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Summer 2007 CONTENTS |
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Spagyric Medicine and Vitiation of Blood and Lymph Before going into depth about the meaning of “Vitiation of Blood and Lymph,” let me explain first why I have chosen Spagyric medicine as the only possible solution to offer recovery from all kinds of ailments whose roots always lay hidden in the “Vitiation of Blood and Lymph.” What are Spagyric Medicines? The medicines, tinctures or essences, if prepared by following the procedures of Separation, Purification and Recombination are called the Spagyric way of making a medicine. By the methods of Separation and Purification we get the three purified elements of the Plants (Herbs) and then recombine these, which is also called “Cohobation” (Reassembling of the three purified elements of the Plant by means of Spagyrism). It is proved by various researchers that it is mostly Spagyric essences that are the true medicines and also only the Spagyric essences that are able to overcome the “Vitiation of Blood and Lymph.” How and Why? While making Spagyric essences, they get empowered with the three things: a) Organic compounds basically of lower molecular weight that can easily diffuse through the semi permeable membranes of the cells of tissues, b) Inorganic elements such as macro, micro and trace elements, c) Energy that can also be described as a chain of atoms bearing the properties of cations and anions, that is ions with positive or negative charges, that are able to take part in the biochemical process or reactions happening within the body’s cells. Thus, we can conclude ultimately that a Spagyric essence is rich in inorganic material, i.e. plant derived minerals salts which can be easily absorbed by the body of living organisms. Physiology revealed that mineral salts are important for all types of biochemistry or biochemical reactions that occur within the cells or tissues. Similarly, trace elements found in very small quantity in living organisms are very crucial for life, play an important role in metabolic reactions and act as catalysts. Now what is the “Vitiation of Blood and Lymph” and how does it occur? How are Spagyric Essences Suitable for De-vitiation? We know our body is a result or made up of 24 different elements, but just four of these make up the major part of our body weight. These four are: oxygen (O), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), and carbon (C). Hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water. The balance of chemicals in our body depends on our age. Chemical Make up of Our Body or Living OrganismsChemicals are carried around the body dissolved in water. The most important of these is salt or sodium chloride (NaCl). The chemical make up of the body consists of three basic elements: major or macro elements, minor or micro elements and trace elements. The body needs specific amounts of chemicals so that essential chemical reactions can take place to keep the body in good working order. 1) Major elements are: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. 2) Minor elements are: calcium (1.5%), phosphorus (1.0%), potassium (0.4%), sulfur (0.3%), sodium (6.2%), chlorine (0.2%) and magnesium (0.1%). 3) Trace elements are 0.1% of the body’s weight but are very crucial for life. The main trace elements are: chromium, cobalt, copper, fluoride, iodine, magnese, molbedinum, selenium, silicon, tin and vanedium. The need for water is one of the strongest human driving forces. Water is a transport system and a laboratory for vital chemical reactions. A drop in body water content of 5% causes strong thirst and a drop of around 20% results in death. The human body is composed of many different types of molecules. Molecules consist of one or more atoms of one or more elements joined by chemicals bonds. So Then What is “Vitiation of Blood and Lymph?” We know that the formation of specific proteins-enzymes may be hampered by the known availability of specific amino acids/elements in the body and this may cause the stopping or malfunctioning of a specific physiological activity which, if not overcome early, may lead to pathology of the cells and tissues. Blood and lymph are the only two channels to provide all kinds of transportation of the precursors of biomolecules required for biochemical reactions and, if hampered, may cause the stopping or malfunctioning of a specific physiological activity in specific cells and tissues. Thus we can say that if the precursors of biomolecules required for the proper metabolism of cells and tissues get deficient during transportation through the blood and lymph “Vitiation of Blood and Lymph” occurs. Therefore, only Spagyric medicines, which are rich in precursors of required biomeolecules, can overcome the problem of this deficiency of cells and tissue. So, when they are prescribed for the ody, they are able to de-vitiate the blood and lymph by supplying the required deficient precursors of the biomolecules to the body cells for their normal structure and function. Are Spagyric Essences Rich in Precursors of Biomolecules? Yes, biomolecules play an important role in living systems and are made up of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen as major constituents. These major constituents are possible to get naturally only by means of Spagyrism. This process is widely used in the system of electrohomoepathy medicine that believes in the cure of diseases by de-vitiation of the blood and lymph. Dr. Ajit Singh practices electrohomeopathy and acupuncture as well as conducts research on medicinal plants in Punjab, India. Dr. Singh can be contacted at: drajit_7@hotmail.com. Website: www.sbeamattie.com.
By Paul HardacrePoetry, like alchemy, is largely ignored, and is effectively marginalized from mainstream culture. Most people couldn't care less about either artform, and yet both house so much of value to humanity. Poets, like alchemists, are dwellers on the fringe; often characterized, somewhat tragically, as undesirables, freaks or lunatics. Poets are interpreters of, as A.E. Waite put it in his little-known masterpiece, Azoth; or The Star in the East, “the unrealizable beauty of that which is behind the veil,” doing so ‘by the graciousness of the veil.” As he so eloquently states: “In this matter the poets are our only interpreters – that is, legitimately – because the problem is outside science, which is concerned with the veil alone; and it is outside ordinary philosophy, because ordinary philosophy has affirmed that the reality is unknowable; and the best conclusions from analogy are to be learned of the masters of analogy, of the kings of interpretation, of those who see furthest, who possess that intuition which is the deepest instrument of supersensual research, and is in fact that higher faculty, that sixth sense, at which we have already hinted, which we now openly affirm is par excellence the mystical instrument. Those only who are in touch with poetry can have part in the life to come. It is therefore eminently, and before all things necessary, that we should see after the manner of the poets, and the mystical philosophy of Nature is to be found in them.”
Writing poetry for more than ten years, I have explored poetic styles, starting with early lyrical and confessional works, and gradually drifting across the dream-sea towards less sentimental shores, to the sometimes chilly intellectual islands of language poetry (langpo) and other post-modern, non-traditional and non-narrative forms where the reader plays the significant role of extracting – or perhaps even allocating – meaning from a poem. The ‘true’ meaning of the poem is often hidden or encoded within multi-layered, largely unpunctuated, stream-of-consciousness-esque flow of allusive words and sentences and phrases and images ... not always images, but with my own poems, I tend towards image-scapes. One might call them image-puzzles; telling some kind of exoteric 'story' on the surface, but obfuscating the true meaning. In this sense, my poems are acts of the occult, whereby I tantalize and stimulate language lovers (i.e. the mind) but shield or disguise the truth (i.e. the pearl, the heart) – a kind of poetic 'Green Language' tapping into various traditions and lineages in contemporary Australian and North American poetics.
My exploration of the Language of Thoth, the Gay Speech, the Language of the Birds, the Language of God – call it what you will – intensified significantly during the time of the protracted deaths of both my mother and father. During this nineteen-month period I began to think about magic and alchemy, reconnecting with a life-long fascination that had slipped for some years. The spirit of poetry still burned within me, but it had been joined by something else. I became overtaken with the desire to realize the Stone – not simply to understand it conceptually or philosophically, but to facilitate its manifestation.
As both my parents crept closer to their time to sleep with the earth, the Universal essence flung alchemy before me, every step of the way ... so many markers along an apparent path, so long as I kept myself ‘open’ and didn't try to force anything. There was a transmutation of this matter known as 'me’ whereby a poetic-alchemical product was created ... for the Hermetic Child of Sun and Moon to be born, both parents must die. This is a painful birth, to be certain. I honestly see myself as a living alchemical product, heading towards the Stone. The poems in liber xix: differentia liber record this transmutation process, this evening of myself to include more 'heart' to balance all of my out-of-control intellectualism.
The nineteen x nineteen-line poems that comprise the suite also document the difference between modern man, the immature Adam (45) and God (26). It took nineteen months to write the nineteen-poem suite; nineteen months for both parents to die, and indeed, there are many other nuances of nineteen of significance, both inside and out, above and below. Writing each poem required me to establish contact with the source, the essence, which wasn't always easy or pleasant. These poems changed me, and I know that neither my self nor my writing will be the same again.
Coinciding with the agonizing demise of my mother and father, and with my desire for manifesting the Stone (spiritual and physical), I had a chance meeting with an alchemist/spagyricist who quickly became like a brother to me. I read more and more, discussing the Hermetic arts with my long-time partner and soror mystica, and my newfound brother. I was soon introduced to his alchemical mentor, and since that time, I have had the pleasure of knowing other aspirants to the Stone. All the while, my poetry and alchemy became united together, as one art for interpreting Nature.
Poetry has been my gateway to alchemy, as has the death of my solar and lunar progenitors. It hasn't been an easy path, but I am happy with what I have seen and learnt and felt along the way, and where my path seems to be heading in the future. And why not? As Waite put it, “The possession of the spirit of poetry is … an indispensable condition of achievement; it is the agent of transfiguration; it is the philosophic stone which transmutes the world and man.” burning god “With a great howl of rage and hate he snatched the body of his murdered brother out of the chest, tore it into fourteen pieces, and scattered them far and wide over the land of Egypt.” – Roger Lancelyn Green, Isis and Osiris
“Egypt, then, was the eye and heart of the Earth; the Heavenly Nile poured its light-flood of wisdom through this dark of the eye, or made the land throb like a heart with the celestial life-currents.” – G.R.S. Mead, Thrice-Greatest Hermes (vol. iii)
black dirt heart he licks her secret parts or waters stars a swallow nursed by isis wagered light & shoulders clay so made & moist or reared from grass he burns as summer beams a world of river skin like siamese moon her rock beside the sea the great green fire or flower of the clouds towards the night his wordless book & blankets soaked with dew she bends the sun to white the were-not-days a ros that starts with spring: the oldest death a pearl he swiftly seized & flayed the skin from head & mixed the bones with flesh & burned the mountain / forged his ruddy head from blackness stained with acid gift the stink of furnace leaves or bark & fruit her awful look a coffin-boat & spotted red like blood her young are fed (or slain / or gold
called down from the air
“Out of chaos God formed substance, making what is not into what is. He hewed enormous pillars out of ether that cannot be grasped.” – Sefer Yetsirah 2:6
“The whole secret of the art was said to be contained in the maxim Solve et coagula, ‘Dissolve and combine’. To ‘dissolve’ means to strip away a substance’s characteristics, to ‘combine’ is to build up a new substance.” – Richard Cavendish, Alchemy
clothe itself in flesh & whiplike bones his troubled dreams already dead she rose to shake from far below in earth & walked the house the dark & faintly red he blew the lamp or trees or massed outside in firetop weeds & rain his tank of stone & tears he calls it lux it hurt to call in bedroom graveyard light like winter aires the heart as meat immersed in rills & freshets closed the middle span his box or trunk collected blood or rings the edge of woods & birds an elder snare or ghoulsign hollow sun her august keys beneath the open slate & stuffed or hollow men suggested rats the never white in glass or made the walls a spark not black not red not green she chops in tantric battle all we are & would be (change: drums that fade to desert pixies dress she sends her cement wings & wine a no place empty face
from the dark skies, from the dark moon
“Naked the goddess mother lies in hell; naked. Ninazu’s mother lies exposed, the holy garment fallen from her shoulders, bare are the breasts of the mother, Ereshkigal.” – Cry of the Dead, from Gilgamesh
“There is no death of anyone, save in appearance, just as there is no birth of any, save only in seeming.” – Apollonius of Tyana
dog or sometimes cat assailed he claws at legs or clothes his horns & bells the end of moon of lotus seat the love of clouds & death-like sounds like wheels a sea of jewels all kinds of bones her noose & skull in red & feeding wolves her tears on beating wings all snaky-tressed & wordless / book of birds at dawn a falling dew from too dark skies & forests earth & dust the light (in beauty cheeks the forehead bright & high the neck like shell the heart at times eats stones & lastly thunder cuckoos flutes & bees the tree as food a house or road & coiled for certain worms or one she blinks & rips & hooked in hair her fingers rent the bloody head her face & breasts she shrieks & swathed in glitter tries to crawl his corpse-light eyes & lower (dead) she cries the skins of beasts & set but made not known the day she lost or hides as dark or maybe emptied / missed with dread ___________________________ Paul Hardacre was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1974. He is the Managing Editor of papertiger media, publishers of the papertiger: new world poetry CDROM, hutt poetry ezine, anything i like art ezine, and the soi 3 modern poets imprint. And he is a published poet. The nineteen nineteen-line poems of his latest work, liber xix: differentia liber, took one and a half years to complete and explore the mysteries, hermetic and alchemical cosmology, cabala and the 'green language', occult and devotional systems, the reconciliation of opposites, and death - both familial and mythological. With his long-time partner, artist and graphic designer Marissa Newell, he currently divides his time between Brisbane, Australia, and Chiang Mai, Thailand. Planetary Attributions of Plants III: A Compilation According to Eleven Bibliographic Sources Currently in Print. By Johann F. W. Hasler Editor’s Note: The previous two issues of the Alchemy Journal featured the bibliographic research conducted by Johann Hasler with the publication of the first two parts of a series identifying the planetary attributions of plants. The first part included the table for the Sun. The second part included the publication of the next three tables for the Moon, Mercury and Venus. This issue includes the third and final part with the publication of the tables for Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The Introduction to the Series, Notes to the Tables and the Bibliographic Key, published in the previous issues, are included again for easy reference.
Introduction to the Series
FEATURES by Cassandra Eason ISBN 1-58091-158-7. Crossing Press. 330 page. Qpbk. $14.95 << To order this book online at a discount, click on bookcover. Alchemy at Work: Using the Ancient Arts to Enhance Your Work LIfe is a guide to using the ancient art of alchemy as a means of achieving career satisfaction and prosperity. The book is from a renowned British author and psychic, and therein is the chief clue to its contents. This book contains various forms of divination in general outlines (the author has also written The Complete Guide to Divination), several forms of psychic protection, as well as lists of crystals, basic universal meanings of symbols, gems, oils, incense and smudge sticks, as well as color meanings. All of this indicates that the real focus of this work is on using one's innate, untapped abilities to expand your capabilities - which is a kind of alchemy all of us have access to. Go to Selections From This Book to see the Table of Contents and selected chapters. From the Fire by Dennis William Hauck I have accepted an offer to share the master of ceremonies position at the upcoming International Alchemy Conference along with Austrian chemist Hans Schimmer. Together we promise to keep things organized (as far as a group of alchemists can be organized). For complete information, go to www.AlchemyConference.com . Here is the current list of presenters (click on name for complete bio and links to lecturer's websites):
Send your announcements to the Alchemy Journal. October 5-7, 2007. International Alchemy Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The International Alchemy Guild (IAG) is currently organizing what looks to be the largest gathering of alchemists and alchemical practitioners in 500 years. The goal is to represent all aspects of alchemy, including the practical and spiritual paths, East and West, and modern perspectives such as transpersonal psychology. The event is scheduled to take place over the Columbus Day weekend, October 5-7, 2007, in Las Vegas. Complete information can be found at www.AlchemyConference.com . For a complete listing of other current lectures and workshops on alchemical topics, please go to www.AlchemyConference.com/lectures.htm . EDITORIAL From the Editor (by Duane Saari) For much of its history, alchemy has been a secret, a guarded and obscure way of interacting with the world. It is famous, as well as infamous, for its intentionally hidden writings, laboratory practices and the names of its most important practitioners. There are reasons. Originally, it was considered knowledge suitable only for an elite ruling or priest class. For a time, this powerful and “dangerous in the hands of the uninitiated” knowledge was shared with only initiates fully committed to its use for the greater good. Later, the Roman Catholic Church included it among the practices of the occult that lead unsuspecting souls to hell rather than heaven and persecuted its practitioners and teachers. Then, many alchemists were used by kings, rulers and the politically powerful for their personal ambitions. Eventually, this secret knowledge was driven almost completely into the dark, underground, unexplored side of developing societies and lost to most of us. However, over the last several hundred years, individual alchemists, working alone with the preserved information and practices have kept this inheritance alive in their writings and laboratories across the globe. Alchemy is an understanding of the Light and, therefore, cannot be completely hidden away. It seeps out of the dark in myriad ways through the work of individual alchemists such as Isaac Newton or in some of the miracles of modern medicine. Its message is also being tapped by poets, songwriters and performers. Examples of how alchemy permeates our culture are all around us. The Secret, a book and DVD published in 2006, is now a world wide phenomenon. According to its creators, the Emerald Tablet is the first statement of the Law of Attraction on which The Secret is based. Recently, I was approached by an individual who is planning a documentary on the relationship between The Secret and the Emerald Tablet. Just last week, I took the time to review an excerpt from Al Gore’s new book: The Assault on Reason at www.Time.com and came across his use of the word alchemy. Gore was referred to Marshall McLuhan’s description of TV as a cool medium compared to the hot medium of print. Gore says it was hard for him “…to understand when I read it 40 years ago, because the source of “heat” in his metaphor is the mental work required in the alchemy of reading.” This is a very appropriate and revealing use of the term alchemy, not just a convenient use of the word. Fundamental to the work of alchemy is the use of heat; in some instances it comes from the worldly fire that can burn and in others the Fire of True Imagination – “the fire that does not burn.” Last year, two conferences devoted to alchemy and its teachings were held. One, sponsored by the New York Open Center and co-sponsored by the Alchemy Museum in Kutna Hora and the Lumen Foundation, was held in Prague. It focused on the western esoteric tradition. The other was held in Philadelphia and sponsored by the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Many of the presenters at this conference spoke about the history of alchemy and its relationship to science. Another alchemy conference will be held in Las Vegas this year on October 6 and 7. This one is sponsored by the International Alchemy Guild. It is attracting a world wide, eclectic group of individuals using alchemy in many different ways. One of the articles in this issue of the Journal is by Dennis Hauck who is central to the conference’s conception and development. Dennis writes about the purpose of the gathering and his vision for its impact. We are surrounded by the influence of alchemy: its use in our public discourse, the expression of our deepest feelings in poetry such as that of Paul Hardacre’s in this issue, global conferences dedicated to it and the world wide response to the publication of The Secret. Lying at the core of the Great Work is the use of light, whether from the fire of calcination or our imagination. Alchemy cannot stay hidden. I believe it is time to bring alchemy out of the dark and reveal its treasures. Let me know if you agree or you don’t. Email me at: alchemyeditor@yahoo.com . Submit your articles on any aspect of alchemy. We are looking for biographies, historical articles, practical laboratory work, spagyric recipes, philosophical pieces, experiences in personal transformation, spiritual insights, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, book reviews, film and video reviews, website reviews, artwork, etc. Please submit your material or queries via email to AlchemyEditor@yahoo.com. Subscriptions and Archives The Alchemy Journal is published quarterly at the annual solstices and equinoxes. Issues are posted at the Alchemy Lab website on the journal archives page at www.AlchemyLab.com/journal.htm. This page also contains a Directory of Past Issues and an Index of Articles. To subscribe to the journal, simply send a blank email to AlchemyJournal-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Alchemy Resources
© All Rights Reserved. Published by the Alchemy Guild. |
ARTICLES
Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
The medicines, tinctures or essences, if prepared by following the procedures of Separation, Purification and Recombination are called the Spagyric way of making a medicine. By the methods of Separation and Purification we get the three purified elements of the Plants (Herbs) and then recombine these, which is also called “Cohobation” (Reassembling of the three purified elements of the Plant by means of Spagyrism).
ARTICLES Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
Poetry has been my gateway to alchemy, as has the death of my solar and lunar progenitors. It hasn't been an easy path, but I am happy with what I have seen and learnt and felt along the way, and where my path seems to be heading in the future. And why not? As Waite put it, “The possession of the spirit of poetry is … an indispensable condition of achievement; it is the agent of transfiguration; it is the philosophic stone which transmutes the world and man.”
ARTICLES Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
“Naked the goddess mother lies in hell; naked. Ninazu’s mother lies exposed, the holy garment fallen from her shoulders, bare are the breasts of the mother, Ereshkigal.”
– Cry of the Dead, from Gilgamesh
ARTICLES Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
ARTICLES Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
ARTICLES Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
ARTICLES Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
ARTICLES Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
ARTICLES Planetary Attributions of Plants III FEATURES EDITORIAL
For much of its history, alchemy has been a secret, a guarded and obscure way of interacting with the world. It is famous, as well as infamous, for its intentionally hidden writings, laboratory practices and the names of its most important practitioners. |
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