Spiritual Alchemy Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (/ˈbeɪmə, ˈboʊ-/;[1] 1575 – November 17, 1624) was a German Christian mystic and theologian. He is considered an original thinker within the Lutheran tradition, and his first book, commonly known as Aurora, caused a great scandal. In contemporary English, his name may be spelled Jacob Boehme; in seventeenth-century England it was also spelled Behmen, approximating the contemporary English pronunciation of the German Böhme. Biography[edit] Jakob Böhme (anonymous portrait) Böhme was born in March 8, 1575, at Alt Seidenberg (now Stary Zawidów, Poland), a village near Görlitz in Upper Lusatia, a territory of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1610 Böhme experienced another inner vision in which he further understood the unity of the cosmos and that he had received a special vocation from God. The shop in Görlitz, which was sold in 1613, had allowed Böhme to buy a house in 1610 and to finish paying for it in 1618. Aurora and writings[edit] Theology[edit] 1. 1. Cosmology[edit] Marian views[edit]
Psychospiritual Alchemy (The following is a partial chapter from my forthcoming book The Inner Light: Self-Realization via the Western Esoteric Tradition (Axis Mundi Books, March 2014), and available now on Amazon. Introduction to Psycho-Spiritual Alchemy Aurum nostrum non est aurum vulgi (our gold is not ordinary gold). —Gerhard Dorn The key to alchemy is found in the word transmutation, a word that in its original Latin meaning refers to total change. Spiritual alchemy is concerned with the transmutation of the personality and its structures, so as to allow for the light of unobstructed consciousness and pure Being to be directly known. The main difference between spiritual alchemy and alchemy as merely a primitive proto-science—the supposed precursor of modern chemistry—is that the former involves an interdependent relationship between the subject (self) and the object (all that is not-self). Background The Inner Science of Alchemy: the Philosopher’s Stone and Gold The Materia Prima and Solve et Coagula 1. 2. 3.
Chapter 10 « the LIVING BOOK of LIFE A few words from an old Wiseman inspired from some cosmic space, from which this all seemingly takes place. We seem to find ourselves falling down into Poverty in this our modern state of grace. On the other hand, is this just a state of mind, taught to our children throughout all time? Yet in the end we cannot be broken, it is simply up to Society. Do you see? As nature has a way of breaking. Turn to me with open arms. “The lonely calling of a Shamans life” Upon this Earth, there dwells a man, That heals the soul as no one can. His method work, and many find, new strength of heart and peace of mind. He feels great joy, though tastes no kiss, no children to dance around his feet, no tender maid his flesh to meet, Just to heal everything, within his sight, in fair exchange for smiles they give each night. The folks who wander here and there, feeling lost in great despair; he himself does reach inside, removing splinters and calming our tides, Tony Gray’Owl an American Cherokee Shaman What! You!
Psychic and Spiritual Alchemy There have always been two conceptions of alchemy: As a materialistic transformation of baser metals into gold or silver The spiritual transformation of the human person into a higher state of being Some alchemists claimed that alchemy was the inner teaching within Christianity; that the manufacture of the philosopher's stone (lapis) was equivalent to the Christ-experience, the new birth. Likely, some of these were actual teachers within the Perennial Tradition, using the symbolism of alchemy to explain--or cover--their activities. The church issued several encyclicals and papal bulls against alchemy, but a number of church leaders as well as scientists and philosophers defended the art. This essay presents exercises 1 in realizing 2 the Higher Consciousness and overcoming our bewitchment by the bodily senses. As the chart below indicates, the Higher Consciousness is the active principle within the spiritual level of being.
OTO Manifesto Sacred texts Thelema Issued by Order: Peace, Tolerance, Truth; Salutation on All Points of the Triangle; Respect To the Order. To All Whom It May Concern: Greeting and Health. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. 1. The Gnostic Catholic Church. It does not include the A.·.A.·., with which august body it is, however, in close alliance. It does not in any way infringe the just privileges of duly authorized Masonic Bodies. 2. It embodies the whole of the secret knowledge of all Oriental Orders; and its chiefs are initiates of the highest rank, and recognized as such by all capable of such recognition in every country in the world. In more remote times, the constituent originating assemblies of the O.T.O. included such men as: And recently: The names of women members are never divulged. It is not lawful here to disclose the name of any living chief. 3. 4. In its bosom repose the Great Mysteries; its brain has resolved all the problems of philosophy and of life. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. L.
Seven Stages of Spiritual Alchemy « Ya Allahoo! First Stage – Calcination CALCINATION is the first of seven major operations in the alchemy of transformation. Chemically, the Calcination process involves heating a substance in a crucible or over an open flame until it is reduced to ashes. In the Arcanum Experiment, Calcination is represented by sulfuric acid, which the alchemists made from a naturally occurring substance called Vitriol. Sulfuric acid is a powerful corrosive that eats away flesh and reacts with all metals except gold. Psychologically, this is the destruction of ego and our attachments to material possessions. Physiologically, the Fire of Calcination can be experienced as the metabolic discipline or aerobic activity that tunes the body, burning off excesses from overindulgence and producing a lean, mean, fighting machine. In Society, the Calcination is expressed in the lives of revolutionaries, conquerors, and other warriors who try to overthrow the status quo. Second Stage – Dissolution Third Stage – Separation Like this:
Alchemy - Seven Stages of Alchemical Transformation The alchemists believed that the univeral formula contained in the Emerald Tablet was the basis for a spiritual technology first introduced on the planet in ancient Egypt more than 10,000 years ago. This formula consists of seven consecutive operations performed on the "matter" - whether it be of a physical, psychological, or spiritual nature. To guide us through this process, we are going to make use of a tool actually used by the alchemists - a meditative mandala first published in 1759 as an illustration for the book "Azoth of the Philosophers" by the legendary German alchemist Basil Valentine. The word "Azoth" in the title is one of the more arcane names for the One thing described in the tablet. At the center of this remarkable drawing is the face of a bearded alchemist at the beginning of the Work. Within the downward-pointing triangle superimposed over the face of the alchemist is the goal of the Work, the divine man in which the forces from Above and the Below have come together.
Stages of Alchemy The alchemists believed there was a formula to alchemical transmutation and that transmutation could be experienced if these seven operations or stages were followed. Illustrations throughout alchemical manuscripts give visual keys to the seven sequential steps, and show a pathway to union with the Divine self or higher consciousness. The seven stages of alchemy are: Calcination This is the first stage of the alchemical practice and essentially represents the process of burning. Dissolution Dissolution is the process of adding the element of water to the ashes of what has been burned by the fires of calcination. Separation In this stage of the alchemical process the individual is able to see himself in two parts or the opposites within. Conjunction Conjunction gives us our first look at the higher realms of existence such as spiritual connection, concept of God, or something greater than ourselves that is outside of and connected to our self. Fermentation Distillation Coagulation
Alchemy Journal Vol.2 No.1 The Alchemy in Spiritual Progress Part I: Calcination (by Nanci Shanderá, Ph.D.) Burning with fever, drowning, being swept into a tornado, being challenged by the opposite sex, magically transforming into something or someone else, flying (without an airplane!), breathing underwater, being touched by an angel. Is this tonight’s television lineup? If so, it is because these are experiences common to those on the spiritual pathway and ones that can appear in both dream and waking realities. In this, the first of seven articles on the alchemical process, we will explore the foundational stage called Calcination. In Calcination, we come face to face with the ego’s resistances. In an alchemist’s laboratory, Calcination involves heating a substance until it is reduced to ashes. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying about the ego. The ego snaps to attention when its boundaries are weakened and tries to protect us by overinflation. Alchemy: the Cosmological Yoga Part 2: Phases of the Work