 1998 lucis trust ii. some definitions of manas: 1. manas is the fifth principle. 2. manas is electricity. 3. manas is that which produces cohesion. 4. manas is the key opening the door int

urally to the transmutation of metals into gold with the aim in view of the alleviation of poverty. the mind of the scientist seeks the universal solvent which will reduce matter to its primordial substance, release energy, and thus reveal the processes of evolution, and enable the seeker to build for himself (from the primordial base) the desired forms. the mind of the alchemist searches for the philosopher's stone, that effective transmuting agent which will bring about revelation, and the power to impose the will of the chemist upon the elemental forces, which work in, by, and through matter. the religious man, especially the christian, recognises the psychic quality of this transmutative power, and frequently speaks in the sacred books, of the soul being tried or tested seven times in

ALICE A BAILEY15 THE DESTINY OF THE NATIONS

ing silent and still in their pristine magnificence, which today call for the attention of- 64- the destiny of the nations copyright 1998 lucis trust archaeologists and travellers; the forms of lesser magic which they produced were dedicated to the magical protection of the physical form and allied matters. in later days, we have the appearance of alchemy in its many forms plus its search for the philosopher's stone and the teaching as to the three basic mineral elements. they were driven esoterically and from the subjective side of life to search for that which could unify the three lower physical levels and this is in its nature deeply symbolic of racial unfoldment. these levels symbolise the integrated man physical, astral and mental. when to these elements the philosopher's stone is ad

is is in its nature deeply symbolic of racial unfoldment. these levels symbolise the integrated man physical, astral and mental. when to these elements the philosopher's stone is added and has done its magical work, then you have the symbolic representation of the control by the soul of the four higher levels of the physical plane, the etheric or energy levels. of this desirable consummation, the philosopher's stone is the emblem. i said "emblem" and i did not say "symbol" a symbol is an outer and visible sign of an inner and spiritual reality, carried out into expression upon the physical plane by the force of the inner embodied life. an emblem is man's formulation of a concept, created by man and embodying for him the truth as he sees it and understands it. a symbol is ever greater in it

CASSANDRA EASON A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC

d or projected on other people whom we then unconsciously disliked because they mirrored our faults. in formal magick, the four elements are seen as providing natural energies for transforming wishes into reality. together they combine to form the fifth element- ether, or akasha- that represents pure spirit, or perfection. medieval alchemists attempted to create this elusive substance, called the philosopher's stone. it was said to turn base metal into gold and, as an elixir according to the eastern tradition, to cure all ills and offer immortality. these elements form the basis for raising power in formal magick and in less formal spells too and are represented by devas, the guardians of the watchtowers or the four main archangels. earth earth represents midnight, winter and the quarter a

FRANCIS A YATES GIORDANO BRUNO AND THE HERMETIC TRADITION

with the unsolved mystery of the origin of the rosicrucians who are first heard of in germany in the early seventeenth century, in lutheran circles.1 early in 1588, bruno left wittenberg for prague where he stayed for about six months.2 here the emperor rudolph ii held his court and gathered under his wing astrologers and alchemists from all over europe to assist in his melancholy search for the philosopher's stone. bruno was not a practising alchemical hermetist, but he tried to interest the emperor in his "mathesis, dedicating to him a book, which was published at prague, and which had the provocative title of articuli adversus mathematicos? it may be only a curious coincidence that fabrizio mordente happened to be in prague at this time, in the position of imperial astronomer!4 the boo

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM BY MAX HEINDEL 2

wn attachment to masonry, i have no doubt that you will perform all the duties which may be devolved upon you in a manner creditable to yourself and satisfactory to the grand lodge. maine masonic text book file//c /grand lodge/bluebook/bluebook1.htm (76 of 76 [11/22/1999 11:51:56 f freemasonry and catholicism by max heindel [1865-1919] click here to return to the previous html page. part vii the philosopher's stone--what it is and how it is made. those who have studied the writings of the ancient alchemists have always been much mystified by what is said concerning the philosopher's stone and the process of transmuting the base metals into gold. these claims have naturally given rise to a great deal of vague speculation. from time to time, students have asked for a direct statement from t

ed higher and higher and when it reaches the pituitary body and the pineal gland in the brain, it sets them to vibrating, opening up the spiritual worlds and enabling man to commune with the gods. then this fire radiates in all directions and permeates the whole body and its auric atmosphere, and man has become a living stone, whose luster surpasses that of the diamond or the ruby. he is then the philosopher's stone" there are many other symbols and similes taken from the world of chemistry and applied to the processes of spiritual growth which eventually makes men living stones in the temple of god. but enough has been said in the foregoing to show what was meant by the ancient alchemists by such terms and the reason why they clothed their teachings in symbolical language. the way of init

on is, however, and has always bee open to anyone who really an truly seeks for enlightenment and is willing to pay the price in the coin of self-denial and self-sacrifice. therefore, seek the temple door and you shall find it; knock and it shall be opened unto you. if you seek prayerfully, if you knock persistently and if you labor manfully you will in time reach the goal and you will become the philosopher's stone. celibacy and marriage in order to avoid misunderstanding, it should be said that this lesson was only given to the aspirant to discipleship to show him the reason why it is necessary for him to live a pure and chaste life. it does not apply to the masses who have no spiritual aspirations and are as yet unable to restrain their passions. the rosicrucians do not even advocate an

ink below its level, it would, indeed, be very wrong for aspirants to discipleship to live an entirely celibate life for the sake of self- advancement when conditions permit them to wed; furthermore, the expenditure of the creative force at the few times in a life when it is legitimately required for propagation would not seriously interfere with the spiritual development undertaken to become the philosopher's stone, and the soul- growth gained by assuming the duties of parenthood would far outweigh any possible loss. what the rosicrucians teach then is that marriage between people who will limit their use of the creative function to the purpose of propagation is eminently good, noble and productive of great soul-growth, but that unmarried aspirant should live an absolutely celibate life i

does every other tekton, mason or phree messen (child of light) as the egyptian called such, descend through the nine arch-like strata of the earth. we shall find at the time of the first advent of christ both hiram abiff, the son of cain, and solomon, the son of seth, reborn to take from him the next great initiation into the christian mysteries. in the last chapter we saw while considering "the philosopher's stone" that the spinal cord is the principal laboratory for the alchemist, and that the spinal spirit fire, generated by turning the creative force upward through the spinal canal, passing it between the pituitary body and the pineal gland in the brain, gives to man a third eye as it were wherewith to see in the spiritual worlds. when this serpentine spirit fire has been sufficiently

ts true ancient mystic self, and though catholicism has been terribly tarnished by the touch of time, in this one thing there is no difference, namely, that the war is as keen as ever. the efforts of the church are not concentrated upon the masses, however, as much as upon those who are seeking to live the higher life so that they may gain admission to the mystery temple and learn how to make the philosopher's stone. as mankind advances in evolution, the vital body becomes more permanently positively polarized, giving to both sexes a greater desire for spirituality, and though we change from the masculine to feminine in alternate embodiments, positive polarity of the vital body is becoming more pronounced regardless of sex. this accounts for the growing tendency towards altruism which is e

our dense body gravitates towards the center of the earth, therefore, a change must take place; also paul tells us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. but he also points out that we have a soma psuchicon (mistranslated natural body) a soul body, and this is made of ether, which is lighter than air and therefore capable of levitation. this is the golden wedding garment, the philosopher's stone, or the living stone, spoken of in some of the ancient philosophies as the diamond soul, for it is luminous, lustrous, and sparkling--a priceless gem. it was also called the astral body by the mediaeval alchemists, because of the ability it conferred upon the one who has it to traverse the starry regions. but it is not to be confounded with the desire body which some of the mod

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM BY MAX HEINDEL

lying these two great institutions as determined by occult investigation the rosicrucian fellowship international headquarters p.o. box 713 oceanside, california, 92054, u.s.a. table of contents* part i: lucifer, the rebel angel* part ii: the masonic legend* part iii: the queen of sheba* part iv: casting the molten sea* part v: the mystery of melchisedec* part vi: spiritual alchemy* part vii: the philosopher's stone--what is it and how it is made* part viii: the path of initiation* part ix: armageddon, the great war, and the coming age part i lucifer, the rebel angel the rosicrucian fellowship aims to educate and construct, to be charitable even to those from whom we differ, and never to vent the venom of vituperation, spite, or malice even upon those who seem deliberately determined to mi

erge and be unified in the kingdom of christ. we have already seen how hiram abiff, the widow's son, left his father, the lucifer spirit samael, after the baptism of fire in the molten sea, and how he received the mission to prepare the way for the kingdom among the sons of cain, his brethren, by developing their arts and crafts as temple builders--masons- and teaching them the preparation of the philosopher's stone or molten sea. thus also the physically negative sons of seth must learn to leave their father, jehovah, and naturally the first to take the step must be a great soul. as the superlative skill of the sons of cain was focused in hiram abiff at the time of his baptism of fire, so the sublime spirituality of the sons of seth was centered in jesus at the time of his baptism in the

ll allow him to form altruistic purposes and desires. thus the age of altruism was there inaugurated. by faith in this blood, and by imitation of the christ life the sons of seth are therefore provided with a means of purging from themselves the curse of selfishness; while the sons of cain were given the emblem of the rose and the cross to teach them to work faithfully to make the molten sea, the philosopher's stone, and to find the new word which shall admit them to the kingdom, for they believe more in works than in faith. the accompanying chart shows graphically the three ages mentioned in this article (1) the first age, when each human being was a complete creative unit, male-female, double sexed, and ruled by one hierarch, melchisedec, who filled a dual office as king and priest (2) t

GILBERT AE WAITE A MAGICIAN OF MANY PARTS

is childhood; in particular in thearabian tales that had so delighted him with its stories of the 'hidden city of ad' and of that 'other and greater city which iscalledirem. this was the city,raisedon pillars, that contained the great secret of earthly riches and had as its chief treasure 'a chest of goldfilledwith a red powder. waite could not know then that 'this is the powder of alchemyand the philosopher's stone. it is encircled by a river of mercury; for 'what should1know in my childhood concerning the stoneat the red, or thatestinmercurioquicquidquaeruntsapientesibut the talismanicseedof this romance of alchemyfellunawares in receptive soilandbecameaplant which iwas destinedto tend long afterin my own garden of the mind'(sly,p.28).beforethisalchemicalplantfloweredwaitehaddiscoveredbo

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS A

on on [h. the adept must now pass an examination on assigned ritual work [h1. reading list for z.a.m *1. astral projection, ritual magick and alchemy by francis king *2. fama fraternitas (provided *3. confessio (provided) 4. the middle pillar by israel regardie 5. the gospel of john- new testament 6. the book of revelations- new testament 7. genesis- old testament 8. ezekiel- old testament 9. the philosopher's stone- by israel regardie 10. catenea- by homeri 11. lexicon of alchemy- by rulandus 12. philosophy of natural magic- by agrippa 13. egyptian magic- by florence farr 14. the kabbalah unveiled- by s.l. mathers 8 15. zanoni- bulwer lytton 16. history- sword of wisdom- by ithell colquhon it is not required that the z.a.m. read each book, but the z.a.m. must furnish a report of at least

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS ENOCHALL

own as czons. czons: angel, also known as czns. d: three/ third. d ialprt: third flame. d u i v/ du iv: in to the third angle. da: there/ three. daalo: demonic name (reversal of olaad) commanding cacodemons of earth of water. daltt: angel also known as datt. damploz: variety. daox: 5678. dapi: subservient angel of fire angle of water tablet, also known as daspi. darbs: obey. darg: 6739. darr: the philosopher's stone. dansar: wherefore. darsar: wherefore (cf. bagle. daspi: angel, also known as dapi. datt: subservient angel of earth angle of fire tablet, 19 also known as daltt. dax: loin/ loins. daxil: thy loins. dazis: head/ heads/ their heads. dazis siatris: the heads of scorpions. daziz: heads/ their heads. ddnh: subservient angel of air angle of water tablet. de: of/ to. dedvilh (meaning

GRERALD SCHUELER AN ADVANCED GUIDE TO ENOCHIAN MAGICK

which underlies all organic and inorganic matter. h.p. blavatsky, glossary to the voice of the silence the practice of alchemy has often been associated with the chemical process of turning base metals into gold. how-ever, enochian magick recognizes another important branch of alchemy- turning ignorance into wisdom, sickness into health, and mortality into longevity. it is symbolically called the philosopher's stone, the stone of the magician, and it works through a magical process of transmutation. it is not just a physical process but mental as well. the 'base metal' is the human body and mind, and the 'pure gold' is the body immunized against sickness and age with mind enl ightened to the true nature of things. within and around the human body is an aura, a subtle body of light with sev

H SPENCER LEWIS ROSICRUCIAN MANUAL AMORC 1990

ane plane. the personality is essentially unworldly and immaterial because its purpose is to function on the immaterial plane. the two, personality and individuality, or the psychic and mundane, the immaterial and material working in unison, reveal an entity recognized both through its individuality and personality as it expresses itself in daily life.(see reincarnation and also soul personality. philosopher's stone.the principal search of the alchemists was for a pure and penetrating matter which, when applied to the metals, plants, or vegetables, exalts them. this perfect essence, this soul of matter, imparts its nature to all that is brought into contact with it. this substance which transmits its perfect qualities was called the philosopher's stone. to the transcendental alchemists, th

ilosopher's stone.the principal search of the alchemists was for a pure and penetrating matter which, when applied to the metals, plants, or vegetables, exalts them. this perfect essence, this soul of matter, imparts its nature to all that is brought into contact with it. this substance which transmits its perfect qualities was called the philosopher's stone. to the transcendental alchemists, the philosopher's stone was not a substance but the spiritual gnosis and exalted wisdom whose virtue transmutes man to a higher plane of consciousness and personal power. pineal and pituitary.glands which, in their physiological purpose, have to do with the regulating of various functions of the body such as the circulation of the blood, the growth of the bones and tissues, and the development of the

HAMIL THE ROSICRUCIAN SEER

or paper [illegible] know the work i will get a copy also. i hope mrs irwin is quite well and has become converted and trust i shall soon be well enough to pay my respects to her,&with kind regards i remain, faithfully and fraternally yours.1anuntitled paper given by spencer to the bristol college sria, a rather confused statement on the history of occultism, rosicrucianism and the search for the philosopher's stone.323 raymond buildings, grays inn,w.e.8 march 1876 dear bro. irwin, i rejoice i am so soon to see you. i shall be in the restaurant (down below) at the freemasons' tavern! on thursday atvlpast 4 to get a [illegible].hockley'slettersto theirtmns75freemasonry, alchemy and occultism. hockley is possibly referring tothelifeofcagliostro,printed by hookham (1787).3260[no address]zzjul

hepimanderofhermestrismegistusand the works of paracelsus.20see note 5 above.21william canynges(?1399-1474),five times mayor of bristol; m.p. for bristol1451and1455;rebuilt st mary redcliffe, bristol, and the college at westbury where he became a monk in1467and deanin1469 22john frederick helvetius (d.1709),alchemist. on27december1666he received a mysterious visitor whom he claimed showed him the philosopher's stone. he believed the stranger to be artist elias, the prophetofalchemy, whose coming had been foretold by paracelsus. see a. e. waite,thesecrettraditioninalcherny(1926),pp.307ff.23johannes amos comenius(1592-1671),scholar and educational reformer. memberofthe moravian brethren: pastor(1614);elder(1632);bishop of lissa, poland(1648).influenced by the mystical writings of boehme.24jo

tus,which first appeared in1680. 28probably reuchlin,deartecabalistica(1517).29see note 9 above.30john heydon'stheholyguideleadingthewayto thewonderof theworld(acompletephysitian. withrosiecrudenmedicines(london,1662. 31see note 8ofletter2.32presumably hockley had supplied irwin with the meeting dates of british lodge no. 8 and the grand stewards lodge.hockley'slettersto the[twins51discovered the philosopher's stone in 1645. his writings were published 1654-84. 8theauthor of the two editions is unknown. they consist of potted lives of alchemists 'a selectionofthe most celebrated treatises on the theory and practice of the hermetic art, and an interesting if inaccurate booklist. they were hastily re-edited and added tobya. e. waite for his edition of 1888, a work whose existence he probably

le(1717).17 arthur dee (1579-1657, sonofdrjohn dee, alchemist, astrologer and unlicensed medical practitioner. author of the rosicru255 cianfasciculuschemica,(1631).18 dr john dee (1527-1608, the most celebratedofenglish astrologers. a mathematician by training he practised crystallomancy with albert laski and invoked spirits with edward kelly. he headed a fraternity, dissolved in 1589,toseek the philosopher's stone and invoke angels. wroteatreatiseof therosiecruciansecrets.19drjohn everard(c.i575-c.1650, divine and mystic, translator of50 therosicrucianseerpage 8 of his holy guide,30 fudged from agrippa's occult philos. book2page30.31i have many different forms of same twomssandit is a curious subject, i would go into it if i had time and were not so precious old. i hope this summer to do

1825 habai, containing the nature and offices of spirits, mystic incantations..extracted from scarce and valuable works. 1828 magia de profundis seu clavicula solomonis regis et theurgia goetia. with drawingsofcharacters, seals, penta255 cles etc (hi02* 1829 occult spells (talismanic magic.(hii2)1829 journal of a rosicrucian philosopher from apriljothto june 15th 1797, containing the processofthe philosopher's stone. by an alchemist. 1832 bookofthe offices and ordersofspirits; transcribed from a folioms.written byt.porter, 1583 [and] keys of rabbi solomon, transcribed from a ms translation into french, and thence into english bydrsibley, byt.palmer (hioi) 1833 collection of horoscopesofalchemists, astrologers and occult philosophers.(hi2i)*1833 journal of a rosicrucian philosopher.[as 1829

HELENA BLAVATSKY THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY

all are one. nor, as just remarked, that a prayer is a petition. it is a mystery rather; an occult process by which finite and conditioned thoughts and desires, unable to be assimilated by the absolute spirit which is unconditioned, are translated into spiritual wills and the will; such process being called "spiritual transmutation" the intensity of our ardent aspirations changes prayer into the "philosopher's stone" or that which transmutes lead into pure gold. the only homogeneous essence, our "will-prayer" becomes the active or creative force, producing effects according to our desire. q. do you mean to say that prayer is an occult process bringing about physical results? a. i do. will-power becomes a living power. but woe unto those occultists and theosophists, who, instead of crushing

ulates as his first principle, the existence of a certain universal solvent in the homogeneous substance from which the elements were evolved; which substance he calls pure gold, or summum materiae. this solvent, also called menstruum universale, possesses the power of removing all the seeds of disease out of the human body, of renewing youth, and prolonging life. such is the lapis philosophorum (philosopher's stone. alchemy first penetrated into europe through geber, the great arabian sage and philosopher, in the eighth century of our era; but it was known and practiced long ages ago in china and egypt. numerous papyri on alchemy, and other proofs that it was the favorite study of kings and priests, have been exhumed and preserved under the generic name of hermetic treatises. alchemy is s

and so on through the mineral kingdom; through heaven, earth, and stars; through fountains and rivers, fields and page 166 the key to theosophy- hp blavatsky.txt dwellings; through metals, substances, arms, clothes, ornaments, furniture, the body and its parts, the sexes, and our outward condition. all of which would strongly corroborate the idea that philo was acquainted with the ancient cabala. philosopher's stone a term in alchemy; called also the powder of projection, a mysterious principle having the power of transmuting the base metals into pure gold. in theosophy it symbolizes the transmutation of the lower animal nature of man into the highest divine. phren a pythagorean term denoting what we call the kama-manas, still overshadowed by buddhi-manas. plane from the latin planus (leve

HP LOVECRAFT A DARK LORE

the laboratory where most of the chemical experiments were conducted. curious porters and teamers who delivered bottles, bags, or boxes at the small read door would exchange accounts of the fantastic flasks, crucibles, alembics, and furnaces they saw in the low shelved room; and prophesied in whispers that the close-mouthed "chymist- by which they meant alchemist- would not be long in finding the philosopher's stone. the nearest neighbours to this farm- the fenners, a quarter of a mile away- had still queerer things to tell of certain sounds which they insisted came from the curwen place in the night. there were cries, they said, and sustained howlings; and they did not like the large numbers of livestock which thronged the pastures, for no such amount was needed to keep a lone old man and

HP LOVECRAFT THE ALCHEMIST

castle in which i sat had been a feared and impregnable fortress. it told of a certain ancient man who had once dwelled on our estates, a person of no small accomplishments, though little above the rank of peasant, by name, michel, usually designated by the surname of mauvais, the evil, on account of his sinister reputation. he had studied beyond the custom of his kind, seeking such things as the philosopher's stone or the elixir of eternal life, and was reputed wise in the terrible secrets of black magic and alchemy. michel mauvais had one son, named charles, a youth as proficient as himself in the hidden arts, who had therefore been called le sorcier, or the wizard. this pair, shunned by all honest folk, were suspected of the most hideous practices. old michel was said to have burnt his

ISIS UNVEILED

tland, and a mason not likely to be imposed upon, stating the following, under the head 'hermetic brothers of egypt "an occult fraternity, which has endured from very ancient times, having a hierarchy of officers, secret signs, and passwords, and a peculiar method of instruction in science, moral philosophy and relif^on. if we may believe those who at the present time profess to belong to it, the philosopher's stone, the elixir of life, the art of imdsibilily, and the power of conununication directly with the ultramundane life, are parts of the inheritance they possess. the writer has met with only three per- sons who maintained the actual existence of this body of religious philo- sophers, and who hinted that they themselves were actually members. ilere was no reason to doubt the good fai

ISRAEL REGARDIE A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO GEOMANTIC DIVINATION

dly paraphrase the remark made by garibaldi, and say that "a priest knows himself to h an impostor, unless he be a fool, or htue been tavght to lie from boyhood" digitizecoy google digilizocb, google digilizocb, google !cb, google digilizocb, google digilizocb, google digilizocb, google digilizocb, google i digilizocb, gooesby the same author the golden dawn the tree of life the middle pillar the philosopher's stone the eye in the triangle a garden of pomegranates in this series how to make and use talismans a practical guide to geomantic divination by israel regardie the aquarian press 37/38 margaret street, london, w.e first published june 1972 israel regardie 1972 contents introduction 1. the gcomantic symbols 2. method 3. the judge and two witnesses 4. the question 5. the i louse 6. th

JENNINGS HARGRAVE ROSICRUCIANS RITES MYSTERIES

ntific journals and elsewhere. in a lecture delivered at the royal institution, mr. w. s. savory made the following remarks: there is close relationship between the animal and the vegetable kingdoms. the organic kingdom is connected with both by the process of crystallisation, which closely resembles some of the processes of vegetation and of the growth of the lower orders of animal creation. the philosopher's stone, in one of its many senses may be taken to mean the magic mirror, or translucent 132 the rosicrucians. spirit-seeing crystal, in which things impossible to ordinary ideas are disclosed. know, says synesius, that the quintessence (five-essence) and hidden thing of our stone is nothing less than our celestial and glorious soul, drawn by our magistery out of its mine, which engend

e were such, gassendus charges him with a stupendous puzzle* that of passing the entire interpretation of scripture over, not to the mystics only, but to alchemy. gassendus asserts, as the opinion of flood, that the key of the bible mysteries is really to be found in the processes of alchemy and of the hermetic science; that the mystical sense of scripture is not otherwise explainable than by the philosopher's stone; and that the attainment of the great art or of the secrets which lie locked, is heaven, in the rosicrucian profundities. old and new testament, and their historical accounts, are alike hermetic in this respect. the grand magisterium the great work, as the alchemists call it is mythed by moses in genesis, in the deliverance from egypt, in the passage of the red sea, in the jewi

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

nder those moving chords, is engraved on the one side the face of isis, and on the other that of nephthys--by the faces symbolically representing generation and corruption (which, as has been already observed, is nothing but the motion and alteration of the four elements one amongst another (from plutarch's isis and osiris) p. 47 the image or representative of the great works of the wise men: the philosopher's stone, the elixir of life, and the universal medicine. other hieroglyphics seen in connection with isis are no less curious than those already described, but it is impossible to enumerate all, for many symbols were used interchangeably by the egyptian hermetists. the goddess often wore upon her head a hat made of cypress branches, to signify mourning for her dead husband and also for

tures of diverse forms through periods of perpetual change. the cymbal is made square instead of the usual triangular shape in order to symbolize that all things are transmuted and regenerated according to the harmony of the four elements. dr. sigismund bacstrom believed that if a physician could establish harmony among the elements of earth, fire, air, and water, and unite them into a stone (the philosopher's stone) symbolized by the sixpointed star or two interlaced triangles, he would possess the means of healing all disease. dr. bacstrom further stated that there was no doubt in his mind that the universal, omnipresent fire (spirit) of nature "does all and is all in all" by attraction, repulsion, motion, heat, sublimation, evaporation, exsiccation, inspissation, coagulation, and fixati

ame, but because probably the devil set them there, maliciously intending thereby to obtain fresh credence for a false worship" having admitted that dependable authorities defend the existence of the ever-burning lamps, and that even the devil lends himself to their manufacture, kircher next declared the entire theory to be desperate and impossible, and to be classed with perpetual motion and the philosopher's stone. having already solved the problem to his satisfaction once, kircher solves it again--but differently--in the following words "in egypt there are rich deposits of asphalt and petroleum. what did these clever fellows [the priests] do, then, but connect an oil deposit by a secret duct with one or more lamps, provided with wicks of asbestos! how could such lamps help burning perpe

indrical pillars, surmounted by a bearded head of hermes and called herm, were set up in public places. terminus, a form of jupiter and god of boundaries and highways, from whose name is derived the modern word terminal, was also symbolized by an upright stone, sometimes ornamented with the head of the god, which was placed at the borders of provinces and the intersections of important roads. the philosopher's stone is really the philosophical stone, for philosophy is truly likened to a magic jewel whose touch transmutes base substances into priceless gems like itself. wisdom is the alchemist's powder of projection which transforms many thousand times its own weight of gross ignorance into the precious substance of enlightenment. the tablets of the law while upon the heights of mount sinai

texts esoteric index previous next p. 105 the elements and their inhabitants for the most comprehensive and lucid exposition of occult pneumatology (the branch of philosophy dealing with spiritual substances) extant, mankind is indebted to philippus aureolus paracelsus (theophrastus bombastus von hohenheim, prince of alchemists and hermetic philosophers and true possessor of the royal secret (the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. paracelsus believed that each of the four primary elements known to the ancients (earth, fire, air, and water) consisted of a subtle, vaporous principle and a gross corporeal substance. air is, therefore, twofold in nature-tangible atmosphere and an intangible, volatile substratum which may be termed spiritual air. fire is visible and invisible, discerni

l--powers; they were said to be able to prophesy future events, to penetrate into the deepest mysteries of nature, to transform iron, copper, lead, or mercury into gold, to prepare an elixir of life, or universal panacea, by the use of which they could preserve their youth and manhood; and moreover it was believed that they could command the elemental spirits of nature, and knew the secret of the philosopher's stone, a substance which rendered him who possessed it all-powerful, immortal, and supremely wise" the same author further defines a rosicrucian as "a person who by the process of spiritual awakening has attained a practical knowledge of the secret significance of the rose and the cross* to call a person a rosicrucian does not make him one, nor does the act of calling a person a chri

the true meaning of the order. godfrey higgins believes that the word rosicrucian is not derived from the flower but from the word ros, which means dew. it is also interesting to note that the word ras means wisdom, while rus is translated concealment. doubtless all of these meanings have contributed to rosicrucian symbolism. a. e. waite holds with godfrey higgins that the process of forming the philosopher's stone with the aid of dew is the secret concealed within the name rosicrucian. it is possible that the dew referred to is a mysterious substance within the human brain, closely resembling the description given by alchemists of the dew which, falling from heaven, redeemed the earth. the cross is symbolic of the human body, and the two symbols together--the rose on the cross--signify t

and in this realm, beyond reach of the profane, their temple was located. according to this viewpoint, the true rosicrucian brotherhood consisted of a limited number of highly developed adepts, or initiates, those of the higher degrees being no longer subject to the laws of mortality; candidates were accepted into the order only after long periods of probation; adepts possessed the secret of the philosopher's stone and knew the process of transmuting the base metals into gold, but taught that these were only allegorical terms concealing the true mystery of human regeneration through the transmutation of the "base elements" of man's lower nature into the "gold" of intellectual and spiritual realization. according to this theory, those who have sought to record the events of importance in c

alchemical initiations which took place in the spiritual world, in the true temple of the rose cross, they were able to "draw" these nails and permit the divine nature of man to come down from its cross. they concealed the processes by which this was accomplished under three alchemical metaphoric expressions "the casting of the molten sea "the making of the rose diamond" and "the achieving of the philosopher's stone" while the intellectualist flounders among contradictory theories, the mystic treats the problem in an entirely different manner. he believes that the true rosicrucian fraternity, consisting of a school of supermen (not unlike the fabled mahatmas of india, is an institution existing not in the visible world bur in its spiritual counterpart, which he sees fit to call the "inner

s of paracelsus, of hohenheim. in his biographia antiqua, francis barrett appends to the name of paracelsus the following titles of distinction "the prince of physicians and philosophers by fire; grand paradoxical physician; the trismegistus of switzerland; first reformer of chymical philosophy; adept in alchymy, cabala, and magic; nature's faithful secretary; master of the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone" and the "great monarch of chymical secrets" p. 150 their wanderings and strivings, as recorded by their own pens and by contemporaneous disciples of the hermetic art, are as fascinating as any romance of fiction. paracelsus of hohenheim the most famous of alchemical and hermetic philosophers was philippus aureolus theophrastus bombastus von hohenheim. this man, who called hims

g to the stars and endued with spiritual qualities by magical formul and invocations, and the labor upon it consumed over thirty years. st. thomas aquinas, thinking the device to be a diabolical mechanism, destroyed it, thus frustrating the labor of a lifetime. in spite of this act, albertus magnus left to st. thomas aquinas his alchemical formul, including (according to legend) the secret of the philosopher's stone. on one occasion albertus magnus invited william ii, count of holland and king of the romans, to a garden party in midwinter. the ground was covered with snow, but albertus, had prepare a sumptuous banquet in the open grounds of his monastery at cologne. the guests were amazed at the imprudence of the philosopher, but as they sat down to eat albertus, uttered a few words, the s

ch of st. innocent's churchyard in paris, wherein he concealed the entire formula as it had been revealed to him from the book of abraham the jew. count bernard of treviso of all those who sought for the elixir of life and the philosopher's scone, few passed through the chain of disappointments that beset count bernard of treviso, who was born in padua in 1406 and died in 1490. his search for the philosopher's stone and the secret of the transmutation of metals began when he was but fourteen years of age. he spent not only a lifetime but also a fortune in his quest. count bernard went from one alchemist and philosopher to another, each of whom unfolded some pet theorem which he eagerly accepted and experimented with but always without the desired result. his family believed him to be mad a

esult. his family believed him to be mad and declared that he was disgracing his house by his experiments, which were rapidly reducing him to a state of penury. he traveled in many countries, hoping that in distant places he would find wise men capable of assisting him. at last as he was approaching his seventy-sixth year, he was rewarded with success. the great secrets of the elixir of life, the philosopher's stone, and the transmutation of metals were revealed to him. he wrote a little book describing the results of his labors, and while he lived only a few years to enjoy the fruitage of his discovery he was thoroughly satisfied that the treasure he had found was worth the lifetime spent in search of it. an example of the industry and perseverance displayed by him is to be found in one o

rsity of liverpool, sums up the ends which alchemists sought to achieve, in the following paragraphs "this, therefore, was the general aim of the alchemists--to carry out in the laboratory, as far as possible, the processes which nature carried out in the interior of the earth. seven leading problems occupied their attention "1. the preparation of a compound named elixir, magisterium medicine, or philosopher's stone, which possessed the property of transmuting the baser metals into gold and silver, and of performing many other marvelous operations* p. 155 "2. the creation of homunculi, or living. beings, of which many wonderful but incredible tales are told "3. the preparation of the alcahest or universal solvent, which dissolved every substance which was immersed in it "4. palingenesis, o

sible to prepare a tincture for minerals by means of which pieces of granite and marble can be turned into precious stones; also stones of inferior quality may be improved. as one of the great alchemists fittingly observed, man's quest for gold is often his undoing, for he mistakes the alchemical processes, believing them to be purely material. he does not realize that the philosopher's gold, the philosopher's stone, and the philosopher's medicine exist in each of the four worlds and that the consummation of the experiment cannot be realized until it is successfully carried on in four worlds simultaneously according to one formula. furthermore, one of the constituents of the alchemical formula exists only within the nature of man himself, without which his chemicals will not combine, and t

believed that for a number of years he was the head of that order. in a little work called lumen de lumine, or a new magical light discovered and communicated to the world, published in london in 1651, eugenius philalethes gives a remarkable letter, presumably from the rosicrucian order. accompanying the letter is an emblematic figure setting forth in symbolic form the processes and formul of the philosopher's stone. this epistle is an excellent example of the rosicrucian system of combining abstract theological speculations with concrete chemical formul. with the aid of the material contained in various parts of this present book the student would do well to set himself the task of solving the riddle contained in this hieroglyph "a letter from the brothers of r. c. concerning the invisibl

here is the most nearly complete of any available. the collecting of the rays and energies of the celestial bodies as precipitated in dew is a process which paracelsus used with great success. bear constantly in mind that these processes are only for those who have been properly instructed in the secret art "a true revelation of the manual operation for the universal medicine commonly called 'the philosopher's stone' by the celebrated philosopher of leyden, as attested upon his deathbed with his own blood, anno domini 1662. to my loving cousin and son, the true hermetic philosopher "dear loving cousin and son "although i had resolved never to give in writing to any person the secret of the ancient sages, yet notwithstanding out of peculiar affection and love to you, i have taken it upon me

large leaf 1. the top line reads "our earliest medicine was made of natural objects" about the king and queen appears the statement that to them a son shall be born "in two trees of the vine" resembling his father and without equal in all the world. about the vase is written "green and white "the vase flame color, the flowers green "our water, our silver" the lines below read "the material of the philosopher's stone is that thick, viscous water, which either heat or cold congeals. it is mercury boiled down and thickened, cooked in neutral earth with sulphurous heat and is called the prime material of the metals. in caverns yet dark, and forbidding mountains, if a stone be found which a thousand years ago nature made out of her fruits, it will bring him that has it out of trouble* listen ca

d the prime material of the metals. in caverns yet dark, and forbidding mountains, if a stone be found which a thousand years ago nature made out of her fruits, it will bring him that has it out of trouble* listen carefully to all my verses; i speak them without veil and without deception. click to enlarge leaf 2. at the top is a quotation from st. thomas aquinas concerning the composition of the philosopher's stone, which is described as of the purest transparency; in it all the forms of the elements and their contrarieties were visible. beneath the figure of st. thomas aquinas is a short paragraph praising the excellence of the philosophic stone, declaring that from the one substance can be derived three and from the three, two. to the right of st. thomas aquinas is a likeness of raymond

the figure of st. thomas aquinas is a short paragraph praising the excellence of the philosophic stone, declaring that from the one substance can be derived three and from the three, two. to the right of st. thomas aquinas is a likeness of raymond lully seated in the door of his hermitage. under his feet appears a quotation from this celebrated alchemist, beginning with the question "what is the philosopher's stone" after declaring it to be a reddish, fixed mercury, lully swears to the almighty that he has told the truth and that it is not permissible to say more (the original manuscript is mutilated at this point) p. a2 click to enlarge leaf 3. the writing at the top of the page reads "death of saturn; life of mercury" after describing the use of the saturnine substances, the key to the

to the left above the sun reads "entirely without the sun and moon, make dye; dissolve, congeal, and like produces for itself like" the words to the right of the man holding the philosopher's herb declare sublimation to be the beginning, the middle and the end of the great work. the last sentence reads "out of the sun and moon make a thing of equal parts, and by their union, god willing, let the philosopher's stone be made" click to enlarge leaf 10. the two short lines of text at upper left read "some take a recent stone" the lines to the right of the symbol of mars (iron) admonish the student to control his appetites and apply his mind to the accumulation of knowledge. no satisfactory translation can be found for the words under the outstretched arm of the man holding the upper part of t

MORALS AND DOGMA

t we must believe, if we would that our faith should have a reasonable and solid basis. it has been said in our times, that god is a hypothesis; but absolute reason is not one: it is essential to existence. saint thomas said"_a thing is not just because god wills it, but god wills it because it is just" if he had deduced all the consequences of this fine thought, he would have discovered the true philosopher's stone; the magical elixir, to convert all the trials of the world into golden mercies. precisely as it is a necessity for god to be, so it is a necessity for him to be just, loving, and merciful. he cannot be unjust, cruel, merciless. he cannot repeal the law of right and wrong, of merit and demerit; for the moral laws are as absolute as the physical laws. there are impossible things

REGARDIE ISRAEL THE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN

the chaos, the darkness, and the gates of the land of night" while man is assumed into godhead, and the divine spirit is brought down into manhood, a new heaven and a new earth make their appearance, and familiar objects take on a divine radiance as though illumined by an inter <39> nal spiritual light. and this is what, in part at any rate, was meant by the old alchemists, for the finding of the philosopher's stone converts all base metals into the purest gold. in his book centuries of meditation, thomas traherne gives an interesting description of the rapture of the inner personality, its reaction to the world, when it is freed by the mystical experience from all entanglements. he says "the corn was orient and immortal wheat, which never should be reaped, nor was ever sown. i thought it

me time that the first consecration establishes a semblance of the pillats to his right and left, it also has drawn forth from him a semblance of himself to the place vacated by the hegemon between the pillars (that is, the ceremony induces a species of schizophrenia so that the initiation may be effected. but see jung's commentary to the secret of the golden fher, and also my book on alchemy the philosopher's stone.-i. r) here then stands the shadow of the candidate while the scales of the balance oscillate unseen. unseen also and colossal, there is imaged before him tho-0th) as mettatron, in the sign of the enterer of the threshold, ready, according to the decision of the human will, to permit or withhold the descent of the lower genius of the candidate. meanwhile, the great assessors of

example of the first stages of that mode of operation, there is given an experience recorded many years ago by g. h. frater sub spe, and to some it may prove suggestive. the section on alchemy remains quite obscure since the subject does not interest me; and i regret that i have not been able to acquire a record of an operation based on it (n. b. since this was written, my book entitled the <154> philosopher's stone has been published. it is a fairly protracted survey and analysis of alchemical ideology.-i. r) the requiem ritual is an original contribution, though based on fundamental formulae, and i hope it will be found useful. so far as the first sections on actual ceremonial magic are concerned a few remarks may seem appropriate. let it be noted first of all that a formal circle and tr

ROBERT KIRK WALKER BETWEEN WORLDS

g on saddles with stirrups, and the discoveries of the secret commonwealth 54 microscopes [all of] which were sometimes as great a wonder and hard to be believed [in. http//www.dreampower.com/kirk_wbw/pg_50.htm (4 of 10 [10/9/2001 12:35:05 am] robert kirk- walker between worlds(pages 50-59) 10. though i will not be so curious nor so peremptory as he who will [seek to] prove the possibility of the philosopher's stone from scripture [as in] job 28:1,2 [or] job 22:24-25, or [to prove] the plurality of worlds from john l4:2, and hebrews 11:3 or [to attempt to prove] the circulation of the blood from ecclesiastes 12:6; nor the talismanical art from the blind and the lame mentioned in 2 samuel 5:6. yet i humbly propose these passages which may give some light to our subject at least, and show th

elements to it, such as the mason word. 3. the second sight. 4. curative charms (see page 63) 5. magical proof against wounding used by scottish soldiers. with the possible exception of the scottish mason word, these curiosities are found worldwide in various folk traditions, albeit taking varied forms. page 54 though i will not be so curious nor so peremptory as he who will [seek to] prove. the philosopher's stone from scripture. or the plurality of worlds. or the circulation of the blood. nor the talismanical art. yet i humbly propose these passages which may give some light to our subject. first kirk disclaims a list of passages as possible proofs of obscure subjects revealed by the bible, thus encouraging us to look such passages up immediately. his choice is in some cases rather a cu

RUBY TABLET OF SET

t the source of service and goods it had depended on. in such a soil conditions were right for a gardener to tend the flowers in need of care. gandhi was that one who arose to tend of the garden "mine" he said "is a life full of joy in the midst of incessant work" his mastery of mysticism was evident is a calm, self-aware way: he was, he said, fascinated by the law of love and described it as his philosopher's stone. he remarked in xvii a.h. that had he no sense of humor he would have committed suicide, a statement which displayed an understanding of the law of sorrow. his comprehension can be seen further in this quote "the purpose of life is undoubtedly to know oneself. we cannot do it unless we learn to identify ourselves with all that lives. the sum-total of that life is god. the instr

agments, so too the magician who discovers and manifests his or her true will forges the ultimate magical weapon from out of their many and fragmented sub-personalities "so with thy all; thou hast no right but to do thy will. do that, and no other shall say nay (al 1:42-43) this achievement of self-unification has been spoken of in elder books of arcane lore as the great work, the creation of the philosopher's stone and, in the symbolism of the old aeon, as the knowledge and conversation of the holy guardian angel. this "angel" is no angel of god in any theistic sense. rather it is the crystallization of the magician's own ultimate selfhood. in the language of the book of opening the way, it is the neter xem whose name is unknown. to seek to know one's true will requires time, effort, and

beginning of the actual quest for the unknown and nameless one. the work is the preparation for and concludes only with the great work- which in itself is but a new beginning, having fulfilled the challenge set forth in the statement of leviathan.(5) for this reason it would not be inappropriate to call the initiates of xem "alxemists" initiation is the preparation for the work toward finding the philosopher's stone- xem! initiation then is the giant step toward true understanding of the mysteries and secrets of xem. xem's foundation is in the abstract. to the uninitiated, xem will always be veiled in mystery and will seem to them very much like the second foundation did to outsiders in asimov's foundation trilogy. and they won't be entirely wrong. as was true of the orders and temples of

aspects of anubis are now important, and their reasons can be seen. he who wears the double crown is needed also for the work that is to be done. ra is man and harwer is exalted/majestic man. he who wears the crown of the two lands exists and is michael aquino. he must be supported for there must be an order within the realm wherein the elect are found. xem must not fade and be ended. xem is the philosopher's stone for xem will change and know its being. the old world fades behind xem to exist no more. we are those who define and shape. reason will be born and a new world recognized.(6) in the year x a.s, michael a. aquino was ceremonially crowned with the double crown and entrusted with the crook and flail. these are not symbols of the high priesthood, but they are symbols of majestic/ro

carries the uas also holds its meaning. on the stele there are two uas scepters which face each other and frame several lines of hieroglyphs; the scepter on the left issues forth the word "xem" while the scepter on the right limits the same. the reason for this is as simplistic as it is obvious. xem is a goal with not an end, but rather a new beginning as its purpose. xem has been compared to the philosopher's stone, and not without good reason. an alchemist labors diligently to create his 'stone' but not for possession of the stone itself- rather for its transformational properties. the same holds true for the initiate in his quest for xem, as will be seen later in this key. between the two scepters is the neter anubis, represented as a black jackal. in this form the neter is pure princip

ing. xem- the quest xem must be recognized as a desirable state of being, willfully chosen as a step of one's xeper, accurately perceived by the initiate, and earnestly worked towards. xem does not occur by accident. xem is reached through a quest. each initiate must define his own question, and must quest for the answer. just as in alchemy the initiate himself is transformed upon creation of the philosopher's stone, so too is the initiate transformed to xem upon resolution of or during his quest. i invite initiates of the order of the trapezoid to compare this quest to the grail search. the question and the quest are individual. initiates may occasionally share a question, but more often our quests will each be unique. this is because we are individuals, willfully individualistic, and gro

d) where those in xem create and functionalize their own world. at that point, all that have actualized xem will be parts and the whole. ordered in and of themselves.4 satan (set) in its true glory shall be free from all the bonds to exercise its will, because set will have been transformed (the essence that set gives to us now is the transforming taking place. set will be, in final form, us. the philosopher's stone is us (who actualize xem. in being us, the philosopher's stone is set. transformed. or i could be way off track! key #3- comments and analysis as an initial general comment, specifically aimed at true understanding of words, i have had to rethink just what is behind the words as they are spoken by anubis in relation to set and setians and xem. words such as function, knowledge

"willingness to work it" it is again obvious that there are orders, and that there is an order to/in xem. we, as elect, must be able to utilize our sense of setii [and you, anubis, see to it that we are guided] and recognize when that constant change is moving through what is, and what it is moving toward. in performing the great work, we are using ourselves in/as that most prized possession. the philosopher's stone.jj and that stone is capable of actually transforming base material [mankind with the gift] into precious jewels, which are the elect in xem. we know that we are alxemists. and the agent of our transformation is ourselves and our higher selves. the elect of set are fortunate in that we possess something that most conventional alchemists have not/do not have, and that is directi

ny a senior initiate harp on the principle of balance. the further along on the initiatory path, the more defined (and secure 'sense' of balance you need. jj. we found out a long time ago, thanks partly to the pioneering word of dr. aquino, that we are it. there is no external magical elixir, agent, or mineral, which once obtained, will transform us. in seeking to be alxemists, the search for the philosopher's stone begind and ends with the self. kk. the question is as equally valid today as it was when i first posed it. contemporary words esist- xeper, xem, remanifest, runa- yet the masses do not apprehend them directly. people are affected by the words, by the aeon, but are largely, if not totally unaware of it, or even what an "aeon" is. mankind continues to (unconsciously) ignore what

being, the gate of the west at twilight; i shall be the mediator of the two lands, the known and the unknown i am. i am the ancient knower and that which is known, ever apart from all that i am not. that i shall become, folly and wisdom are mine; and the depths of understanding in no- man. i shall be the man-god. i am the word of my soul, the fountain of eternal youth; the lad transformed in the philosopher's stone. away from myself i am naught in the void of chaos; child of pure darkness i am that i shall be. knowledge and power i am, i shall be the awaking of the god in the dream of eternity. i am the fool in the holy quest, an ancient one thrice great of the black earth. i am without parent or mortal lineage; i shall become the continuum of my love in ma'at most high. i am life; i shal

(s, invests same with set's spirit and power, and shares this fluid of life and power with all assembled, speaking to each initiate or not as appropriate.(3] brothers and sisters, we will now drink the chalice, but a few words are in order about what is in the chalice, the grail. do not be deceived- it is not papaya nectar, soda, or whatever you think you're tasting; it is the elixir of life, the philosopher's stone, poison deadly to the mundane, but to the initiate, life eternal. these are the strange drugs spoken of in the book of the law, the venom of the serpent of aurorus. what is this elixir? think of this, as you drink [the working:(4) each initiate approaches the altar and works towards creating or widening a specific crack in the cosmic egg [shuti] hail set, prince of darkness, gu

SATANISM AN EXAMINATION OF SATANIC BLACK MAGIC

ribe a system of esoteric knowledge and practical techniques- and this system is also known as 'the black arts. the difference between the left and right hand paths: the aim of all genuine occult paths or systems, whether designated right hand or left hand, is to achieve or find a certain goal as well as to impart esoteric knowledge and abilities. the goal is variously described (e.g.'gnosis, the philosopher's stone, enlightenment. however, it has been a common misconception that the rh paths were altruistic and the lh paths egocentric- i.e. the difference between them was seen in individual moral terms. another misconception is in seeing the difference in absolute moral terms- i.e. the rh paths as representing "good" and the lh paths as "evil. recently, attempts have been made to formulat

SEPHER YETZIRAH WESTCOTT

roduced here. the following interesting quotation is from rabbi moses botarel, who wrote his famous commentary in 1409-"it was abraham our father--blessed be he--who wrote this book to condemn the doctrine of the sages of his time, who were incredulous of the supreme dogma of the unity. at least, this was the opinion of rabbi saadiah--blessed be he--as written in the first chapter of his book the philosopher's stone. these are his words: the sages of babylon attacked abraham on account of his faith; for they were all against him although themselves separable into three sects. the first thought that the universe was subject to the control of two opposing forces, the one existing but to destroy the other, this is dualism; they held that there was nothing in common between the author of evil

SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON ZANONI A ROSICRUCIAN TALE

of all the weaknesses which little men rail against, there is none that they are more apt to ridicule than the tendency to believe. and of all the signs of a corrupt heart and a feeble head, the tendency of incredulity is the surest. real philosophy seeks rather to solve than to deny. while we hear, every day, the small pretenders to science talk of the absurdities of alchemy and the dream of the philosopher's stone, a more erudite knowledge is aware that by alchemists the greatest discoveries in science have been made, and much which still seems abstruse, had we the key to the mystic phraseology they were compelled to adopt, might open the way to yet more noble acquisitions. the philosopher's stone itself has seemed no visionary chimera to some of the soundest chemists that even the prese

nets and powers have never been more than most partially explored, the rosicrucians, especially arrogated. he remembered to have heard in germany of the work of john bringeret (printed in 1615, asserting that all the languages of the earth were known to the genuine brotherhood of the rosy cross. did zanoni belong to this mystical fraternity, who, in an earlier age, boasted of secrets of which the philosopher's stone was but the least; who considered themselves the heirs of all that the chaldeans, the magi, the gymnosophists, and the platonists had taught; and who differed from all the darker sons of magic in the virtue of their lives, the purity of their doctrines, and their insisting, as the foundation of all wisdom, on the subjugation of the senses, and the intensity of religious faith?

nduct me to the chamber of viola pisani. you have no further need of her. the death of the jailer opens the cell of the captive. be quick; i would be gone" mascari muttered some inaudible words, bowed low, and led the way to the chamber in which viola was confined. chapter 3.xviii. merc: tell me, therefore, what thou seekest after, and what thou wilt have. what dost thou desire to make? alch: the philosopher's stone. sandivogius. it wanted several minutes of midnight, and glyndon repaired to the appointed spot. the mysterious empire which zanoni had acquired over him, was still more solemnly confirmed by the events of the last few hours; the sudden fate of the prince, so deliberately foreshadowed, and yet so seemingly accidental, brought out by causes the most commonplace, and yet associat

will pay one rent to the count, and another to you "with that we soon came to terms; and as the strange signor doubled the sum i myself proposed, he is in high favour with all his neighbours. we would guard the whole castle against an army. and now, signor, that i have been thus frank, be frank with me. who is this singular cavalier "who? he himself told you, a philosopher "hem! searching for the philosopher's stone, eh, a bit of a magician; afraid of the priests "precisely; you have hit it "i thought so; and you are his pupil "i am "i wish you well through it" said the robber, seriously, and crossing himself with much devotion "i am not much better than other people, but one's soul is one's soul. i do not mind a little honest robbery, or knocking a man on the head if need be, but to make

oyous heart he repaired to paolo, inly resolving to visit again the chamber at an hour when his experiment would be safe from interruption. as he crossed his threshold, paolo started back, and exclaimed "why, excellency! i scarcely recognise you! amusement, i see, is a great beautifier to the young. yesterday you looked so pale and haggard; but fillide's merry eyes have done more for you than the philosopher's stone (saints forgive me for naming it) ever did for the wizards" and glyndon, glancing at the old venetian mirror as paolo spoke, was scarcely less startled than paolo himself at the change in his own mien and bearing. his form, before bent with thought, seemed to him taller by half the head, so lithesome and erect rose his slender stature; his eyes glowed, his cheeks bloomed with h

blimity and valour, to pass the threshold and disdain the foe? wretch! all my silence avails nothing for the rash, for the sensual, for him who desires our secrets but to pollute them to gross enjoyments and selfish vice. how have the imposters and sorcerers of the earlier times perished by their very attempt to penetrate the mysteries that should purify, and not deprave! they have boasted of the philosopher's stone, and died in rags; of the immortal elixir, and sunk to their grave, grey before their time. legends tell you that the fiend rent them into fragments. yes; the fiend of their own unholy desires and criminal designs! what they coveted, thou covetest; and if thou hadst the wings of a seraph thou couldst soar not from the slough of thy mortality. thy desire for knowledge, but petul

ted your advice. no art, no ideal, nothing loftier than commonplace for me now. if i were to paint again, i positively think you would purchase my pictures. make haste and finish your breakfast, man; i wish to consult you. i have come to england to see after my affairs. my ambition is to make money; your counsels and experience cannot fail to assist me here "ah, you were soon disenchanted of your philosopher's stone! you must know, sarah, that when i last left glyndon, he was bent upon turning alchemist and magician "you are witty to-day, mr. mervale "upon my honour it is true, i told you so before" glyndon rose abruptly "why revive those recollections of folly and presumption? have i not said that i have returned to my native land to pursue the healthful avocations of my kind! oh, yes! wh

THE MIDDLE PILLAR

gs. he was the one initiate uniquely qualified for his appointed task-the task of successfully presenting magic as a therapeutic tool to the skeptical world of psychology, and ultimately, to bring psychotherapy and magic together. in the winter of 1936-37, regardie was bedridden in london for two weeks with a bad case of bronchitis. during this time he wrote most of what would be published as the philosopher's stone, a book about alchemy from a jungian perspective. at the time regardie was convinced that laboratory alchemy was fallacious, and that only theoretical, spiritual, or psychological alchemy was valid (by 1970, however, interaction with practical alchemists such as frater albertus of the paracelsus research society caused him to change his opinion on this. he began his own alchemi

igher self. silence with reference to symptoms and results is therefore most desirable. endnotes 1. ths is daath, which is not a sephirah, but rather a conjunction of chokmah and binah. 2. from the neophyte ritual. see regardie, the golden dawn, 129. 3. the symbol of the rosicrucians. rosicrucianism is a form of mystic or esoteric christianity whose teachings embrace the hermetic sciences. 4. the philosopher's stone is an alchemical symbol of true spiritual attainment. the search for the philosopher's stone is the search for truth and illumination. 5. along the same lines, each letter of the hebrew alphabet has a musical note attributed to it. thus each divine name in hebrew can be sung or played on a musical instrument. see the appendix: the musical qabalah. 6. in this list, regardie has

ilosophical stone and of the great work. the most perfect alembic in which the quintessence can be elaborated is conformable to this figure, and the quintessence itself is represented by the sign of the pentagram.l2 here levi gives us clues about the numerical dimensions of the pentagram, for by it is "measured the exact proportions" of the athanor, the alchemical oven which is used to obtain the philosopher's stone-a symbol for spiritual illumination and expanded consciousness. what is so important about the proportions of the pentagram? through the number five, the number of points on this figure, the pentagram is connected to the sphere of geburah on the tree of life, and to its corresponding planet, mars. the pentagram represents that fiery, purifying power of the divine that takes the

TYSON DONALD NEW MILLENNIUM MAGIC

es with no pattern of repetition (3.14159265. hence, it is impossible to convert a square into a circle of exactly equal area, or vice versa. alchemists and rosicrucians regarded this inability to convert the measure of a circle to the measure of a square as of supreme significance. they used it as the basis for one of their spiritual quests after enlightenment, the others being the quest for the philosopher's stone that would turn base metal into gold, and the quest for the elixir of life that would cure all disease and grant immortality. the magus draws the circle clockwise in imitation of the apparent course of the sun, moon, and stars across the heavens, establishing a sovereign rule of order under the light. the circle is drawn out through the centerpoint of the magus and mentally pro

tegories and magically acted upon through the appropriate point of the nonagram. other uses will suggest themselves to the magus. the mystic and cult leader g. i. gurdjieff taught a type of nonagram in private lectures given to his inner circle of followers in st. petersburg in 1915. the construction of gurdjieff's symbol, which he called the enneagram and regarded as the universal symbol and the philosopher's stone, is based on the decimal equivalents of the divisions of seven'/7,2/7 'y7, and is completely described by p. d. ouspensky in his work in search of the miraculous. serious stu- dents may wish to consult this work. t he decagram can be drawn in two ways. the common decagram is made of two interlocking pentagrams, one pointing up and the other down. it accords with the structure o

TYSON DONALD THE POWER OF THE WORD

ys a vacillation between three and four which comes out over and over again (psychology and alchemy [princeton university press, 19801, p. 26. jung saw the shifting of focus back and forth between systems based on three and four as a wavering between a spiritual and a physical emphasis. alchemists captured this dynamic relationship in the symbol of the squared circle. along with the making of the philosopher's stone and the discovery of the water of life, the squaring of the circle was the prime achievement of alchemy. it was represented geometrically by a circle within which was a triangle, within which was a square, within which was a circle. from the unity of the circle arises trinity, and trinity gives birth to quaternity, which in the highest mystery returns to unity once again. the c

act as his seer. many times he threatened to leave dee, but always he was held by the prospect of discovering the secret of the powder, which could turn base metals to gold. throughout his association with dee, kelley constantly urged dee to devote himself to alchemical matters. the salary dee paid kelley for his labors as a seer was scant compensation compared with the glittering visions of the philosopher's stone. 186 tetragrammaton references by the spirit guide madimi, who came in the form of a little girl, to her "mother" are highly significant. madimi constantly refers to the authority of her mother, who is a kinswoman of nalvage, the spirit who delivers the enochian keys. dee asks madimi's mother her name, and the spirit answers "i am of the word, and by the word (casaubon, p. 27

WESTERN MANDALAS OF TRANSFORMATION SR AL

s life (pattern on the trestleboard) chapter 10 the kamea of hod/mercury the magical numbers of mercury are eight, sixty-four, 260, and 2080. mercury, the eighth sephira, is known as the ogdoad. in it is concealed the mystery of the completion of the great work; and indeed, mercury holds many alchemical secrets. number eight was the number used to designate both christ.often taken as the symbolic philosopher's stone to the christian qabalists.as well as mercury. dr. case said: the real secret of this stone is the real secret of the cross, which is the end and so the fulfillment of that whole dispensation that is represented symbolically by the twentytwo letters of the hebrew alphabet (1985, p. 41. the function of this magical principle represented by the philosopher's stone was synthesis

ZALEWSKI SECRET INNER ORDER RITUALS OF THE GOLDEN DAWN OCR

when he reaches the altar. he gives up his wand, the rod of power; but the light with which he has shown others the way of return to the spiritual centre, he returns to its source. he hands it from darkness to light across the altar into the safe keeping of the hegemon. in the 0=0 grade kerux represents man, the alchemist, who in the beginning is the homeless wanderer intent on his search for the philosopher's stone. gradually, he brings the candidate to the goal of his secred quest, added by the ray of light from his own spirit, dim and faint though it is. but now he must sacrifice even his own spiritual light. it is only when he has renounced his own individual spirit that the higher powers can be moved into action. for kerux this represents a kind of death. the death of the self. he rea

DAVID ICKE THE BIGGEST SECRET

ond they have in common, egfire becomes air through the common bond of heat. substances are made from theelements and if you can transform the elements into each other, you must be able totransform the substances the elements are made from. for instance, lead can be changedinto gold. there is, it is believed, a secret powder which is necessary for thistransformation and it has become known as the philosophers stone. the dhautpoulfamily are said to have been holders of such secrets. the document, le serpent rouge,when speaking of the 13th sign of the zodiac, ophiuchus, says: the base lead of mywords may contain the purest gold 13 for five hundred years, rennes-le-chateau wasowned by the count of razes and became an important centre for the cathars. withtheir demise its power waned. a plague

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us spiritual healer at work. escondido, calif: the author [1966. randi, james. flim-flam! buffalo, n.y: prometheus books, 1982. sherman, harold. wonder healers of the philippines. los angeles: devorss, 1967. valentine, tom. psychic surgery. chicago: henry regnery, 1973. agricola name adopted by mineralogist georg bauer (1490.1555, who had also searched for the elixir of life and the secret of the philosophers stone. agrippa von nettesheim, henry cornelius (1486.1535) german soldier and physician, and an adept in alchemy, astrology, and magic. he was born at cologne september 14, 1486, and educated at the university of cologne. while still a youth he served under maximilian i of germany. in 1509 he lectured at the university of dole, but a charge of heresy brought against him by a monk name

ected to have a meal outside in the garden. their host urged them to be seated, assuring them that all would be well. though doubtful, they took their places, and had only begun to eat and drink when their annoyance vanished, for the snow around them melted away and the sun shone brightly. the alchemist michael maier (author of museum chimicum, declared that albertus had succeeded in evolving the philosophers stone and passed it to his pupil thomas aquinas, who subsequently destroyed it, believing it to be diabolical. the alleged discoverer himself says nothing on this subject, but, in his de rebus metallicis et mineralibus, he tells how he had personally tested some gold that had been manufactured by an alchemist, and it resisted many searching fusions. whether this story is true or not

and there is sometimes added (3) the manufacture of an artificial process of human life (see homunculus. religiously, the transmutation of metals can be thought of as a symbol of the transmutation of the self to a higher consciousness and the discovery of the elixir as an affirmation of eternal life. the transmutation of metals was to be accomplished by a powder, stone, or elixir often called the philosophers stone, the application of which would effect the transmutation of the baser metals into gold or silver, depending on the length of time of its application. basing their conclusions on the examination of natural processes and metaphysical speculation concerning the secrets of nature, the alchemists arrived at the axiom that nature was divided into four principal regions: the dry, the m

ich, applied to matter, exalts and perfects it. this substance, eugenius philalethes and others called the light. the elements of all metals were said to be similar, differing only in purity and proportion. the entire trend of the metallic kingdom was toward the natural manufacture of gold, and the production of the baser metals was only accidental as the result of an unfavorable environment. the philosophers stone was the combination of the male and female seeds that form gold. the composition of these was so veiled by symbolism as to make their precise identification impossible. occult scholar arthur edward waite, summarized the alchemical process once the secret of the stone was unveiled: given the matter of the stone and also the necessary vessel, the processes which must be then under

n the part of the alchemical mystic that he might lay himself open through his magical opinions to the rigors of the law. meanwhile, several records of alleged transmutations of base metals into gold have survived. these were reportedly achieved by nicholas flamel, van helmont, martini, richthausen, and sethon. in nearly every case the transmuting element was said to be a mysterious powder or the philosophers stone. modern alchemy a correspondent writing to the british newspaper liverpool post in its saturday, november 28, 1907, edition gave an interesting description of a veritable egyptian alchemist whom he had encountered in cairo not long before: i was not slow in seizing an opportunity of making the acquaintance of the real alchemist living in cairo, which the winds of chance had blow

d in the flowing robes of a graduate of al azhar, his long grey beard giving him a truly venerable aspect, the sage by the eager, far-away expression of his eyes, betrayed the mind of the dreamer, of the man lost to the meaner comforts of the world in his devotion to the secret mysteries of the universe. after the customary salaams, the learned man informed me that he was seeking three things.the philosophers stone, at whose touch all metal should become gold.the elixir of life, and the universal solvent which would dissolve all substances as water dissolves sugar; the last, he assured me, he had indeed discovered a short time since. i was well aware of the reluctance of the medieval alchemists to divulge their secrets, believing as they did that the possession of them by the vulgar would

he had ample means of making. but no, he had not yet reached the seventeenth century; he had not observed the fact, but was none the less ready with his answer; the rust of iron was an impurity proceeding from within, and which did not affect the weight of the body in that way. he declared that a few days would bring the realisation of his hopes, and that he would shortly send me a sample of the philosophers stone and of the divine elixir; but although his promise was made some weeks since, i have not yet seen the fateful discoveries. that alchemy has continued to be studied in relatively modern times there can be no doubt. louis figuier in his l alchimie et les alchimistes (1854, dealing with the subject of modern alchemy, as expressed by the initiates of the first half of the nineteenth

ind into rapport with the supermundane spheres. modern alchemists, he continued, rejected the greater part of these ideas, especially those connected with spiritual contact. the object of modern alchemy might be reduced to the search for a substance having power to transform and transmute all other substances one into another.in short, to discover that medium known to the alchemists of old as the philosophers stone and now lost to us. in the four principal substances of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and azote, we have the tetractus of pythagoras and the tetragram of the chaldeans and egyptians. all the sixty elements are referable to these original four. the ancient alchemical theory claimed that all the metals are the same in their composition, that all are formed from sulphur and mercury, an

matter differently arranged and proportioned. this theory successfully demolished the difficulties in the way of transmutation. if transmutation is thus theoretically possible, it only remains to show by practical experiment that it is strictly in accordance with chemical laws, and by no means inclines to the supernatural. at this juncture, the young alchemist proceeded to liken the action of the philosophers stone on metals to that of a ferment on organic matter. when metals are melted and brought to red heat, a molecular change may be produced analogous to fermentation. just as sugar, under the influence of a ferment, may be changed into lactic acid without altering its constituents, so metals can alter their character under the influence of the philosophers stone. the explanation of the

acter under the influence of the philosophers stone. the explanation of the latter case is no more difficult than that of the former. the ferment does not take any part in the chemical changes it brings about, and no satisfactory explanation of its effects can be found either in the laws of affinity or in the forces of electricity, light, or heat. as with the ferment, the required quantity of the philosophers stone is infinitesimal. the alchemist then averred that medicine, philosophy, every modern science was at one time a source of such errors and extravagances as are associated with medieval alchemy, but they are not therefore neglected and despised. why, then, should we be blind to the scientific nature of transmutation? one of the foundations of alchemical theories was that minerals g

called for some music, alfarabi accompanied the musicians on a lute with such marvelous skill and grace that the entire company was charmed. the sultan wished to keep such a valuable philosopher at his court, and some say that alfarabi accepted his patronage and died peacefully in syria. others maintain that he informed the sultan that he would never rest till he had discovered the secret of the philosophers stone, which he believed himself on the verge of finding. they say that he set out but was attacked and killed by robbers in the woods of syria. alford, alan f (1961) alan alford, an independent researcher on ancient mysteries, was born and raised in england. he attended the university of birmingham, where he earned a degree in commerce (1982) and later completed his mba at coventry u

y publication with reports on ufos, mysterious animals and other fortean phenomena. last known address: 7098 edinburgh, lambertville, mi 48144. anonymous adept alchemist alluded to in the two-volume work entitled mundus subterraneus (amsterdam, 1665, published by the learned german jesuit of the seventeenth century with athanasius kircher (1602.1680. this alchemist long endeavored to discover the philosophers stone and met with no success. one day he encountered a venerable individual who said to him: i see by these glasses and this furnace that you are engaged in search after something very great in chemistry, but, believe me, you will never attain your object by working as you are doing. these words led the alchemist to suspect that his visitor was learned in alchemy, so he begged him to

the heyday of occultism, especially astrology and alchemy, occurred among the arab race at the time when the moors established their empire in the spanish peninsula. in the eighth century an arabian mystic revived the dreams and speculations of the alchemists and discovered some important secrets. geber, who flourished about 720.750, is reputed to have written upwards of five hundred works on the philosophers stone and the elixir of life. his researches in these occult subjects proved fruitless, but though the secrets of immortal life and boundless wealth eluded him, he discovered silver nitrate, corrosive sublimate, red oxide of mercury, and nitric acid, for he was a brilliant chemist. his tenets included a belief that a preparation of gold would heal all diseases in animals and plants, a

ortal life and boundless wealth eluded him, he discovered silver nitrate, corrosive sublimate, red oxide of mercury, and nitric acid, for he was a brilliant chemist. his tenets included a belief that a preparation of gold would heal all diseases in animals and plants, as well as in human beings; that the metals were affected with maladies, except the pure, supreme, and precious gold; and that the philosophers stone had often been discovered, but its fortunate discoverers would not reveal the secret to blind, incredulous, and unworthy man. geber s summa perfectionis, a manual for the alchemical student, has been frequently translated. one english version, of which there is a copy in the library of the british museum, london, was published by an english enthusiast, richard russell, at the st

nd who died in the twelfth century under that of artephius. many extravagant and curious works are attributed to artephius: de vita propaganda (the art of prolonging life, which he claims, in the preface, to have written at the age of 1,025 years; the key to supreme wisdom; and a work on the character of the planets, on the significance of the songs of birds, on things past and future, and on the philosophers stone. jerome cardan spoke of these books and believed that they were composed by some practical joker who wished to play on the credulity of the partisans of alchemy. some scholars have identified artephius with the arabic poet and alchemist al toghrai, who died ca. 1119. sources: patai, raphael. the jewish alchemists. princeton, n.j: princeton university press, 1994. arthur, gavin (

subsequently lived at rai, karzwin, and ispahan, where he became physician to the persian sovereign. he is said to have been dismissed from this post on account of his debauched living. he then retired to hamadan, where, worn out with years of sensual indulgence, he died, at the age of 58. avicenna wrote nearly 100 works on philosophy, mathematics, and medicine and at least seven treatises on the philosophers stone of alchemy. his book of the canon of medicine acquired european celebrity and has been translated into latin several times. avichi a theosophical concept of hell, deriving from the sanskrit word for isolation. although it is a place of torment, it differs in great degree from the dominant conception of hell. its torments are the torments of fleshly cravings, which for want of a

e mechanical sciences, bacon envisioned boats propelled without oars, cars that move without horses, and even machines that fly in the air. in the field of pure chemistry, bacon s name is associated with the making of gunpowder, for even if the discovery cannot be wholly attributed to him, at least his experiments with niter paved its way. his study of alchemy naturally led him to a belief in the philosophers stone, by which gold might be purified to a degree impossible by any other means, and also to a belief in the elixir of life, which, along similar principles of purification, might fortify the human body against death. thus man could become practically immortal, and by knowledge of the appropriate herbs or by acquaintance with planetary influences, he could experience the same consumm

some time as a ship s surgeon. while visiting the island of mauritius, he met the mysterious occultist and alchemist comte louis de chazel, who initiated him into a societas rosae crucis. de chazel owned an extensive library of occult and mystical works and a well-equipped laboratory for astronomical observations and alchemical experiments. he informed bacstrom that he had succeeded in making the philosophers stone and demonstrated the transmutation of quicksilver into gold. subsequently bacstrom lived in london and had discussions with other individuals interested in hermetic subjects. he translated a number of treatises on alchemy from german, french, and latin into english, adding his own commentaries. his manuscript essay on alchemy was published in a limited edition under the title ba

ted them at the british museum. sources: barlow, fred. report on an investigation into spirit- photography. proceedings of the society for psychical research 41. dingwall, e. j. the need for responsibility in psychology. in a skeptic s handbook of parapsychology. edited by paul kurtz. n.p, 1985. barnaud, nicholas (sixteenth century) a sixteenth-century physician who claimed to have discovered the philosophers stone. he published many short treatises on the subject of alchemy, which are contained in the third volume of the theatrum chimicum of zetzner, published at strasbourg in 1659. barnum effect the barnum effect is the name given a psychological process which some psychologists feel explains why people except what they term pseudoscientific explanations of events. the process is also ca

g analysis. buffalo, n.y: prometheus books, 1991. dickson, d.h, and i.w. kelly. the barnum effect in personality assessment: a review of the literature. psychological reports 57 (1985: 367-382. forer, b.r. the fallacy of personal validation: a classroom demonstration of gullibility. journal of abnormal psychology 44 (1949: 118-121. barqu according to legend, the demon that holds the secret of the philosophers stone. barrett, francis (fl. nineteenth century) british magician francis barrett, the author of the magus; or celestial intelligencer (1801, stands at the fountainhead of the modern practice of ceremonial magic. little is known of the early life of barrett, who is pictured as a young man in the portrait included in his book. however, in a footnote in the magus, he offered himself as

5 (1984: 141. bauer, georg (1490.1555) german scholar and father of mineralogy. he latinized his surname (which means boor or husbandman) to agricola( farmer. bauer was born march 24, 1490, at glauchau, saxony. an able and industrious man, he acquired considerable knowledge of the principles of medicine, which led him, as it led many of his contemporaries, to search for the elixir of life and the philosophers stone. a treatise on these interesting subjects, which he published at cologne in 1531, secured him the favor of duke maurice of saxony, who appointed him superintendent of his silver mines at chemnitz. in this post he obtained a practical acquaintance with the properties of metals, which dissipated his wild notions of their possible transmutation into gold; but if he abandoned one su

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antidote to poisons. he also points to the virtue of seven, as in the power of the seventh son to cure the king s evil. one was the origin and common measure of all things. it is indivisible, not to be multiplied. in the universe there is one god; one supreme intelligence in the intellectual world, man; in the sidereal world, one sun; one potent instrument and agency in the elementary world, the philosophers stone; one chief member in the human world, the heart; and one sovereign prince in the nether world, lucifer. two was the number of marriage, charity, and social communion. it was also regarded sometimes as an unclean number; in the bible, beasts of the field went into noah s ark by twos. three had a mysterious value as shown in time s trinity. past, present and future; in that of spa

ca. 1608) early alchemist whose work is recorded in his tract gemma gemmarum alchimistarum; oder, erleuterung der parabolischen und philosophischen schrifften fratris basilij, der zwolff schlussel, von dem stein der vharalten weisen, und desselben aufsdrucklichen und warhaften praeparation; sampt etlichen seinen particularen, published in leipzig in 1608. this edition also includes a tract on the philosophers stone by conrad schulern (see also alchemy) mellon, annie fairlamb (mrs. j. b. mellon (ca. 1850.ca. 1938) british materialization medium. her first supernormal experience was at the age of nine, when she saw her brother at sea in danger of drowning. later physical powers manifested in a violent trembling of hand and arm. this was followed, in the family circle, by automatic writing wi

emy. in its refined state it forms a coherent, very mobile liquid that at ordinary room temparature was a well-known unique substance. the early alchemists believed that nature formed all metals from mercury, and that it was a living and feminine principle. it went through many processes, and the metal that evolved was pure or impure according to the locality of its production. the mercury of the philosophers stone needed to be a purified and revivified form of the ordinary metal; as the arabian alchemist geber stated in his summa perfectionis: mercury, taken as nature produces it, is not our material or our physic, but it must be added to. mercury seems to have been an entirely different substance than any ordinary metal or chemical element. depending upon one s interprepation of alchemy

ent to palestine, found a retreat in the vicinity of jerusalem, and began to lead a hermit s life there. meanwhile the erudition of the deceased arabian acquired a wide celebrity, and some of his manuscripts chanced to fall into the hands of kalid, sultan of egypt. he was a person of active and enquiring mind, and observing that on the cover of the manuscripts it was stated that the secret of the philosophers stone was written within, he naturally grew doubly inquisitive. he found, however, that he himself could not elucidate the precious documents, and therefore he summoned illuminati from far and near to his court at cairo, offering a large reward to the man who should solve the mystery. many people presented themselves in consequence, but the majority of them were mere charlatans, and t

ritual servants, honours the sons of this sacred science. after receiving this very friendly and encouraging letter, norton hurried straightway to ripley s presence, and thereafter for more than a month the two were constantly together. the elder man taught the novice many things, and he even promised that, if norton showed himself an apt and worthy pupil, he would impart to him the secret of the philosophers stone. in due course this promise was fulfilled, though it is reported that norton s own alchemical research met with various disappointments. on one occasion, for instance, when he had almost perfected a certain tincture, his servant absconded with the crucible containing the precious fluid; while at a later time, when the alchemist was at work on the same experiment and thought he w

: j. murray, 1861. reprint, new york: negro university press, 1961. williams, joseph j. voodoos and obeahs; phases of west indian witchcraft. new york: dial press, 1933. obercit, jacques hermann (1725.1798) swiss mystic and alchemist. he was born december 2, 1725, in arbon, switzerland, the son of a scientist keenly interested in hermetic philosophy. early in his life he decided to search for the philosophers stone, hoping to resuscitate the fortunes of his family, which were at a low ebb. the young man worked strenuously, maintaining that whoever would triumph in this endeavor must not depend on scientific skill alone but rather on constant communion with god. notwithstanding this theory, he soon found himself under the ban of the civic authorities, who came to his laboratory and forced h

claims of lucretius involving a chemical explanation of the discovery of filmy substances, which he had observed to arise from all bodies. yet, in order to prove that apparitions might really be explained on this principle, a crucial experiment was necessary. three alchemists obtained a quantity of earth-mould from st. innocent s church in paris, believing that this matter might contain the true philosophers stone. they subjected it to a distillatory process. they saw (it was claimed) the forms of men produced in their vials, which immediately caused them to end the project. this was brought to the attention of the institute of paris (under the protection of louis xiv, which, in turn, took up the business with much seriousness. the result of its own investigations appeared in the miscella

rious elements of the human body into harmony with the elements of nature.fire, light, earth.old age, and death might be indefinitely postponed. his experiment in the extraction of essential spirits from the poppy resulted in the production of laudanum (a popular form of opium through the nineteenth century, which he prescribed freely in the form of three black pills. the recipes he gives for the philosophers stone, the elixir of life, and various universal remedies are exceedingly obscure. he was known as the first physician to use opium and mercury, and to recognize the value of sulphur. he applied himself also to the solution of a problem that exercised the minds of scientific men in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.whether it was possible to produce life from inorganic matter. pa

hich is its own mother; that is to say, he must dissolve it in the arcanum of the salt i have described, and mingle it with the stomach of anthion, which is the spirit of vinegar, and in this menstruum melt and filter and consistent mercury of the antimony, strain it in the said liquor, and finally reduce it into crystals of a yellowish green, of which we have spoken in our manual. as regards the philosophers stone, he gave the following formula: take the electric mineral not yet mature [antimony, put it in its sphere, in the fire with the iron, to remove its ordures and other superfluities, and purge it as much as you can, following the rules of chymistry, so that it may not suffer by the aforesaid impurities. make, in a word, the regulus with the mark. this done, cause it to dissolve in

journal light and gave many lectures. she was a tireless worker in the cause of spiritualism and played a significant but unobtrusive part in the modern history of the movement. she was associated with nandor fodor in britain, and after his death she wrote a tribute to him in the journal light (autumn, 1964. sources: edmunds, simeon. spiritualism: a critical survey. london: aquarian press, 1966. philosophers stone a legendary substance which enabled adepts in alchemy to compass the transmutation of metals. alchemists believed that one definite substance was essential to the success of the transmutation operation. by the application or admixture of this substance, often called the powder of projection, any metal might be transmuted into gold or silver. zosimus, who lived at the beginning o

ts in alchemy to compass the transmutation of metals. alchemists believed that one definite substance was essential to the success of the transmutation operation. by the application or admixture of this substance, often called the powder of projection, any metal might be transmuted into gold or silver. zosimus, who lived at the beginning of the fifth century, was one of the first to allude to the philosophers stone. he said that it was a powder or liquor formed of diverse metals, fused under a favorable astrological condition. the stone was supposed to contain the secrets not only of transmutation, but of health and life, for through it the elixir of life could be distilled. the author of a treatise on philosophical and hermetic chemistry, published in paris in 1725, stated: modern philoso

ow s head and the darkness of the sages, and makes known to the artist that he is on the right track. it was also known as the black earth. it must be boiled once more in a vase as white as snow; this stage of the work is called the swan, and from it arises the white liquor, which is divided into two parts.one white for the manufacture of silver, encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. philosophers stone 1205 the other red for the manufacture of gold. now you have accomplished the work, and you possess the philosophers stone. in these diverse operations, one finds many by-products; among these is the green lion which is called also azoph, and which draws gold from the more ignoble elements; the red lion which converts the metal into gold; the head of the crow, called also the bl

ip of theseus, which appearing forty days before the end of the operation predicts its success; the white powder which transmutes the white metals to fine silver; the red elixir with which gold is made; the white elixir which also makes silver, and which procures long life.it is also called the white daughter of the philosophers. in the lives of the various alchemists, we find many notices of the philosophers stone in connection with those adepts who were supposed to have arrived at the solution. thus in the story of alexander seton, a scotsman who came from port seton, near edinburgh, it is stated that on his various travels on the continent he employed in his alchemical experiments a blackish powder, the application of which turned any metal given him into gold. numerous instances are on

in liquid form, and into this he had dipped silver coins which immediately had become pure gold. when the powder gave out, sendivogius was driven to the practice of gilding coins, which, it was reported, he had previously transmuted by legitimate means, and this brought upon him the wrath of those who had trusted him. there are many intriguing accounts of successful alchemical operations with the philosophers stone, but most students of the field have surmised that the great work accomplished was a personal and spiritual transformation rather than any chemical miracle. the close association of ideas of the philosophers stone with the elixir of life reinforces this view. the idea of the philosophers stone is an ancient one. in egyptian alchemy, which seems one of the oldest, the idea of a b

the art of chinese alchemists can be traced back to circa 100.150 b.c.e, long before records of alchemy being practiced in the west appear. gold was regarded as a medicine for long life, and there is a story that the great wei po-yang (ca. 100.150 c.e) succeeded in manufacturing the gold medicine and he and his pupil yu, together with the wise man s dog, thereby became immortal. the idea that the philosophers stone could grant wishes is found in ancient indian religious tradition, where this magical stone was named chintamani and cited in scriptures. similar ideas were carried over into buddhism. the antiquarian sabine baring-gould suggested that legends of the philosophers stone ultimately could be traced to reflections upon the life-giving properties of the sun, which was a prominent sym

radition, where this magical stone was named chintamani and cited in scriptures. similar ideas were carried over into buddhism. the antiquarian sabine baring-gould suggested that legends of the philosophers stone ultimately could be traced to reflections upon the life-giving properties of the sun, which was a prominent symbol in many alchemical works. he reviewed such concepts in a chapter on the philosophers stone in his book curiosities of olden times (1895. sources: bacon, roger. mirror of alchemy. london, 1597. reprint, los angeles: globe bookshop, 1975. barring-gould, sabine. curiosities of olden times. london, j. t. hayes, 1895. chkashige, masumi. oriental alchemy. new york: samuel weiser, 1936. eliade, mircea. the forge and the crucible; the origins and structures of alchemy. new yo

. new york: samuel weiser, 1936. eliade, mircea. the forge and the crucible; the origins and structures of alchemy. new york: harper& row, 1956. jung, c. g. alchemical studies. vol. 13, collected works. princeton: princeton university press, 1967. redgrove, h. stanley. alchemy: ancient& modern. london: william rider, 1911. reprint, new hyde park, n.y: university books, 1969. regardie, israel. the philosophers stone. st. paul: llewellyn publications, 1958. waite, arthur e. alchemists through the ages. blauvelt, n.y: rudolf steiner publications, 1970, ed. the hermetic and alchemical writings of paracelsus. 2 vols. london: james elliott, 1894. reprint, new hyde park, n.y: university books, 1967. philosophical research society founded in 1934 by manly palmer hall, the philosophical research so

are astrological maps: all about astrology. san diego: asc publications, 1996. your love life, venus in your chart. san diego: asc publications, 1996. the poughkeepsie seer title given to andrew jackson davis (1826.1910, a pioneer spiritualist medium from poughkeepsie, new york. powder of projection a powder claimed to assist alchemists in the transmutation of base metal into pure gold (see also philosophers stone) powder of sympathy an occult remedy applied to the weapon that caused a wound, and which supposedly cured the hurt. this method was in vogue during the reigns of james i and charles i, when its chief exponent was sir kenelm digby. digby published his theory in a volume entitled a late discourse. by sir kenelm digby, kt& c. touching the cure of wounds by the powder of sympathy (

ichly for your trouble, and now i must punish you for your affirmation of lies! as a result, rhasis was blinded. however, other explanations have been offered for his failing eyesight, including the claim that it resulted from an inordinate appetite for eating beans. in his studies in chemistry he left some results of real value, notwithstanding the time and trouble he spent in the pursuit of the philosophers stone. another theory which he held in common with geber and others was that the planets influenced metallic formation under the earth s surface. sources: barrett, francis. the lives of the alchemystical philosophers. 1815. rev. ed. as alchemists through the ages. blauvelt, n.y: rudolf steiner publications, 1970. rhine, j(oseph) b(anks (1895.1980) one of the pioneers of parapsychology

guarded by forty soldiers. there he was subjected to every conceivable species of torture, but it failed to extort from him his methods. the elector at last ceased the torture. at this point, michael sendivogius, a moravian chemist who happened to be in dresden, heard of seton s terrible experiences and possessed sufficient influence to obtain permission to visit him. himself a searcher after the philosophers stone, he sympathized with the adept, and proposed to him that he should attempt a rescue. seton agreed to this and promised that if he were fortunate enough to escape, he would reward sendivogius with his secret. the moravian traveled back to cracow, where he resided, sold his property, and returned to dresden. he lodged near seton s place of confinement, entertaining the soldiers wh

n the elixir was gold, porous, and was not soldered or otherwise tampered with. the powder expended, sendivogius degenerated into a charlatan, pretending that he could manufacture gold, and receiving large sums on the strength of being able to do so. he survived until the year 1646 when he died at parma at the age of eighty-four. seton s book the new light of alchymy would appear to deny that the philosophers stone was to be achieved by the successful transmutation of metals. it stated: the extraction of the soul out of gold or silver, by what vulgar way of alchymy soever, is but a mere fancy. on the contrary, he which, in a philosophical way, can without any fraud, and colourable deceit, make it that it shall really tinge the basest metal, whether with gain or without gain, with the colou

GNOSTIC STUDIES THE GNOSTIC HANDBOOK II GNOSTIC THEURGY

rooted out and destroyed. the promise offered to those who correctly use this chakra include the eating of the hidden manna and the gift of the white stone with a new name engraved on it. these promises are highly symbolic, the hidden manna represents a special stage known in the alchemical process of self transformation. it is also sometimes known as the white powder, it is a stage prior to the philosophers stone. this substance is symbolic of the processes of internal transformation that are working through transfiguration. the church of thyatira the church of thyatira is the heart or anahata chakra. it is known as "sacrifice or contrition" as it involves the sacrifice of the fallen facets of the organism and the things of the world to the higher self (yechidah. the characteristic of th

INITIATION INTO HERMETICS

the female there are the passive elements, the water element in green and the element of the earth in yellow color. the middle along the magician up to the globe is dark purple, representing the sign of the akasa principle above the magician s head, with an invisible ribbon for a crown, there is a gold-edged silvery white lotus flower as a sign of the divinity. in the inside there is the ruby red philosophers stone symbolizing the quintessence of the whole hermetic science. on the right side in the background there is the sun, yellow like gold and on the left side we see the moon, silvery-white, expressing plus and minus in the macro- and microcosm, the electrical and magnetical fluids. above the lotus flower, creation has been symbolized by a ball, in the interior of which are represented

l. the last vertebra& anus: fore and back part neutral, right and left side as well, the inside magnetical. with the help of this occult anatomy and the key of the tetrapolar magnet, the adept may compile further analogies if wanted. the alchemist will recognize that the human body represents a genuine athanor in which the most perfect alchemistic process, the great work or the preparation of the philosophers stone is visibly performed. herewith the chapter dealing with the body is finished. i do not assert that all has been regarded, but in any case, with respect to the elements, i mean to say, the four-pole magnet, i have treated the most important problems and revealed the secret of the tetragrammaton in view of the body. 10. the roughly material plane or the material world in this chap

JENNINGS HARGRAVE ROSICRUCIANS RITES MYSTERIES

: qu so autem, nisi ista sunt impia, quid potest esse impium? in the first place, the whole of the sacred scriptures are a grand mystical puzzle referring to alchemy, and to the universal alchemic process. the mystical sense of the old and the new testaments is none other than the history of alchemy originated in the cabala (with the secrets contained therein, and the rationale of that called the philosophers stone. it matters not to the question of these secrets fixed what religions be professed; whether christian, whether those of the sects whether infidel and heathen. that only is catholic which lies in the stone otherwise practical magic; whereby demons are commanded, good spirits evoked, and the innermost hidden resources of nature, and the spirits of nature, laid bare and availed-of

ore dreadful (in appearance, the same anima mundi, or soul of the world, is the real mes340 the rosicrucians. siah, saviour, christ, the corner-stone of the temple, the temple itself (the universe, the stone (petram universalem) or rock (peter st. peter, upon which the church, and salvation, is founded. this is the mystical end and scope of that longed-for beatitude or magical transfiguration the philosophers stone, or foundation. which (being to be obtained out of the material by supernatural means) when contracted into itself, and concentrated and intensified, glows (or martyrises* into flaming red, or possession, or glorified agony (made heaven. from thence it is said to be the blood of christ (and the cross of christ) which blood was shed for the redemption of the world from the penalt

(first) fall( by which we are. by means of the great sacrifice mortality is purged into purity back into the celestial fire, and redeemed from hell or matter. however, we are not redeemed by the blood of a human christ, but by the atoning blood in a divine and mystical sense (see accompanying plate) fifthly. the just man made perfect is the alchemist (or rather, rosicrucian) who, having found the philosophers stone (san graal, or holy grail, or sang reale, or holy rapture, or magic birth into the celestial fire, or flame of self-extinguishnient, or of ecstacy, becomes immortal (and disappears, or dies to the world. his chariot of fire being that of enoch, or translation. to die is simply the falling asunder and disintegration of the mecha* fire is contention whether holy or unholy. heat, i

TURNER ROBERT ARBETEL OF MAGICK

hath 4000 legions of spirits and over every thousand he ordaineth kings for their appointed seasons. 15 ophiel is the governour of such things as are attributed to mercury: his character is this. his spirits are 100000 legions: he easily giveth familiar spirits: he teacheth all arts: and he that is dignified with his character, he maketh him to be able in a moment to convert quicksilver into the philosophers stone. phul hath this character. he changeth all metals into silver, in word and deed; governeth lunary things; healeth the dropsie: he giveth spirits of the water, who do serve men in a corporeal and visible form; and maketh men to live 300 yeers. the most general precepts of this secret. 1. every governour acteth with all his spirits, either naturally, to wit, always after the same

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