Δευτέρα 24 Δεκεμβρίου 2018

Η μόνη οδός είναι αυτή της πικρής εμπειρίας και σε αυτόν τον αγώνα θα συρθείτε θέλετε δεν θέλετε.


Η μόνη οδός είναι αυτή της πικρής εμπειρίας και σε αυτόν τον αγώνα θα συρθείτε θέλετε δεν θέλετε.

Ακόμη και μέσα σε μια αρρωστημένη κοινωνία μπορούν να υπάρξουν στιγμές γαλήνης και περισυλλογής.

Όταν η όλη μας δραστηριότητα σε όλες τις τις όψεις λειτουργήσει αρμονικά, μέσα από μια ευφυή απόσπαση από κάθε αρνητικότητα.

Είναι δυστυχώς μια μεγάλη πραγματικότητα σήμερα οι εντάσεις που υπάρχουν και εκφράζονται μέσα στους ανθρώπους κάνοντας τις σχέσεις προβληματικές και εκρηκτικές.

Η μαθητείας μας έχει πάρα πολλές όψεις και όταν υπάρξει αυτή η σταδιακή διαδοχική δονητική ανάπτυξη τότε ο μαθητής ακτινοβολώντας αυτό το Φως γίνεται ένα κόκκινο πανί για τους άλλους. Οι περισσότεροι θα λειτουργήσουν ασυνείδητα βγάζοντας μια εχθρότητα ή μια ακατάσχετη κατάκριση χωρίς αρχή και τέλος ή οποιοδήποτε λογικό στοιχείο.

Αυτό βιώνω και εγώ τα τελευταία χρόνια από διάφορους ανθρώπους που έρχομαι σε επαφή μέσα από μια ελάχιστη εξωτερίκευση του εσώτερου εαυτού μου.
Και λέω ελάχιστη γιατί η μαγεία την οποία κατέχουμε δεν μπορεί να εξωτερικευτεί χωρίς λόγο σε ανθρώπους που δεν πληρούν μια στοιχειώδη καθαρότητα.

Να είστε σίγουροι πως το εγώ σας και η αρνητικές σας ποιότητες δεν μπορούν να κρυφτούν πίσω από τα χαμόγελα και την φλυαρία.
Όλα αυτά φωτίζονται πάνω από το κεφάλι σας σας τις φωτεινές πολύχρωμες επιγραφές των μαγαζιών, λειτουργούν μέσα από το αναπνευστικό σας πεδίο σαν ένας έναστρος ουρανός.

Παρόλα αυτά τίποτα δεν μπορεί να βιαστεί ή να μετατραπεί από έξω προς τα μέσα από τον οποιωνδήποτε, θα πρέπει να ακολουθηθεί μια εντελώς αντίστροφη διεργασία.

Το σημείο της επαφής μας είναι η καρδιά, η κεφαλή και το ιερό της λεκάνης.

Υπάρχουν τρία ουσιαστικά σημεία επαφής μεταξύ μας και δύσκολα σήμερα βρίσκεις σε ένα άνθρωπο αυτά τα τρία να λειτουργούν μέσα από έστω και ένα ελάχιστο φως του Θεού.

Τόσο πολύ μεγάλη σκοτεινότητα υπάρχει σήμερα στους ανθρώπους, τόσο μεγάλος παραλογισμός, αλόγιστη σκέψη και αξιοκαταθρήνητη δράση.

Η μόνη οδός είναι αυτή της πικρής εμπειρίας και σε αυτόν τον αγώνα θα συρθείτε θέλετε δεν θέλετε.

Παρασκευή 21 Δεκεμβρίου 2018

Τα μυστήρια περιέχονται με απλότητα και ευκρίνεια μέσα σε τρεις προτάσεις


Τα μυστήρια περιέχονται με απλότητα και ευκρίνεια μέσα σε τρεις προτάσεις

Τέλος Δεκεμβρίου κορυφώνεται η Πνευματική δραστηριότητα, φτάνει στο μεγαλύτερο της βαθμό, για αυτόν τον λόγο συμβολικά η γέννηση του Ιησού Χριστού, μέσα μας, εορτάζεται αυτές τις μέρες.
Αύξηση σημαίνει κορύφωση διότι απουσία δεν υπάρχει ποτέ.

Εμείς μιλάμε για το γεωγραφικό πλαίσιο της μεσογείου, διότι παίζει ρόλο ο χώρος, η γωνία και οι συνισταμένες δια κοσμικές ακτινοβολίες που διεισδύουν μέσα στην γη, αυτές δεν είναι κατά κανένα τρόπο ίδιες σε κάθε σημείο του πλανήτη.

Υπάρχει μια αντιθετική συμβολική πολλές φορές μέσα στο εξωτερικό μέρος της φιλοσοφίας και της συμβολικής της πνευματικής επιστήμης κάτι το οποίο αν δεν εξηγηθεί δύσκολα κατανοείτε.

Για παράδειγμα ένας άδειος τάφος σημαίνει ανάσταση στο νέο πεδίο ζωής, το σκοτάδι, η απουσία εγκυμονεί συμβολίζει την δημιουργία κλπ

Επίσης τα διάφορα φαινόμενα που λαμβάνουν χώρα μέσα στο φυσικό σώμα της γης περιέχουν ένα αντίστροφο μήνυμα όσον αφορά τις πνευματικές δραστηριότητες, διότι εμείς τα βλέπουμε αντεστραμμένα εξ αντανακλάσεως και για αυτό τα ερμηνεύουμε λάθος τις περισσότερες φορές.

Επίσης ο μήνας Δεκέμβρης δεν σηματοδοτεί κατά κανένα τρόπο έναν μήνα τέλους ενός έτους, όλα αυτά είναι αυθαίρετα μέσα από μια ανθρώπινη παρέμβαση.

Οι επιδράσεις αυτού του μήνα κατά την ανθρωπιστική τους ευγένεια που υπάρχει διάχυτη βεβαίως είναι μια συνολική προβολή και υποκρισία, παρόλα αυτά ελάχιστοι μπορούν να κατανοήσουν την ευλογία των ημερών αυτών και πόσο σημαντικό συμβολικό περιεχόμενο αλλά και κυριολεκτικό έχουν.

Ενωμένοι μέσα από το σύμβολο του σταυρού το οποίο μας δείχνει την οδό, την διεργασία, ακολουθούμε τον Κύριο μας ψηλά προς το όρος της θυσίας, τον τόπο του κρανίου, εκεί θα αφήσουμε την τελευταία μας θνητή αναπνοή, ώστε να κατάκαούμε ολοκληρωτικά από το πυρ του και να ανανεωθούμε πλήρως.

Τα μυστήρια περιέχονται με απλότητα και ευκρίνεια μέσα σε τρεις προτάσεις, η κατανόηση τους δεν απαιτεί καμιά ιδιαίτερη ευφυΐα, παρόλα αυτά οι άνθρωποι  διαβάζουν αυτόματα, τα προσπερνούν, το εγώ βλέπετε αρνείται να κατανοήσει....

Τα αυτιά δεν θέλουν να ακούσουν και τα μάτια δεν θέλουν να δουν...

Όμως όλοι εσείς που μέσα στην καρδιά σας ακούτε την φωνή Του, σταθείτε εκεί, διαλογιστείτε με σεβασμό και προσοχή και μια νέα κατάλευκη σελίδα θα ανοίξει στην ζωή σας.

Η Δόξα του Θεού είναι Απρόσβλητη.

Κυριακή 16 Δεκεμβρίου 2018

Splendor Solis το 6 Έμβλημα Το Δέντρο των Φιλοσόφων


Splendor Solis το 6 Έμβλημα  Το Δέντρο των Φιλοσόφων

Στην δεύτερη ομιλία μας σχετικά με το Splendor Solis σας εξηγήσαμε την 2 σειρά που περιέχεται στο έργο αυτό, εδώ βλέπουμε το 6 Έμβλημα  Το Δέντρο των Φιλοσόφων 
Δεν θα σας αναλύσω εδώ τα σύμβολα παρά θα διαβάσετε μια συνοπτική ερμηνεία :

Το έμβλημα αυτό μας μιλά για την εσωτερική εργασία που πρέπει ο μαθητής να πραγματοποιήσει ανεβαίνοντας τα αλχημικά στάδια ή διεργασίες, αυτή είναι μια ψυχική εργασία μιας πλήρους ανανέωσης για αυτό και οι καρποί όπως βλέπουμε είναι ασημένιοι ενώ τα κλαδιά δηλαδή η προέλευση τους προέρχεται εξ ολοκλήρου από το Πνεύμα. Αυτό συμβολίζει και η Κορώνα στην βάση του δένδρου την θειότητα και σοφία που είναι το θεμέλιο όλης μας της εργασίας, το πνευματικό στοιχείο ενώνεται με το υλικό, από εκεί ένα μικρό ποταμάκι κατέρχεται προς τα κάτω γεμίζοντας την εικόνα του κάτω μέρους με νερό, η πρωταρχική ύλη είναι παρούσα. Το Ζων Ύδωρ δίνει νέα ζωή έτσι ενώ στο πρώτο έμβλημα αναζητήσαμε τον χρυσό του πνεύματος μέσα μας και αυτό σημαίνει την αυτογνωσία για την αποκόλληση κάθε μιαρότητας αυτό τώρα γίνεται δυνατόν.
Το δέντρο αυτό συμβολίζει τον Υδράργυρο των Φιλοσόφων. Είναι επίσης γνωστό σαν 'arbor philosophica' το Φιλοσοφικό Δέντρο, ή το Δέντρο της Ζωής, αυτό στέκεται σαν το σύμβολο μια βασικής σημασίας αλχημικής διεργασίας ενός αρχικού σταδίου της τελειοποίησης των μετάλλων Από την μαύρωση περνάμε στην λεύκανση και από την λεύκανση στο κιτρίνισμα για να ολοκληρωθεί η εργασία μέσα από την ερύθρωση. Ο μαθητής όμως όπως σας είχαμε πει δεν είναι μόνος, πάντοτε οι πρεσβύτεροι αδελφοί είναι παρόντες και επενεργούν με εμάς όπως και εμείς με αυτούς γιατί θα πρέπει να δώσουμε απόδειξη της πνευματικής μας εργασίας μέσα από την προσφορά στου άλλους, λαμβάνουμε τον ασημένιο καρπό αλλά θα πρέπει να τον δώσουμε και εμείς με την σειρά μας. Οι δύο αυτοί ιερωμένοι συμβολίζουν και το δεύτερο και τρίτο στάδιο της διαδικασίας, αλλά ο μαθητής τώρα βρίσκεται στο δεύτερο για αυτό και δίνει το κλαδί με τον καρπό, ενώ ο άλλος αδελφός έχει ένα κλαδί χωρίς καρπό ακόμη.
Το κοράκι πάνω στο δέντρο συμβολίζει την αρχή του αλχημικού έργου που ήδη πραγματώνεται φέρνει καρπούς. Ο σκοτεινός κόσμος της ψυχής σταδιακά αποκαλύπτεται, ο θάνατος απομακρύνεται, εξουδετερώνεται, η συνείδηση μας ανανεώνεται πλήρως και αυτό φαίνεται από τα πουλιά που πετούν ψηλά, προς τα άνω προς τον ουρανό, η πνευματική μας ανάταση είναι ένα γεγονός. Οι 4 γυναικείες φιγούρες συμβολίζουν τα τέσσερα στοιχεία μέσα από τα οποία η ανανέωση θα έρθει αλλά και την θηλυκή όψη του πρωταρχικού μας όντος την οποίαν ακόμη δεν κατέχουμε πλήρως, δεν έχει ακόμη ενωθεί με την αρσενική, ο ερμαφρόδιτος δεν είναι ακόμη παρόν σε μας. Για αυτόν τον λόγο και οι 7 άντρες, τα επτά στοιχεία και μέταλλα είναι παρόντα εν δυνάμει αλλά απλά παρατηρούν, δεν εμπλέκονται στην διαδικασία. Έτσι από την μία έχουμε την αρσενική αλλά και την θηλυκή αρχή παρούσες.
Επίσης το μπάνιο συμβολίζει τον αστρικό εξαγνισμό, την δημιουργία ενός νέου μιας πνευματικής φύσης αστρικού σώματος αλλά αυτό μπορεί να συμβεί μόνον μέσα από την βοήθεια των υπηρετριών που συμβολίζουν τα δυο ανώτερα αλχημικά στάδια τις κιτρίνωσις και της ερύθρωσης ώστε το θαυμαστό ελιξίριο να παρασκευαστεί, το φλασκί να ανοιχτεί, η ψυχική τροφή να καταναλωθεί. Επίσης εδώ σε αυτό το έμβλημα σε αντίθεση με το 3 της πρώτης σειρά βλέπουμε πως το μικρό συντριβάνι μέσα στην πηγή απλά ανανεώνει τις ψυχικές ενέργειες και δεν ενώνονται όπως στο άλλο με αυτές του πνεύματος, την ροή του χρυσού που βλέπαμε και που έπεφταν μετά σαν μια μίξη πάνω στην γη.

Δευτέρα 10 Δεκεμβρίου 2018

Δεν μπορεί να υπάρξει καμία πνευματική αναβάθμιση αν κάποιος τρώει κρέας ή καπνίζει


Δεν μπορεί να υπάρξει καμία πνευματική αναβάθμιση αν κάποιος τρώει κρέας ή καπνίζει

Το γνωρίζω πως σήμερα έχει γίνει ένα ατελείωτο μπέρδεμα όσον αφορά την έννοια 'πνευματικότητα' η οποία στην ουσία σηματοδοτεί μια διεργασία η οποία σαν μοναδικό στόχο έχει την θέωση. 
Η Πνευματική Επιστήμη στο σύνολο των όψεων της σε ανατολή και δύση μας εξηγεί πως ο άνθρωπος είναι αποκομμένος από το πνεύμα και για αυτό η ψυχή του είναι εξολοκλήρου γήινη υλική και συνεπώς δεν μπορεί να καταστεί ένας σύνδεσμος με τα ανώτερα πεδία. Για αυτό και μιλάμε για αναγέννηση της ψυχής και εξαγνισμό.
Όλα αυτά απλά τα λέω για να περιγράψω ορισμένες βασικές αρχές για να εξηγήσω απλά πως αυτή η διεργασία της μεταμόρφωσις ξεκινά από τα υλικά μας οχήματα και αυτό προοδευτικά, στην αρχή θα πρέπει να πράξουμε τα αυτονόητα με τα πιο παχιά οχήματα μας το υλικό - αιθερικό μας, διότι εκεί βρίσκεται και η βάση όλης της εργασίας μιας και η δομή τους ποιοτικώς επηρεάζει τα άλλα δύο το αστρικό - νοητικό.
Για αυτό και όταν κάποιος έρχεται σε επαφή με μια αυθεντική Σχολή Μυστηρίων του εξηγείται η σημαντικότητα της διατροφής και η αποχή από τον καπνό, το αλκοόλ και τα ναρκωτικά - αλόγιστα φάρμακα.
Δεν μπορεί να υπάρξει καμία πνευματική αναβάθμιση αν κάποιος τρώει κρέας ή καπνίζει.
Το γιατί είναι πολύ απλό και δεν χρειάζεται καν να επιχειρηματολογήσει κάποιος πάνω σε αυτό αν και εξηγείται σε μας λεπτομερειακά.
Βεβαίως υπάρχουν πολλές ομάδες, τάγματα, αδελφότητες κλπ οι οποίες δεν θα σας εξηγήσουν γιατί όλα αυτά θα πρέπει να γίνουν μια προτεραιότητα για σας αλλά αυτό είναι απολύτως φυσικό γιατί ο σκοπός τους δεν είναι ο εξαγνισμός - μεταμόρφωση αλλά η καλλιέργεια του εγώ, της προσωπικότητας.
Οπότε δεν είναι απαραίτητο καν το να μιλάνε για αυτά...
Μόνον όταν ένας μαθητής αρχίσει να καθαρίζει την σωματική δομή σε αυτά τα απλά επίπεδα θα μπορέσει μετά να εστιαστεί στον κόσμο της σκέψης και των συναισθημάτων του μιας και σε αυτά απαιτείται μια σημαντική διεργασία ανακατεύθυνσης μέσα και μέσω από την πνευματική μας ουσία η οποία εγείρεται και απελευθερώνεται σταδιακά από τις βαριές αλυσίδες οι οποίες την   απομακρύνουν από την Πηγή Όλης της Ζωής.
Το είχαμε συζητήσει και στον ερμητικό κύκλο όσον αφορά το σύστημα συκωτιού σπλήνας μιας και αυτά τα δύο όργανα είναι πολύ σημαντικά μιας και είναι οι δέκτες των αστρικών και αιθερικών ακτινοβολιών που εισέρχονται μέσα στο σύστημα μας από το ευρύτερο περιβάλλον.
Για αυτό τον λόγο σκεφτείτε σοβαρά τα λόγια μας και αξιολογήστε με ειλικρίνεια την θέση σας και σκεφτείτε το τι θέλετε να επιτύχετε σε αυτήν την ζωή, να παραμείνετε φυλακισμένοι ή να απελευθερωθείτε από τον τροχό της γέννησης και του θανάτου;

Σάββατο 8 Δεκεμβρίου 2018

The New Age by Capt. P. G. Bowen (The Theosophical Path)


The New Age  by Capt. P. G. Bowen

I will begin by summarizing the teachings, as far as I know them, concerning 'Ages' in general.

1. This world on which we are wakingly conscious is one of a chain of seven spheres. It is No. 4 of the series of seven, and is the 'lowest,' or most material - that is to say, that upon it consciousness manifests in a more limited form than upon any of the other spheres.

2. The seven spheres form a single entity which I shall refer to as the Planetary Chain, or simply the Planet. This Planetary Chain includes not merely the seven spheres, but every entity from lowest elemental atom to highest spiritual being which lives and moves within the Chain. The Planetary Chain is a moving river of life. The hierarchies of beings which evolve upon or within it may be likened unto the great tides, the tidal waves, the rollers, the surges, the waves great and small, down to the invisible ripples upon the surface of the river. I am endeavoring to suggest a picture to the mind which, if appreciated, will help towards a better understanding of what the Planetary Chain really is. 

3. The Life-waves flow along the chain of spheres in regular succession, from Sphere No. 1 to Sphere No. 7; and thence (after a period of rest, or sleep) back again to Sphere No. 1. These 'waves,' 'wavelets,' etc., etc., in their totality form the vital pulsations of the great evolving Being which the Planetary Chain is. Seven of those great pulsations complete the life of the Planet. Seven circuits of the Chain of seven spheres complete the life of the hierarchy of beings which constitute any one wave. For clarity's sake, because the term is familiar to Theosophists, I will call one 'pulsation' of the Planetary Chain, or one circuit of a Life-wave round the spheres, a Planetary Round. When I speak of a 'life' being completed, it must be understood that I refer merely to the completion of a particular evolutionary cycle. The spiritual entities which manifest in any cycle do not die on completing it, but pass into a state of rest whence they emerge later on a new and higher cycle of manifestation ; and so on through eternity. Progress has no end.

4. Man, by which term I mean the spiritual beings which, on this sphere, and in this age, manifest as human beings, forms one of the Life waves which flow around the Planetary Chain. Man completes his evolution in seven Rounds of the Planetary Chain, and visits each sphere seven times. We have at present completed three Rounds, and are upon Sphere No. 4, a little over midway upon our fourth Planetary Round. 

5. As the Planetary Chain, the Great Being, the Great Hierarchy, has its seven great pulsations, or Rounds, so also have the lesser beings or lesser hierarchies, which it includes, their corresponding pulsations, or 'rounds.' Each of the seven spheres has its seven 'pulsations' in each Planetary Round, and these are what are familiarly called the RootRaces of Mankind. This does not mean that the 'pulsations' of our sphere consist solely of the human 'Life-wave.' This is simply one of a multitude, but it is important for present purposes because it concerns human consciousness. Each Root-Race evolves a certain aspect of consciousness, and seven are needed to evolve the complete Man - complete, that is, relative to the sphere, and the Round. 
I now pass to direct consideration of Man himself. Man's nature, like that of the Planetary Chain or the sphere, is sevenfold, and every aspect of it is in strict correspondence with an aspect of the greater Being within which he lives and moves. 

This doctrine of Correspondences is perhaps the most fundamental and important in the Occult Philosophy. Some clear understanding of it is necessary if the student hopes to begin to comprehend life. A complete understanding is possible only to high initiates, but this is fortunate, for the Law of Correspondences provides a key wherewith mighty occult forces may be unlocked.

Man is of seven aspects, or Principles, which are usually enumerated as follows:

1. SthUia-sarira Physical Body - instrument of contact with this earth plane.

2. Linga-sarira Astral Body - model of the physical, and vehicle of life in this plane.

3. Prana .......... Vitality - life as manifest on this plane.

4. Kama .......... Desire - passional and emotional nature.

5. Manas ........ Abstract Mind - mind existing independently, and apart from Desire.

6. Buddhi ........ Spiritual Soul.

7. Atman .......... Spirit - the SELF. 

Each of these human Principles corresponds to one of the Rounds of the Planetary Chain. Here I shall deal with the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh principles only. I would here interject a warning to students not to form hasty conclusions concerning the nature of the correspondences of the first, second, and third principles from anything which I say in this connexion.
Each Round develops, or evolves, a particular principle in the Planetary Chain. The Fourth Round, our present Round, evolves the Principle of Desire in the Planet. I ref er those who may demur at this statement to page 260 of Volume I of M adame Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine, (edition of 1888), where it is stated unequivocally that the Fourth Round develops the Fourth ( middle ) Principle in the planet, and this Fourth Principle is Desire. The apparent contradiction between this statement and the teaching that the Fourth Round ( and fourth sphere ) is the most material, is also explained.

This present Round is the Great Age of Desire. 
The Fifth Round which evolves the Fifth Principle in the Planet will be the Great Age of Mind. 
The Sixth Round will be the Great Age of Spiritual individuality. 
The Seventh Round will be the Final Age of Universal UNITY, which is the life of the spirit. Correspondentially with the foregoing the Root-Races on their lesser cycles on each sphere evolve aspects of the race at large. The Fourth Root-Race evolved Desire. The Fifth, our present Root-Race, evolves Mind.

Bearing in mind the facts above stated, we see that our human evolution is going on within the universal plane of Desire, represented by the principle which the Planet has evolved in this its Fourth Round. Our Root-Race, the Fifth, is evolving Mind in its own lesser cycle ; but this Mind, having to work within the plane of desire, is naturally dominated by it, with the result that Fifth Root-Race humanity - that is, Mankind in the mass - are still under the sway of Desire, and use such Mind as they have evolved to serve and feed it. Men in the mass are simply animals who think a little, and are self-conscious. This is not to say that there are not numerous exceptions to the rule. 

We have now to consider the 'pulsations' of the Root-Race, the lesser race-cycles, or 'ages' which run their courses within each greater Race. There are seven of these, usually called Sub-races, to each Root-Race. Each Sub-race on its own lesser cycle follows out the Law of Correspondences. Thus the Fourth Sub-race of the Fifth Root-Race would be evolving forth a desire-element, and the Fifth Sub-race would be evolving a mind-element, and so on. This principle runs through every cycle no matter how narrow: of course each ( primary) Sub-race has its own 'pulsations,' sub-sub-races; and each of these sub-sub-races has its seven sub-sub-sub-races: so on without end. 

Let us now examine these Sub-races, and consider what general characteristics their humanity should show. Consider the Fourth (primary) Sub-race of the Fifth Root-Race : in this we see a sub-section of Mankind at large ( the Fifth Root-Race l evolving its own Desire-principle. B ut already the Root-Race is evolving :11ind within the Universal plane of Desire ; therefore in the Sub-race we have what amounts to a working over, or a refining, of the Universal Desire within the field of the RootRace principle, Mind. This Root-Race Mind, as already shown, is a mere slave to Desire : in the Fourth Sub-race it will remain unchanged, but will have as its master a more refined and 'civilized' set of desires. 

I will call the point just made, Point No. 1, and will return to it later.  Consider next the Fifth (primary) Sub-race of the Fifth Root-Race. Here should be a sub-section of :Mankind engaged in evolving its own Mind-principle. It is evolving already within the Root-Race principle ( Mind), and within the Universal Fourth principle. The Sub-race ( Mind) evolution means a working over, a refining and intensifying of the Race-mind ; hence we should have a comparatively alert and powerful mentality in this sub-section of humanity, a mentality capable in a considerable measure of ordering and controlling Desire. 

I will call this Point No. 2. 
These ideas which I am putting forward here are not, I am aware, of a kind familiar to students of Theosophy. As far as I am aware they represent original thinking, but I am putting them forward solely in the hope that they may stimulate others into doing a little thinking for themselves, and not with the notion that they are any sort of revelation.

Turn back to those Points I have left. Point No. 1 outlines broadly the character which a Fourth Sub-race man of our Root-Race should, reasonably and logically, be expected to show. Is this character familiar? I think it is, for indeed it is that of so-called civilized humanity in the mass. And Point no. 2 ! Is the character broadly sketched there commonly found among civilized men at large? Do we commonly see a refined and alert mentality winning victories over the world of Desire ? We see individual examples of it, of course, but it is most surely not a characteristic of the race at large. 

What then emerges from comparison of those points? It is this, that we civilized human beings in the mass do not belong to the Fifth Sub-race of the Fifth Root-Race but only to the Fourth. 

The belief, universal among Theosophists, that we are in the Fifth Sub-race of the Fifth Root-Race is an excellent example of the pernicious habit of relying upon authority instead of thinking for ourselves. I want to shake students out of their faith in authority, and drive them into using and developing such mind as they possess. Many will loudly protest that my contentions conflict with the teachings of H. P. Blavatsky, and will ask if I intend to set myself up as a greater authority than she. This brings me to a point which is well worth examining. What exactly were Madame Blavatsky's teachings upon this matter of Races? 

On pages 444 to 446 of Volume II of The Secret Doctrine ( 1888 ed.) a good deal is said about Races. On page 444 we find the following:

They [the Americans] are, in short, the germs of the Sixth sub-race, and in some few hundred years more, will become most decidedly the pioneers of that race which must succeed to the present European or fifth sub-race, in all its new characteristics. 

This is the passage which appears to have given rise to the dogma ( it is nothing else) that we Europeans are in our Fifth Sub-race. 

Before going farther, I will draw attention to a thing which all esoteric students know, and which all beginners in esoteric studies should understand, namely, that information concerning esoteric matters given out by a genuine teacher is always shrouded by 'blinds.' These 'blinds' are of many kinds: some are known to esotericists, others are not known. A common 'blind' consists in what to the uninstructed appears like a loose or haphazard use of words, or terms. The same term will be encountered designating two or more obviously different things with the result that the student is left guessing at the teacher's real meaning. Or again, a single idea will be presented in such dissimilar ways, that the student is left befogged on the matter. Now those pages of The Secret Doctrine mentioned, and also pages 434-5 of Volume II, where H. P. B. tabulates racial evolutionary cycles, are thickly covered by 'blinds.' In the following passage on page 435, H. P. B. is quite obviously writing of the same thing as that dealt with in the passage already quoted :

... each Family-Race has an average existence of about 30,000 years. Thus the European 'Family Race' has still a good many thousand years to run .... [Italics ours]

She is 'obviously' speaking of the same thing as in the passage on page 444, I say, but is she really doing so, or giving quite other hints? Even if I knew the answer I should not give it. 

Now compare these two passages with the tabulation given on page 434. 1. Root-Race ; 2. Sub-race ; 3. Family-race ; 4. Family-race subdivided into national, tribal races, etc., etc., and one may well pause and ask oneself if it is possible to say at all what H. P. B . 's teachings on these matters really were. It is in fact only possible to do so through the intuition. Those terms 'Sub-race, Family-race, Tribal-race, etc.,' are clearly terms to which no fixed meaning can be attached. 'Subrace' may just as fitly apply to the three hundred and forty-third part of a Root-race as to a seventh part. In simple fact The Secret Doctrine is in the main not written to convey facts but to reveal laws to the discerning student which he should use to aid him in uncovering truth for himself. The pages from which I have quoted reveal laws which I am endeavoring to apply, in part, to the subjects I am considering here. 

Before one can make even a guess at what Family-race means, one needs to consider the probable duration of a Root-Race. Considering that 18,000,000 years have elapsed since the middle of the Third RootRace, and that we are about in the middle of the Fifth, it cannot be very wrong to imagine that the Root-Race has a life of nine million years. At that calculation, Family-race would mean a 'sub-sub-sub-race,' seeing its duration is 'approximately' 30,000 years. I am not dogmatizing, but just throwing out hints to stimulate thought. 

Nothing emerges more clearly than that we 'civilized' Europeans are not in the Fifth ( primary ) Sub-race of our Root-race. I will assume that we are in the Fifth 'Family' race of the Fourth Sub-race, of the Fifth Root-Race, but, as I have shown, this Family-race is a very minor race cycle. The Sixth Sub-race lies far ahead of us on our evolutionary path, and there are no signs at all that any 'N cw Age' is nigh its flowering for the mass of mankind.

II 

THERE is much, very much, in this matter of evolutionary cycles, or 'Ages,' beyond what has been said, which intimately concerns individual man. No New Age is imminent for mankind in the mass; but though planetary and race conditions profoundly affect the individual they do not bind him immutably. Each man has the power within him to become unto himself the \Vay, the Truth, and the Light, if only he will seize the reins of his own individuality firmly.

I will now turn from the survey of races to that of individuals. The Sixth Family-race - the 'New Age,' or the next step on the ladder of evolution - is not at hand for the race at large ; but that is not to say that it may not be at hand for certain individual men. I will consider what the distinguishing marks of a Sixth Family-race man may reasonably be expected to be, and then see if these are to be found in any of our fellow-men. 

The Sixth 'age,' whether Planetary Round, Root-Race, Sub-race, Family-race, or lesser cycle down to the least, has its correspondence with the sixth human Principle. This is Buddhi, or the Spiritual Soul. Direct KNOWING - that is to say, the power of gaining knowledge by direct perception without approaching it through a chain of reasoning such as this which I am using here - is the most distinctive mark of the development of the Spiritual Soul in man. This power of direct knowing is INTUITION. 

Intuition is a word which misuse has deprived of most of its meaning. We apply it ir.discriminately to mere instincts and feelings about things. We speak of 'woman's intuition,' but this, if analysed, will seldom be found to be anything more than an emotional or passional attraction towards certain things or persons, or a similar repulsion from others; it comes from nothing more than a specially fluidic condition of the Emotional Body, more common among women than among men of certain races, such as the English. It frequently leads aright, and those occasions are remembered and quoted as examples of genuine intuition ; but more often it leads astray, though such failures are always forgotten. It is a dim, distant reflexion, only, of the KNOWING which the Spiritual Soul exercises.

A Sixth Family-race man, like all humanity, lives and moves within the Plane of Desire - the Principle which the Planet is evolving in this its Fourth Round : he has the general diffused quality of Mind common to the Fifth Root-Race : and he has the ordinary 'civilized' desires which belong to our Fourth (primary) Sub-race. Thus far we have the basic ingredients of a very ordinary character. Moving into his minor Sixth 'age,' which I call for convenience' sake the Family-race, means that there occurs in him a certain awakening of the Spiritual Soul. Remembering the influences of the larger cycles in which he moves we can readily appreciate with what difficult conditions the Spiritual Soul has to strive in order to manifest. In the ordinary way, indeed, our Sixth Family-race man may in all likelihood appear even less than 'ordinary' ; but in brief moments, or in special conditions, he will startle by exhibiting a peculiar clarity and brilliance. When alone and quiet and withdrawn from the world's turmoil he will also have wonderful moments which will lighten for him the heavy burden of life ; for indeed these forerunners of the 'New Age' have no comfortable or happy lives. Withdrawal from the world is their true line : while in it their lives are anxious ones. Their flashes of KNOWING speak to them of so much that is higher that the world seems devilish by contrast.

I am picturing what I conceive to be the state of a Sixth Family-race man, here and now. But when this Family-race flowers generally the conditions I describe will be greatly modified. Then the Family-race as a whole will be living in its own conditions, and individual difficulties will cease to be such a burden. They will persist however as a racial characteristic in regard to the outer world. 

Now, we may inquire whether individuals such as I have described are to be met. The answer is, of course, in the affirmative. They may not be very common, but they are sufficiently numerous for all who observe to know them. 

Are there any examples of the Seventh Family-race in existence? The answer is, certainly, Yes. They are naturally less numerous than those of the Sixth, yet, because they are so much more impressive it is easy to imagine that they are more numerous. Their characteristics are not easy to define, because indeed the manifestation of the Spirit ( the Seventh Principle) is indefinable : we can recognize it, but we cannot say in what it consists. It may be said however that the Seventh Family-race man, like the Sixth, is fundamentally a very ordinary person, but with the indefinable, blinding quality of SPIRITUALITY added. They are apt to be no more happy, those pioneers of a Coming Race, than are their brothers of the Sixth, for their common lower nature constantly makes them fall or stumble. Relief for them however lies not in retirement from the world, but in searching for fields in which to manifest the thing which is awake within them.

And the Fifth (primary) Sub-race - are there any forerunners of it among individual men? Quite a considerable number! In my Point No. 2 I indicated what Fifth Sub-race development is: MIND for the first time in human evolution attains the power of dominating Desire in the Fifth Sub-race of the Fifth Root-Race. Fifth Sub-race men are not uncommon, and their qualities make them easily recognisable in any surroundings. The Intuitive man and the Spiritual man of the Sixth and the Seventh Family-races of the Fourth ( primary ) Sub-race fail to impress unless granted their own special conditions, but not so the man of the Fifth Sub-race : he impresses unmistakably. 

Is it possible, it may be asked, that the mentally dominant man of the Fifth Sub-race is more advanced than the intuitive, and the spiritual men of the Fourth Sub-race, although he lacks any apparent spiritual quality ? It is not merely possible, it is so ! I repeat what I drew attention to before : evolution is not a direct ascent, but an ascent by cycles. The Fifth Sub-race man must have passed through the Sixth and Seventh Family-races of the Fourth Sub-race before reaching his present state. These former intuitive and spiritual 'Ages' have passed into obscuration for him, but the lessons they provided have become a part of his permanent nature. He is now on an altogether higher cycle. 

The Fifth Sub-race man, like the Fourth, must advance through all the Family-races of his sub-race. If we knew how to distinguish them we could observe Fifth Sub-race men of various Family-races. Those most readily distinguishable belong to the Fourth Family-race wherein Desire again emerges in a minor cycle. In such men the common spectacle of a great mentality falling victim to, or deliberately yielding to, strange weaknesses may be observed. Then we have the men of the Fifth Family-race of the Fifth Sub-race, readily distinguishable as men of extraordinary talent, or even of genius, though not true genius. The men of true genius belong to the Sixth Family-race of the Fifth Subrace : in them the faculty of the Spiritual Soul - direct knowing - appears to illuminate the developed intellect.

Farther I shall not go, but this is not to say that individual evolution stops dead at a few examples of men of the Sixth Family-race of the Fifth Sub-race. In very fact there are on this earth examples of every stage of evolution - every 'AGE' up to the highest in this Planetary Round. But those far advanced races are beyond our knowing or perceiving. On this subject I can say little that is definite, but merely hint. Read pages 445-6 of Volume II of The Secret Doctrine ( 1888 edition) and see what arises in mind as a result. It may be much, or it may be little : all depends upon what 'age' one lives in. 

We may read in the letters of the Masters themselves of Fifth, and even Sixth ROUND men ; and some of these are named. But such matters form but glimpses of a mystery too deep for me to pretend to plumb. What I have said, and what still remains to be said, may serve to show the intelligent student that there are keys to all mysteries, and that these are to be searched for in the deeps of one's own consciousness, and are not to be got from the hands of any 'authority.' What I say here is said in an unusual way, and to many may appear to be a 'new' teaching, but it pretends to be nothing of the kind. It is simply a more or less vague approximation of certain truths of which I have caught glimpses, and I put it forward in the hope that it may stimulate a few into exerting the perceptive faculties concealed within us all. 

A determined attempt to achieve a working knowledge of cyclic law would relieve many earnest students from much trouble and confusion of mind. Many of these think that if by some mighty effort they could leap away from the common life into a spiritual state they could afford to dispense with any intervening development of Mind. 'Mentality,' 'intellectuality,' anything to do with 'mind' seems to be despised by these worthy but confused people. In their thinking, such as it is, they lose sight completely of what 'Man' is. One of the Teachers once said in this connexion :

Man is not Buddhi (Spiritual Soul). Man is Manas (Abstract Mind). He is separate, imperfect Man while Manas is bound by Kama (Desire). He becomes perfect Man when Manas mounting on Kama unites itself with Buddhi. 

In simpler words, Buddhi is not the Man, nor is it in itself individual, but universal. Individual Man is the pure Mind-Principle. While the Mind is held by Desire, pure Mind cannot manifest. What manifests is the Desire-Mind ( Kama-Manas ) and that means separate, personal Man. Mind must conquer Desire and free itself from it before it can turn upward and unite with the Spiritual Soul, forming in the union immortal individual Man. It is the Mind which experiences and learns. Buddhi does neither: it merely contemplates and remains ever the same. To create the future immortal, angelic Man Manas must coalesce with Buddhi, bringing with it the fruit of its accumulated experiences gained through its passage through matter. Before it can do this it must have emancipated itself from, and trodden upon, Desire. 

It depends then upon how well and truly he has learned the lessons which his planetary existence affords him whether any individual man is stepping forward into his 'New Age,' or whether he remains buried deep in the old. More than that, from the moment man wakes to consciousness of any struggle between Manas and Kama - between the Thinking Self and the Animal-, or Desire-Self - his destiny is in his own hands: if he fails to hasten his progress the loss and the responsibility is his own. 

There is no more important and splendid and inspiring teaching in our Occult Philosophy than that which tells us that if we but rouse the will into action we may, in the space of a few incarnations, leave our old 'Age' and sweep ahead, not merely into the next minor age, but into ages aeons ahead of the race at large. We may even do it in a single life : time is the greatest illusion. In an hour, a minute, a flash of a second, we may bridge a gulf of a million earth-years - pass in consciousness from the conditions of one Sub-race to that of its successor. Already, in our last return into incarnation, in our pre-birth life, in our growth up to our present state, we have recapitulated our evolution from Sphere No. 1 of the First Planetary Round. It is possible to go as far ahead again - an infinitely remote possibility, of course, but a possibility !

For the man who bends all his energies upon the task of learning the occult laws which rule existence, and struggles to live according to them, the 'NEW AGE' is always at hand. Minute by minute he is stepping from one cycle to a higher. But only by effort, and by right effort is this advance made. There is no such thing as just existing and in the end being carried forward by the stream of evolution. That way means circling round and round and ending by finding oneself a hopeless straggler, far behind the advancing host of those who were once one's fellows. 

"Thou art not only the guide and the lamp; thou art the Path thyself." So said one who is believed to have trodden the Path to within sight of its end. But let it be understood that when I say 'end' I am using a term relative to this planetary manifestation only ; because there is no end: progress is eternal. 
"Man, know thyself ! " is the adjuration of the sages of all ages. Before concluding I will reiterate an idea already put forward : 
"Man is MIND. He is the Fighter, the Warrior who must conquer matter, and the realm of the beast. Then he must bring his spoils and lay them at the feet of the serene CONTEMPLATOR who will reward him by sharing with him his own robe - the Robe of Wisdom." 
That is how a wise man who taught me much put the matter in his own 'un-English' way.

Part of the lesson is not beyond common comprehension. The Mind collects its spoils and makes its conquests, not to enrich itself, but the Higher Self, the Self of all ; therefore we must never make a god of mere mind. Yet we must value it in the highest, for it alone can conquer the lower nature, and bring us at last into the Kingdom of Perfection. 

The New Age for any one of us means each new step forward and upward on the endless ladder of evolution. Whether we are moving boldly into the light of our New Age, or are moldering among the stale fogs of the old, depends upon ourselves alone. If a man elect to be Time's servant, shackled to his master's chariot-wheels, he must be content to wait till the old cycle slowly rolls away and the new slips unperceived beneath his feet. But if he elect to become the Pilgrim of the Secret Path, and travels that Path with the power of awakened Manhood, his feet will ever be pressing the Threshold of some NEW AGE.

From : The Theosophical Path Vol. XLill, No. 2 OCTOBER, 1933

Τρίτη 4 Δεκεμβρίου 2018

The Chymical Wedding by Christian Rebisse, FRC


The Chymical Wedding by Christian Rebisse, FRC

The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz, a book that is considered to   be   the   third   Rosicrucian manifesto, made its appearance in 1616. It was printed in Strasbourg by Lazarus Zetzner, the publisher of Theatrum chemicum and numerous other alchemical treatises. This work differs considerably from the first two manifestos [Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis]. First of all, although it was likewise published anonymously, it  is known  that  Johann Valentin Andreae was the author. Secondly, it is unusual in form in that it is presented as an alchemical novel and as an autobiography of Christian Rosenkreuz.
Despite  the  important  development of science during this period, alchemy remained a potent force. It contributed by enriching the thoughts of researchers, prompting Frank Greiner to state: “The invention of  the modern world did not arise  essentially  from  the  triumph  of machinery, but also found some of its ferment in the alembics of  goldmakers and   extractors   of   the   quintessence.”1
In the seventeenth century alchemy broadened  its  perspectives.  It  claimed to be a unifying science that included medical  applications  and  developed  a more spiritual dimension. It also sought to become part of the thinking on the history of Creation, of the tragic cosmogony which brought about not only the fall of humanity, but nature as well. Thus, the alchemist was not only a physician who helped humanity to regenerate itself so as to be reborn to its spiritual condition, but the alchemist was also nature’s physician. As Saint Paul pointed out, Creation is in exile and suffering, and it is awaiting its liberation by humanity.2  Gerhard Dorn, a follower of  Paracelsus, was an individual who was typical of this evolution.3 And it was in this set of circumstances, so rich in published works, that the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz took its place.

Johann Valentin Andreae

The author of this manifesto, Johann Valentin Andreae (1586-1654), came from an illustrious family of  theologians. His grandfather, Jakob Andreae, was one of the authors of the Formula of Concord, an important document in the history of Lutheranism. In  recognition of  his meritorious services, the Count Palatine Otto Heinrich granted him a coat of arms.  Jakob’s design incorporated the cross of  St. Andrew, in reference to his family name, with four roses,  in  deference  to Martin Luther,  whose  armorial bearings   depicted   a rose. The emblem of Luther  may  be described thus: in the center is a black cross, bringing to mind mortification and recalling that faith in the crucified Christ leads to redemption. This cross reposes in the center of a red heart, the  symbol  of   life.
The  latter  is  placed on a white rose, the sign of joy and peace. The whole is sur- rounded by a golden ring symbolizing eternal life. It is possible that this emblem was inspired by the writings of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, which were deeply appreciated   by Luther. In- deed, in his sermons on the Song of  Songs, Saint Bernard often used  the  image  of the cross united with a flower when describing the marriage of the soul with God.

From childhood, Johann Valentin Andreae was brought up surrounded  by alchemy. His father, a pastor in Tubingen [Germany], owned a laboratory, and his cousin, Christophe Welling, was also an enthusiastic follower of this science. Young Johann Valentin followed in his father’s footsteps in theological studies. He was a friend of the theologian Johann Arndt, who considered him to be his spiritual son and  greatly  influenced  the youth. Arndt was part of the tradition of Valentin Weigel, a tradition which tried to achieve a synthesis between Rheno-Flemish mysticism, Renaissance Hermeticism, and Paracelsian alchemy.  Johann Valentin was also the friend  of   Tobias  Hess,  a theologian who pursued Paracelsian medicine and naometry. Devoting himself  to this science of  “measuring the temple” while at Tubingen, young Andreae assisted his teacher and protector, the theologian Matthias Hafenreffer, by drawing the il- lustrations for a study on the Temple of Ezekiel.   The youth- ful scholar was like- wise intrigued by the mediating role of symbols in the spiritual  experience.   
In this regard he shared the     preoccupations of   his   teacher   Jo- hann Arndt, who was noted for his mysticism and who was considered to be one of  the precursors of pietism.
The   author   of the  Chymical  Wedding considered the theater to be a worthwhile means for inducing his contemporaries to ponder serious matters, and some of his works were influenced by the commedia dell’arte. This is true in the case of Turbo, a play in which Harlequin made his first appearance on the German stage. This play, published in the same year as the Chymical Wedding, makes reference to alchemy. This important work would later serve as the model for Goethe’s Faust. However, although the author’s learning in the Hermetic art is readily apparent,4  his view of alchemists is also ironic. Generally speaking, whether in theology or science, what interested Andreae was useful knowledge and  not  vain  speculation.  For  instance, he and his friend John Amos Comenius helped to revive pedagogy in the seventeenth century. In 1614, he was named suffragen pastor of  Vaihingen. Later he became the superintendent in Calw, and then the preacher and counselor at the consistory of Stuttgart.  After having held various offices, he ended his career as the abbot of Adelberg, a town where he died in 1654.5

Johann   Valentin   Andreae   left   an impressive body of work.6  It was in 1602-1603, when he was not yet seventeen years old, that he made his first attempts as an author. He wrote two comedies about Esther and Hyacinth, as well as the first version of the Chymical Wedding.   The protagonist  of  this  novel  already  went by the name of  Christian Rosenkreuz – although this name may only have been added at its publication in 1616. As the manuscript for the first version of  this text has disappeared, it is difficult for us to know. However, what we can say for certain is that the symbols of the rose and cross rarely crop up in the novel. We also know that Andreae revamped the text for the 1616 edition. It is intriguing to note that  the  Chymical  Wedding  was  issued  in the same year and by the same publisher as Theca gladii spiritus (The Sheath of  the Glory of  the Spirit). This book repeated twenty-eight passages from the Confessio Fraternitatis.    However, the name of Christian Cosmoxene was substituted for that of Christian Rosenkreuz, and the author did not seem to adhere to all the concepts presented in the first Rosicrucian texts.  It  is  worth  recalling  that  in  the year in which the Fama Fraternitatis was written,  Andreae  proposed  the  creation of  a Societas Christiana, a group which, in some respects, resembled the project formulated in the manifestos. Throughout his life, he was constantly creating societies of learning, such as the Tubingen Circle, or organizations of a social character, such as the Foundation of Dyers, which is still in existence today.

The Story

The third Rosicrucian manifesto differs considerably from the two preceding ones. Briefly, here is the story. Christian  Rosenkreuz,  an  elderly  man who  is  eighty-one  years  old,  describes his adventures over a seven-day period in 1459. After being summoned to a royal wedding by a winged messenger, Christian leaves his retreat, situated on a mountain slope. After various incidents, he arrives at the summit of a high mountain, and then passes through a succession of three gates. Once within, he and the other people who have been invited are put to a test in which they are weighed on scales. If  they are judged virtuous enough, they are allowed to attend the wedding. The select few receive a Golden Fleece 7 and are presented to the royal family.

After being brought before the royal family, Christian Rosenkreuz describes the presentation of  a play. This is followed by a banquet, after which the royal family is  decapitated.  The  coffins  containing the corpses are loaded onto seven ships bound for a distant island. Arriving at their destination, they are placed in the Tower of Olympus, a curious seven-story edifice.

For the remainder of the narrative we witness the strange ascent of  the guests through the seven stories of  the tower. At each level, under the direction of  a maiden and an old man, they participate in alchemical operations. They carry out a distillation of the royal skins from which a liquid is obtained that is afterwards transformed into a white egg. From this a bird is hatched that is fattened before being decapitated and reduced to ashes. From the residue, the guests fabricate two human-shaped figurines. These homunculi are fed until they become the size of  adults. A final operation communicates to them the spark of life. The two homunculi are none other than the king and the queen who have been restored to life. Shortly afterwards, they welcome their guests into the Order of the Golden Stone, and all return to the castle. However, Christian  Rosenkreuz, at the time of  his first day in the castle, committed the indiscretion of entering the mausoleum where the sleeping Venus reposes. His inquisitiveness condemns him to become   the   guardian of the castle.    The sentence does not seem to be executed, because the narrative suddenly ends with the return of Christian Rosenkreuz to his cottage.  The author leaves us to understand that the hermit, who  is  eighty-one  years  old,  does  not have many more years to live. This last statement seems to contradict the Fama Ftaternitatis, which claimed that Christian Rosenkreuz  lived  to  the  venerable  age of  106. Moreover, other aspects of  the narrative depict a Christian Rosenkreuz who is quite at odds with the one presented in the earlier manifestos.

A Baroque Opera

As Bernard Gorceix has remarked, Andreae’s work bears the imprint of seventeenth century culture, that of  the Baroque, where allegory, fable, and symbol occupy a preeminent place. According to Gorceix, this novel is a significant historical and literary work. It is, in fact, one of the best examples of  the emergence of  the Baroque in the seventeenth century. The taste for the marvelous and the primacy of   ornamentation  are  quite  apparent.8
The castle where the wedding takes place is  sumptuous,  and  its  gardens  reflect the era’s interest in parks adorned with fountains and automatons.9  They serve to embellish many scenes in the story – most memorably that of the judgment in which the  guests,  one  by  one,  put  themselves in  a  balance  that  weighs  their  virtue. The author also has us witness strange processions  of  veiled  maidens  who  are barely perturbed by the arrows shot by a rather undisciplined Cupid. Moreover, we  encounter  such  fabulous  animals  as unicorns, lions, griffins, and the phoenix.

The costumes of the various characters are luxurious,   and   during the narrative some of them change from black to white and to red, ac- cording to the stage of alchemical transmutation in progress. Various feasts and banquets, served by invisible valets, punctuate the narrative.  Music,  often  played  by  invisible musicians, accompanies the narration.  Trumpets  and  kettledrums  mark the changes in scenery or the entrance of characters. The text is sprinkled with po- ems, and the general plot is interrupted by a play.  Nor is humor absent from this alchemical treatise. It manifests at often unexpected moments, as for example in the episode of  the judgment (third day), which gives rise to several broad jokes. At the moment when the transmutation is virtually achieved (sixth day), the director of the operations tricks the guests into believing that they are not going  to be invited to the final phase of the work. After seeing the effects of the joke, its perpetrator laughs so hard that “his belly was ready to burst.” The narrative involves hidden inscriptions and a riddle in ciphers which Leibniz tried to fathom.  As can be seen, we are face to face with a literary work of great opulence, and in a style very different from that of the Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis.

Inner Alchemy

In 1617, the year following the publication of  the Chymical Wedding, the alchemist Ratichius Brotoffer published Elucidarius Major, a book in which he tried to establish the correlations  between the seven days of  the Chymical  Wedding and the stages of alchemical work. He acknowledged, however, that Andreae’s text is obscure. In more recent years, other authors, such as Richard Kienast (1926) or Will-Erich Peuchkert (1928), did their best to decipher the mysteries of this text. More recently, Bernard Gorceix, Serge Hutin, and Roland Edighoffer in particular analyzed this work judiciously.10  The text of  the Chymical Wedding barely resembles the works of the alchemical corpus.  It is not at all a technical treatise, and its object is not to describe the operations in a laboratory. And we should note in passing that the story does not involve developing the Philosopher’s Stone, but of producing a  couple  of  homunculi.  In  regards  to the seven days described in the tale, it is essentially at the beginning of the fourth day that alchemical symbology occupies center stage.

Paul Arnold tried to show that the Chymical Wedding was simply an adaptation of Canto X of The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser (1594), which describes the Red Cross Knight. Yet his argument is hardly convincing. For his part, Roland Edighoffer showed that Andreae’s story bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  Clavis totius philosophiae chimisticae,” 11    a work by Gerhard Dorn, a follower of  Paracelsus. This book was published in 1567, and then included in the first volume of  Theatrum chemicum, published by Lazarus Zetzner in 1602.12 In this text, Dorn indicates that the purification carried out on matter by the alchemist should also be accomplished on people. His book presents three characters who typify the different parts of  human beings: body, soul, and spirit. While at a crossroads, the three have a discussion regarding what route they should follow so as to reach three castles situated on a mountain. The first of these castles is made  of  crystal,  the  second  of  silver, and the third of  diamond. After several adventures and a purification at the Fountain of Love, these characters attain the seven stages which mark the process of the inner regeneration of being. There is a striking resemblance between the basic plot of this story and that of the Chymical Wedding.

The Spiritual Wedding

In the epigraph to his book, Andreae indicates that “the mysteries are demeaned when revealed and lose their power when profaned.” Indeed, the initiatic mysteries lose their virtue when they merely pass through the filter of  the intellect. Under
these circumstances, how can we analyze the work that interests us here without stripping it of its virtues? We do not make the claim that we can reveal all of  the arcana, but we feel that three important themes presented in Andreae’s initiatic novel need to be emphasized: the wedding, the mountain of revelation, and the seven stages of the work.

The sacred wedding, the hierogamy, occupies   an   important   place   in   the ancient mysteries. In Christianity, with Saint Bernard of  Clairvaux (1090-1153), this subject was elaborated upon in his commentaries on the Song of  Songs. In his treatise On the Love of  God, he described the journey of the soul towards the higher spheres,  with  the  final stage  being  that of  the spiritual marriage. This symbolic system was developed in greater detail by the Rheno-Flemish mystics, notably with the Beguines and Jan van Ruysbroeck, author of  The Adornment of  the Spiritual Marriage (1335). Among numerous other authors, such as Valentin Weigel, the theme of the spiritual marriage is associated with that of regeneration and rebirth. Among the latter, alchemical symbolism is added to that of Christianity.

The royal wedding generally occupies an important place in alchemy, and psychologist Carl Jung showed that it was particularly well suited for describing the phases of  the process of  individuation. The wedding of  the king and the queen represent the union of the two polarities of being, the animus and the anima, leading to the discovery of Self. Jung set forth his research in many books, of which the most representative is Psychology and Alchemy (1944). However, it was in Mysterium Coniunctidnis, An Inquiry into the Separation and Synthesis of  Psychic Opposites in Alchemy (1955-56), that Jung’s investigations are thought to have reached their greatest development. In this work, the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz is a key element in his thinking. Contrary to what the title suggests, Andreae’s narrative does not speak of  a wedding. The marriage ceremony is not described in the novel, but rather its action revolves around the resurrection of  a king and a queen. As with Saint Bernard and the mystics of previous eras, it is the wedding of being, understood as a regeneration that Andreae refers to in his book.

The Castle of the Soul

The wedding location is on a mountain. In traditional symbology, this place, the point where the earth and sky touch, is the abode of the deities and of revelation. As has been so well demonstrated by Marie-Madeleine  Davy  in  La  Montagne et sa symbolique (The Mountain and its Symbolism),13  when  a person determines to  climb  the  mountain,  he  or  she  sets out on the quest for self  and embarks on the ascent toward  the  absolute. The invitation brought to Christian Rosenkreuz indicates that he must reach the summit of a mountain crowned by three temples. However, in the following episode of the narrative, castles are mentioned instead.

Christian Rosenkreuz passes through two portals and arrives at the castle where preparations for the great transmutation are taking place. Then, it is in a third place, in a tower situated on an island, that the Great Work is accomplished. We find here the theme of the castle of the soul spoken of  by Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) and Theresa of  Avila (1515-1582). For them, the quest of the soul is often presented as the conquest of a castle. Alchemical texts combine the two elements in describing a castle on a mountain. We previously observed that Gerhard Dorn spoke of three castles on a high mountain. Whether mountain, castle, temple, or tower, all of these symbolic elements in our narrative are meant to conjure up the notion of a journey and an ascent.

Yet the temple or castle situated on a high mountain also has an eschatological aspect by recalling the temple to come which Ezekiel spoke of in his visions. After the destruction of  the temple and the city of  Jerusalem, the Jews were de- ported to Babylon, and it is then that Ezekiel prophesied the vision of  the future temple. He drew a parallel between the exile of the Jews and the expulsion of humanity from Paradise. This destruction of  the temple brought about the retreat of God from Creation, God then becoming the only “place” where humans could worship. However, Ezekiel announced the establishment of  a new temple, a third, which would coincide with the restoration of  Creation. The prophet described this as being situated on a “high mountain,” and he declared that the archetype of this temple  existed  previously  in  the  superterrestrial world. This vision greatly influenced the Essenes and was the source of all apocalyptic literature.14 We are reminded of the importance of the vision of   Ezekiel’s temple in Simon Studion’s Naometria, and, as  previously  mentioned,  we know that Andreae   also had   the   opportunity   to work on this subject with Matthias Hafen- reffer (see above, “Johann Valentin Andreae”). Moreover, as Roland Edighoffer has shown, the Chymical Wedding includes many eschatological aspects. It is surprising to note that we will soon encounter this idea of  an eschatological temple with Robert Fludd.   For him, the mountain on which the temple is erected is none other than that of initiation.

The Seven Stages

In the Chymical Wedding, the number seven plays a fundamental role. The action unfolds over seven days; seven virgins, seven weights, seven ships are described; and the final transmutation takes place in an athanor which sits enthroned in a seven- story tower. Although this may not always be the case, alchemists generally divide the process of  the elaboration of  the Great Work into seven phases. Gerhard Dorn talks about the seven degrees of the work. Here we encounter a fundamental theme which is far from being unique to alchemy. As Professor Ioan P. Couliano has shown, the theory which states that the process of the elevation of the soul encompasses seven stages is found in numerous traditions.15  His researches indicate that according to a Greek tradition also found in Dante, Marsilio Ficino, and Pico della Mirandola, these ascents toward ecstasy are accomplished through the seven planetary spheres. Couliano also noted another form of ascent following a tradition dating back to Babylonia, and which later passed into Jewish and Judeo-Christian apocalyptic literature, as well as Islam. Without making reference to the planets, it also speaks of seven stages to spiritual ecstasy.

This element is also found in Hermeticism. The Poemandres, the first treatise of the Corpus Hermeticum, after having touched upon the cosmogony and the fall of humanity, speaks of the seven stages of the soul’s ascent through the framework of  the spheres.   It describes the seven zones that the soul, after the dissolution of  the material body, must pass through so as to purge the self of its defects and illusion before ascending toward the Father.16   It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the tenth treatise, which provides a summary of  the  Hermetic  teachings,  reconsiders the ascent toward the Divine by defining it as the “ascent toward Olympus.” Is it not striking that, in the Chymical Wedding, the tower where the seven alchemical phases are accomplished is appropriately called the Tower of Olympus?

The Seven Days of the Wedding

1st Day, Preparation for the Departure:

The heavenly invitation – The prisoners of the tower – The departure of Christian Rosenkreuz for the wedding.

2nd Day, Journey to the Castle:

The crossroads of  the four paths – The arrival at the castle and the passage through the three gates – The banquet at the castle – The dream.

3rd Day, The Judgment:

The judgment of the unworthy guests – The bestowal of the Golden Fleece on the chosen – The execution of  judgment – The  visit  to the  castle  –  The  weighing ceremony.

4th Day, The Blood Wedding:

The fountain of Hermes – The bestowal of  a second Golden   Fleece – Presentation to the six royal personages – The theatrical presentation – The execution of the royal family – The departure of the coffins on seven ships.

5th Day, The Sea Voyage:

The mausoleum of Venus – The false interment of the royal personages – The sea voyage – The arrival on the island – The seven-story tower – The laboratory.

6th Day, The Seven Phases of Resurrection:

The drawing of lots – The  ceremony around    the  fountain  and    cauldron  – The suspended  globe – The  white egg – The birth of the bird – The decapitation and  incineration  of   the  bird  –  The circular furnace – The fabrication of two figurines from ashes – The spark of life – The awakening of the royal couple.

7th Day, The Return of Christian Rosenkreuz:

The Knights of  the Golden Stone – The return by ship – The punishment inflicted   on   Christian   Rosenkreuz   – His return home after his pardon.
This septenary concept is also found in the Christian tradition, notably with Saint Bernard, who was highly admired by Andreae. The dream recounted  on the first day of the Chymical Wedding derives its theme from Saint Bernard’s sermon for the fifth Sunday after Pentecost. In this dream, Christian Rosenkreuz is locked away in a tower in the company of  other people. Moreover, the tools which  the  wedding guests receive for going from one floor to another  in the Tower of Olympus (sixth day) – a rope, ladder, or wings are taken from the symbology of Saint Bernard.
We find reference to the seven stages of  the inner life among two individuals praised by Andreae. The first, Stephan Praetorius, the pastor of Salzwedel, speaks of “justificatio, santificatio, contemplatio, applicatio, devotio, continentia, beneficienta.”  The second person is Philip Nicolai (1556-1608), a pioneer of the “new piety,” who, when speaking of the mystic wedding, describes the seven phases which mark the regenera- tion of the soul (The Mirror of  the Joys of Eternal Life, 1599).

Knight of the Golden Stone

At the end of the seventh day of the Chymical Wedding,  Christian Rosenkreuz is dubbed “Knight of  the Golden Stone.” This title gives him mastery over ignorance, poverty, and   illness. Each knight takes an  oath  in  promising  to  dedicate  the Order to God and his servant, Nature. In effect, as Johann Valentin Andreae indicates, “Art serves Nature” and the alchemist participates as much to his own restoration as that of nature. In a register, Christian Rosenkreuz inscribed these words: “The highest knowledge is that we know nothing.” This phrase refers to the “learned ignorance” preached by Nicholas of  Cusa (1404-1464). The latter, part of a  tradition  including  Proclus,  Dionysius the Areopagite, and Eckhart, opposed rationalistic logic. “Learned ignorance” does not consist of, as often thought, the rejection of knowledge, but the recognition that the world, being infinite, cannot be the object of  complete knowledge. Nicholas of Cusa advocated a gnosis, an illuminating knowledge, one capable of surpassing the world  of  appearances  by  understanding the coincidence of opposites.
In  conclusion,  the  Chymical  Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz is an initiatic narrative, that of a person’s quest on the way to the marriage with one’s soul. This ascent of  the soul is part of  a process encompassing both humanity and nature. When reading the book, we are struck by the richness of the language which testifies to the erudition of  its author. Indeed, it would  take  an  entire  volume  to  point out all of  the references to mythology, literature, theology, and esotericism. We have only made a brief  sketch here of this marvelous story. Rather than explain its various meanings, our primary aim has been to motivate you to read or reread this work that is fundamental to the Rosicrucian tradition and occupies a prominent place in the history of European literature.


End Notes
1. Aspects  de la tradition  alchimique  au XVIIe   siecle, acts of the international conference of the university of Reims-Champagne-Ardennes on  28-29  November 1996, under the direction of Frank Greiner, Chrysopoeia (Paris: Arch 1998) p. 11.
2. Romans 8:19-22.
3. Bernard Gorceix, Alchimie (Paris: Fayard, 1980).
4. We  find  here  numerous  references  to  Lexicon  Alchemiae by Martin Rulland  (1612).   English  edition: A Lexicon of  Alchemy, by Martin Ruland the Elder.   A. E. Waite, translator (London: J. M. Watkins, 1964).
5. Roland  Edighoffer,  Rose-Croix  et  societe  ideale  selson Johann Valentin  Andreae,  vols. I and II (Paris: Arma Artis, 1982 and 1987).
6. Edighoffer, Rose-Croix et societe ideale. . ., ibid., vol II., brings together his entire bibliography: books, translations,  editions,  correspondence,  and manuscripts, pp. 761-781.
7. The Golden Fleece is a symbol which designated the Great Work.  A fascinating work regarding this sub- ject was written by Antoine Faivre, Toison d’or et Alchimie (Paris: Arche 1990).  English edition: The Golden Fleece and Alchemy (Albany NY:   State University  of New York Press, 1993).
8. Bernard  Gorceix,  La Bible des Rose-Croix,  introduction (Paris: Presses  Universitaires  de France,  1970) pp. XXXVIII.
9. Regarding this subject, see the work of Salomon de Caus,  Hortus  Palatinus  (1620)  and  in particular  the reissue of  Le Jardin Palatin (Paris: Éd. du Moniteur,
1990),  with  a  postscript  by  Michel  Conan  which places S. de Caus in the Rosicrucian  movement  of Heidelberg.
10. We will not mention  here the rather fanciful  commentaries of numerous other authors.
11. Roland Edighoffer, Les Rose-Croix et la crise de conscience europeenne au XVIIe siecle (Paris: Dervy, 1999) pp. 282-302.
12. See Marie-Louise von Franz, who, in Alchimie et imagination active (La Fontaine de Pierre, 1978) provides numerous excerpts of this text.  English edition:  Al- chemical Active Imagination.   Rev. ed. (Boston Shambhala, 1997).
13. Paris: Albin Michel, 1996.
14. This idea was developed by Shozo Fujita, The Temple Theology  of  the Qumran  Sect and the Book  of  Ezekiel: Their  Relationship  to Jewish  Literature  of  the Last  Two Centuries  B.C.   (Ann  Arbor:  UMI,  Bell  & Howell, 1970).   (Princeton Thesis, 1970).   Henry Cordin summarized  it in a chapter  of  his  book  Temple  et Contemplation (Paris: Flammarion, 1980) pp. 307-422. English edition:   Temple and Contemplation.   Philip Sherrard and Liadain Sherrard, translators (London: KPI in association with Islamic Publications, 1986).
15. See  his  book  (Experience  de  l’extase  (Paris:  Payot, 1984), with a preface by Mircea Eliade.
16. See  Hermes  Trismegiste,  I,  Poimandres  (Paris:  Belles Lettres, 1991) pp. 15-16.  English edition: Hermetica: The Greek  Cor pus Hermeticum  and the Latin  Ascelpius in a new English translation,  with notes and introduc- tion by Brian P. Copenhaver (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).

From : Rosicrucian Digest No. 1 2016