The Operations
THE ST. GERMAIN CODE, Part II: THE "I" IN THE TRIANGLE
In alchemy, things are never what they seem, having layer upon layer of symbolic and cryptographic meaning. Anyone who finds the surface content of THE TRIANGLE BOOK disappointing, likely hasn't gone deep enough. If escaping persecution wasn't persuasive enough reason to encode one's alchemical knowledge, it also provided a veil from the profane, the uninitiated.
To really Know, To Will, To Dare, and Keep Silent requires making the alchemical experiment oneself -- that is the meaning of the "I" in the Triangle. The secret is in the power and the power is in the secret, because it is an experiential process and cannot be conveyed in any other way.
In Jungian metaphor sunken treasure and buried diamonds or precious stones of the wise are submerged in our psyches, waiting to be drawn up to consciousness. Retrieval of these lost or hidden treasures means tapping the wisdom of the collective unconscious and its primordial images.
Alchemy as known in the West seems to have sprung up in Egypt. The great Egyptian adept king, named by the Greeks Hermes Trismegistus, is thought to have been the founder of the art. Reputed to have lived about 1900 B.C., he was highly celebrated for his wisdom and skill in the operation of nature.Only a few fragments of his works escaped the destroying hand of the Emperor Diocletian in the third century A.D., namely, the Asclepian Dialogues and the Divine Poemanda. The whole of St. Germain's text is in accord with basic Hermetic and Alchemical principles of the Corpus Hermeticum [see Part II: St. Germain Code]. The whole process is concealed in his rite. This is the thing lost in the sea at the flooding of the globe.
'I, Artephius, having learnt all the art in the book of Hermes, was once as others, envious, but having now lived one thousand years or thereabouts (which thousand years have already passed over me since my nativity, by the grace of God alone, and the use of this admirable quintessence), as I have seen, through this long space of time, that men have been unable to perfect the same magistery on account of the obscurity of the words of the philosophers, moved by pity and good conscience, I have resolved, in these my last days, to publish in all sincerity and truly, so that men may have nothing more to desire concerning this work. I except one thing only, which is not lawful that I should write, because it can be revealed truly only by God, or by a master. Nevertheless, this likewise may be learned from this book, provided one be not stiff-necked and have a little experience.' [ Twelfth century, Artephius, 'The Art of Prolonging Human Life']RECOVERING SUNKEN TREASURE
Water is transformative, the agent of metamorphosis linked to the alchemical operation of Solutio. The Earth is linked to the operation of Coagulatio. Therefore, we are reminded of the alchemical maxim "Solve et Coagula", the union of opposites. It is the formula for giving birth to a new life form, half organic and half spiritual. Only that which has first been separated can be properly rejoined.
Solutio, dissolving a solid into a liquid form, is a prerequisite for magical rebirth, a source of regeneration. In solutio, you reunite the powers of Above and Below, integrating spiritual powers for direction. It is continual meditation on the contents arising spontaneously from the depths of your psyche, then grounding them in day-to-day experience. This operation heals the split between the physical and spiritual. Only the best qualities of the ego survive. The Self, the Stone becomes the new center of personality.
Alchemy postulates the existence of such a universal solvent as being capable of transforming base metals into gold and bestowing eternal youth and therefore immortality on human beings. The universal solvent -- counterpart to the "philosopher's stone" -- is not ordinary water, but "philosophical" water, the water of life, aqua permanens, aqua mercurialis. For Robert Grinnell (Alchemy in Modern Woman, 1973) it is basic to the transformative alchemical process of solutio which facilitates the fluid, mobile basis of consciousness:
For aqua permanens is a mode of the arcane substance; its symbol is water or sea-water, an all-pervading essence of anima mundi, the innermost and secret numinosum in man and the universe, that part of God which formed the quintessence and real substance of Physis, at once the highest supercelestial waters of wisdom and the spirit of life pervading inorganic matter.For Iona Miller (Chaos as the Universal Solvent, 1993):
In reducing all to pure water, the prima materia and the ultima materia become synonymous. That primal consciousness state, that creative and chaotic consciousness is the beginning of the operation of "water", and its ultimate realization. It becomes easy to see why the operation of water is the "root of alchemy." Through consciousness journeys which liquify our rigid notions of self and world, we re-create the adventures of the hero or heroine. The theme is the loss and recovery of identity.
There is a generic process in nature and consciousness which dissolves and regenerates all forms. The essence of this transformative, morphological process is chaotic--purposeful yet inherently unpredictable holistic repatterning. The Great Work of the art of alchemy is the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, a symbol of wholeness and integration. The liquid form of the Stone, called the Universal Solvent, dissolves all old forms like a rushing stream, and is the self-organizing matrix for the rebirth of new forms. It is thus a metaphor or model for the dynamic process of transformation, ego death and re-creation.
The alchemical operation SOLUTIO, called "the root of alchemy," corresponds with the element water. In solutio, the body is joined with soul and spirit. It implies a flowing state of consciousness, "liquification" of consciousness, a return to the womb for rebirth, a baptism or healing immersion in the vast ocean of deep consciousness. It facilitates feedback via creative regression: de-structuring, or destratification by immersion in the flow of psychic imagery through identification with more and more primal forms or patterns--a psychedelic, expanded state.
The word psychedelic has its roots in the Greek psyche, soul, and delos, visible, evident. It is direct evidence of the soul, the pure manifestation of soul. Stace (1960) identifies nine qualities of the psychedelic experience as follows: 1) unity of all things; 2) transformation of space and time; 3) deeply felt positive mood; 4) sacredness; 5) objectivity and reality; 6) paradoxicality; 7) alleged ineffability; 8) transiency, and 9) persisting positive changes in subsequent behavior.
In the practice of mysticism there is identification with progressively more subtle "bodies" or vehicles of consciousness, culminating in a transform from a mental or causal body to a vehicle of pure Light. In experiential psychotherapy, transformation results from deepening within the flow of psychic imagery, progressively identifying with more primal forms, and ultimately with formlessness. In tantric and psychedelic experience, expansion of consciousness dissolves ego boundaries leading to morphological transformations and ecstatic communion.
The need for the periodic destruction of outmoded systems implies the value of recycling consciousness through death/rebirth experience. The universal solvent is not ordinary water, but "philosophical" water, the water of life, aqua permanens, aqua mercurialis. It is also the panacea, "elixer vitae," "tincture," or universal medicine. To periodically dip into these healing waters has a tonic, rejuvenating effect which pervades all aspects of being, like a soothing balm.
This divine water signifies the return of The Feminine, a reflective consciousness with inner awareness and archetypal spiritual perceptions. This Feminine Divinity is the Anima Mundi, or Soul of the World, the universal animating principle, the upwelling spring of the creative Imagination, the dynamic flow of imagery, pattern, and form. This dynamic has been known as Isis, Shakti, Maya, Shekinah, Sophia, Demeter/Persephone, Magdalene, Black Madonna, Gaia.
When the constructed forms which hold personality together are voluntarily relinquished, consciousness "liquifies" and rapidly moves toward the unconditioned state. Though easy to say, it is sometimes difficult to achieve such liberation from the mental-conceptual activity of the nervous system. When we do, the quiescent nervous system is open and receptive to the conscious recognition of pure energy transforms with no interpretations.
Solutio implies the liquification of consciousness through the dissolution of rigidities which inhibit free flow. They include roles, game patterns, defense strategies, rigid attitudes and beliefs, interpretations, complexes, "old" myths, and "frozen" energy surrounding traumas which manifests as fear and pain.
Fossilized or ossified energies create obstructions to free flow, like boulders in a stream produce turbulence. Destructuring transformative processes can dissolve them, increasing the sense of flow. This "liquified" consciousness is psychedelic, a nonordinary expanded awareness which dissolves fixations and habits, and loosens cramped attitudes.
Mystic ecstasy, or the psychedelic state is mind-manifesting, consciousness expanding. It dissolves the identification of our consciousness with our histories, bodies, emotions, thoughts, and even beliefs. We are free to explore myriad forms, structures, and patterns, and/or become formless, resting in that unborn, unconditioned, unmodified healing state.
We experience the essence of other forms of existence. The Oneness of all life and existence is directly experienced through a variety of transformations ranging from plant and animal identifications to planetary and universal consciousness.
Entering the turbulent flow of the stream of consciousness, we can ride its currents back to the Source, pure unconditioned cosmic consciousness. We can imbibe the life-giving qualities of this "water" through mind-expanding experiential contact with this deep consciousness.
In alchemy, one sought not only to find or create the Stone, but also to apply it, or use it creatively in the everyday world. Now, we might speak of integrating or actualizing the results of our transformations in daily life. Thus, self-actualization or self-realization implies the grounding of the spiritual fruits of inner exploration.
The Adept himself is now the Universal Medicine. The alchemist is master of his or her Art and by virtue of the Stone has a catalytic or therapeutic effect on all contacts.
VITRIOL
"Nonexistence is eagerly bubbling in the expectation of being given existence....For the mine and treasure-house of God's making is naught but nonexistence coming into manifestation." ~Rumi
MINING THE SUBCONSCIOUS
CREATIVE POTENTIAL: Entering the Groundstate of Consciousness
The Rosicrucian motto V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (Visita Interiorem Terrae Rectificandoque / Invenies Occultum Lapidem) is a code that urges us to "Visit the interior of the earth and… you will find the secret stone." It suggests we mine our own depths. The center of the Earth is symbolically identical with our own heads. And at the center of the head we find the calcified pineal gland, the biological basis of the Third Eye of enlightenment, representing our connection to universal consciousness, to primordial Source.
This potential of emptiness is the hidden ground of our experience of the stream of consciousness. This grounding is also a move into manifestation based in spiritual depth. Paradoxically, Vitriol was the most important liquid in alchemy. All other reactions are contained or take place in it. In chemical terms, it is sulphuric acid.
St. Germain's text suggests we mine diamonds, gold and silver. The diamond is a symbol of the perfected Self, the higher Self. It is equivalent to the sacred geometry contained in the Diamond Body -- the Merkabah of the Kabbalists. It implies penetration of the secrets of matter, born of the Void. To tap substrate consciousness, we must create a mental vacuum - primordial awareness, from which all spacetime, mass-energy, mind-matter arise and dissolve..
The precious metals, gold and silver represent the alchemical opposites of Sun and Moon, respectively -- archetypal male and female energy, the yang and yin of alchemy. Sol/Gold stands for Light, Fire, Red, Sulpher, the Red Lion and The King. Luna/Silver is dark, left, water, white, mercury, The Queen and the White Eagle.
Luna is the Lesser Work of Alchemy – therapeutic clearing of the personality or work of the Soul. Sol is the Greater Work of the Spirit. The philosophical Gold, like the Lapis or Stone is a symbol of the goal of alchemical transmutation from mundane Lead of the merely physical body.
Thus, we have the injunction to perform the rite when sun, earth and moon are in conjunction, when Sun and Moon are one...or "married" in alchemical terms. It could indicate an eclipse of the Sun or the Moon, which sometimes occur during such alignments. New physics confirms an "ether" theory of the deep field, hyperspace. It is a revisioning of the deep nature of space and the space within ourselves as infinite potentiality.
The dynamic vacuum of scalar physics is the negentropic potential of the primordial creative field of Zero-Point Energy (ZPE). The vortices of space itself carry the enfolded electromagnetic oscillations or vibrations. Light is basically information emanating from the void. It is the basis of the energy body and biophtons in integral medicine and healing. It makes us one with all -- the luminous ocean of subspace in ceaseless roiling virtual photon fluctuation, popping in and out of existence in every instant.
In this dynamic model there are no "things," just energetic events. Light and sound (acoustic cymatics) modulate all matter from the "holoflux" of promordial flowing nature and all possible forms. All the objects of our world are formed by electromagnetic and nuclear processes. This is how DNA creates, organizes, renews and then projects our psychophysical structure.
Our brains mathematically construct 'concrete' reality by interpreting frequencies from another dimension. This information realm of meaningful, patterned primary reality transcends time and space. Thus, the brain is an embedded hologram, interpreting a holographic universe. Supernal light emerges from this ground of being, both in the cosmos and our human brains and bodies. All existence consists of embedded holograms within holograms, fractally embedded waves within waves of clear light. Their interrelatedness somehow gives rise to our existence and sensory images. When we embody this intimate wisdom, our bodies become temples of the living spirit -- immortal.
Absolute space is the womb of creation and the physics of virtual photon fluctuation reflects not only Nature, but also our nature. Only now are we learning just how literal that experience of Light is, and the interactive mechanisms it engages in our holistic psychophysical Being.
DISCUSSION
The alchemists wrote using symbols, the universal language. Great truths are often taught using symbolism, parables or metaphor, which can be interpreted on many different levels. A German book of 1604, Alchimia vera (The True Alchemy), said the whole secret of the art is hidden in the maxim, Solve et coagula, dissolve and combine. To dissolve means to reduce something to first matter, the raw essence, while to combine add desireable characteristics to primal substance.
Jung, focusing on the symbolism not the chemistry, believed the Great Work was equivalent to shaping an integrated personality. Psychologically, to dissolve means to break down and destroy surface mental characteristics and attidues that are blocks to the Self. In secret societies it is the mock death preceding initiation and rebirth. Now we call it ego death. But in St. Germain's time, alchemy was a pursuit of gold and wealth as much as an esoteric quest for spiritual perfection, literal as well as symbolic.
All of the outer procedures have an inner correspondent, so they describe inner experiences as well as those in the chemical laboratory. This is the Hermetic Law: "As above; so below. As without; so within." The first goal is to find the Philosopher's Stone or the Elixir of Life, the Key to Immortality. Then, the Stone is applied to the lead, or man himself, to change it into gold, or the immortal self. Rebirth revives the alchemist after the black death of the Nigredo.
The method is the harmonizing of duality. Alchemy is not a religious, metaphysical. nor ethical pursuit. It looks on the play of the powers of the Soul from a purely cosmological point of view, treating the soul as a ‘substance' to be purified, dissolved and crystallized anew.
A fiercely lived life is an artform -- illumination in action, based on discipline, practice and service. The specific "Art" is alchemical, a merger of inner and outer reality in One World. The Hermetics had their formula from the Emerald Tablet of Hermes for this realization, encoded in the anagram VITRIOL. It takes one to a precise locale in the mindscape to unite body, soul and spirit.
The formula VITRIOL is a call to meditation, whose seven words related directly to the seven chakras, whose activation is the key to making the Philosopher's Stone, wholeness. The formula means when you visit your depths, you find the Stone by resonance or alignment with it. The process is the same in Egypt, Tibet (the Diamond Way) or Europe. It correlates with illuminative activation of the Third Eye, through which we glimpse Eternity, the immortal realm.
The real secret of alchemy has always been the search for the Elixir of Life, the Philosopher’s Stone. Alchemists have always maintained that alchemy is the search for eternal life, which is symbolized by gold and is interlinked with the quest for the Holy Grail, the Diamond Body, the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life are simply different ways of looking for the same thing.
