the Serpent doesn’t really sleep, it is we who
are asleep to its presence and potential blessing
Alchemy can be seen as a sort of depth psychology. Alchemical symbols function as archetypes and
exist within every human
being, and that alchemy can have the key to unlocking an understanding
of the innermost and unconscious part of the psyche, which is supposed
to be the main part of our being (using the analogy with the iceberg,
90% of which is hidden under the sea).
From a 19th C. Alchemical Text
The mundane Nature-Spirit: (1) pours itself into the Central-Fire of
the earth, (2) starts working in that fire, (3) is bound in mercurial
moisture and liquid form, (4) is impelled to and fro, through the
Archaeum of the Earth, as a saturated wind, (5) is congealed by
Saturn, and (6) is thrown to the ground in front of the Alchemist,
like the true metallic gore (the metal's seed).
The Alchemist: (1) recognizes this as the most valuable treasure on
earth, (2) takes it home joyfully, (3) inserts it into the glass
coffin, (4) binds it with the gaseous Mercury, (5) seals the coffin,
(6) watches the black Raven grow in the putrefaction, (7) is reborn
in the Paradisiacal Kingdom to corporal Diana, and (8) is crowned as
the Child of the Sun.
"The Human Design System is a reading of your genetic code. The star fields create your shape as you grow and are then born. This shape indicates your essential truths. These essential truths are simple because they are mechanical. What is
mechanical in us, the way in which our genes operate, is that the moment
we try to interfere with their operation we descend into a life of
confusion, chaos, and pain. In the end, they will have their way.We are passengers in these bodies. We are passenger consciousness
experiencing the life. Buddha taught that the body is not yours. It is
not. Yet at the same time, we are totally dependent on it. That is the
tragedy of a sick body. We are totally dependent on our vehicles. To
learn how to operate them properly, and it is really to learn how to
allow them to operate properly, immediately brings benefits. This is not
complex and it will not be in complex language. It is very
straightforward and very logical. It is accessible to anyone of any age.
Anyone can have access to this knowledge. This is not simply about saying, "Aha, I'm this or that". It is
about having the opportunity to do something with knowledge; to be able
to act on it. In acting on it, in experimenting with its logic, a
remarkable experience of finding and ultimately living one's true life
can occur.
All learning, real learning, takes seven years. It takes seven years to
change approximately all of the cells in the body. We live in a seven
year cycle. The moment that you begin to come to your own nature, the
moment that you allow your body to live its life without resistance, you
begin a deep process of deconditioning. Seven years later, you emerge,
quite literally, as a new being: yourself. It's one of the great jokes
that human beings don't get to live out their own lives. It is because
of that, that they don't get to live out their own lives; that life
seems to be such a difficult experience for them. We know that there is a
lot of stuff around about being yourself. It is all fine and good for
somebody to stand up and tell you to be yourself, but you have to know
who that self is.
Life is a duality. It is revealed through our moralities. There is
always going to be this and that. There is always going to be the good
and the bad. There is always going to be success and there is always
going to be failure. It is the nature of what it is to be human and to
live out the spectrum of human experience. " -Ra Uru Hu
64 Codons of the DNA Genetic Code
64 Hexagrams of the I Ching
The basis of kabbalah is that through increasing levels of density, humanity came into
its present state of physical incarnation and psychic evolution. Through rituals,
exercises, and meditations, the energy latent in creation generally, and the body of the
practitioner in particular, can be “awakened”, purified, and directed. This
energy can then be used for spiritual development, psychic expansion, or physical health
and improvement.
the FOUR elements:
The Divine mind of God, the Absolute, or in Hebrew the
Ain Soph Aur (Limitless
Light), through a series of expansions and contractions establishes the boundaries of
Creation. The first world is the most subtle, and closest to the original state of
non-existence, and is
Atzilooth. This is called the world of Fire, because of the
lively, undefined, and almost uncontrollable nature of fire. Next is
Briah, or
the World of Archetypes and forms as our human mind can grasp them. It is symbolized as
the World of Air, and is the result as a barrier world that is formed by the creation of
the next World,
Yetzirah, or Water. This is the highly psychic and emotionally
charged world immediately behind the veil of material existence, or
Assiah. Also
known as the World of Earth, because of the solid, concrete nature of material life.
The purpose of this scheme, is to show that creation occurs in increasingly dense
levels of energy-matter, from the most subtle, or
Fire, to the most dense, or
Earth.
Within this context of increasing density, there also arises a series of ten planes or
levels of consciousness which combines with energy-matter, known as
Sepheroth, or
spheres of being. They occur in a pattern of: unity, reflection, polarity, reflection,
polarity, unity, reflection, polarity, unity, and finally materialization. This basic idea
of unity-polarity-and re-harmonizing, is the basis of kabbalistic and alchemical
practices, and is derived from the observation of Nature.
In the mineral realm the dominant energy is that of Earth, a little Water, and very
little Air or Fire. In the vegetable realm, the dominant energy is Water and Air, but
little Fire and Earth. In the animal realm, the dominant force element is Fire, then Air,
but little Earth. These qualities need to be understood as they have been defined for the
following information to be of any use to the practicing, or aspiring, Hermeticist. For
example, using the above definitions, we can say that the plant realm has an abundance of
instinctual energy (Water) and intelligence, i.e. a specific function (Air), but little
direct energy (Fire), as this is received passively from the sun; and little hard,
physical, matter (Earth).
This original undifferentiated energy from
creation is often called in Indian philosophy, and modern occult, and New Age circles, as
akasha, or Spirit. However, akasha, consists of
two aspects, one active as we
have noted, Niter, and the other passive, Salt. The energies of Niter are also referred to
as the force of
Kundalini, or spiritual forces. In alchemy, this is the Secret
Fire. To the Salt, belongs the force of
Prana, or Vital Energy.
This ‘zigzag’ of Creation is called the “Lightning Flash”. The
return of energy from dense matter, back through the various stages, Sepherith, and Worlds
of Creation is known as the “Path of the Serpent” because of its reverse, or
complimentary ‘zigzag’ nature back up this diagram called the Tree of Life.
For the alchemist, somewhere between the third and fourth level, or sphere of creation,
energy takes on the characteristic that will allow for the formation of matter at some
future state, or level ten. This energy is called
Prima Materia,
Chaos
in the Bible,
Spiritus Mundi (Spirit of the Earth), and others. Here, duality is
made complete, and genuine polarity exists, as opposed to simple the potential, or idea,
of polarity that had existed previously. Energy is divided into active and passive modes,
with the active energy constituting the energies of life, and the passive one the energy
of matter.
The effects of
the Secret Fire however, and not its re-distributive effects on the Vital Energy, can
create the following phenomena:
- Intense pains suggestive of an illness
- Crawling sensations of ants or small bugs over the skin, as well as a
‘jumping’ sensation of the energy
- A feeling of crystal clear calmness and tranquillity, rise from center to center to the
top of the head
- Ascending in the famous ‘zigzag’ or Rising Serpent pattern
- The energy can skip a center or two
- The energy can reach the top of the head in a flash of light
- The character attributes of both positive and negative are exaggerated and sexual power
is increased.
The wise shall exercise dominion over
the stars. As we correct the astrological imbalances (i.e psychic centers or chakras)
within ourselves, astrological conditions outside have less of a negative effect on us. We
gain dominion over the ‘stellar’ forces and can “make the sun shine in our
oratory when we will it so.
For
Zoroaster, holiness meant also abundance, growth, and health. Spenta Mainyu
represents the principle of augmentation and development in the universe.
ASTROLOGY: Just as Orobouros is cosmic energy (the serpent) limiting itself (Saturn), Venus is the
creative cosmic force multiplying itself in life (its vegetative nature) as a prism splits
the light of the sun. Mercury, like Saturn in many respects, is androgynous, and controls
the fire of creation, directing it in the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone.
Mercury holds the Caduceus, or winged staff with two serpents intertwined around it. The
Wings represent sublimation, the serpents the basic forces of creation. There crossing
over is the psychic centers, often given as seven in number, here representing the colors
in the spectrum, plus white (Venus). Central to the diagram is Sol, which is the cosmic
creative forces which unify, enliven, and harmonize creation, and which we can hope to
contact. It is central, and directs and controls all of the other planets, psychic
centers, or aspects of Cosmic energy.
Tantric Leanings:
The Secret Fire is directly linked to the sexual, (i.e. principle and most basic
creative forces) in humanity. Here, the relationship between ‘bliss’
‘ecstasy’ and the erotic impulse can be clearly seen and experienced. The
development of a host of ‘sexual yogas’ and ‘sex magic(k)’ practices
bear this out to some degree. However, it is the sexual desire in humanity that acts as
its basic drive and evolutionary force. It is also suggests that the ability and need for
mystical experiences is biologically rooted. Only be ignoring the most basic of pleasures,
sex, can we ignore the drive to ecstatic union on some level.
The ‘little death’
or petite morte, is a forerunner of the ‘big death’ as we let go and
experience divine oblivion.
Sexual power, linked to our innate drive for mystical experiences, is also linked to
human evolution, and some kind of predetermined point or state to which we are being
directed.
This is a significant point, in that almost all of modern Western societies
psychological illnesses are focused around sexual repression and obsession.
If the Secret Fire flows freely, or with greater strength than before, without the
proper purification of the Vital Energy of the physical body, it is possible that it will
result in what appears to be extreme physical, but more likely psychological illness in
the form of schizophrenia and psychosis; instead of psychic gifts, genius, and either
transpersonal states, or
simply altered states of consciousness.
“Listen, then while I make known the Grand Arcanum of this wonder-working Stone,
which at the same time is not a stone, which exists in every man, and may be found in its
own place at all times…. It is called a stone, not because it is like a stone, but
only because by virtue of its fixed nature, it resists the action of fire as successfully
as any stone….If we say that its nature is spiritual, it would be no more than the
truth; if we describe it as corporeal, the expression would be equally correct; for it is
subtle, penetrative, glorified, spiritual gold. It is the noblest of all created
things…it is a spirit or quintessence.”
"Abundance is strictly a question of spirit"
- Hexagram 55 in The Rave I Ching, Ra Uru Hu
Love,
M .A. R