Advanced

These articles contain subtleties and mysteries not easily perceived, and are only truly understood when analyzed in meditation and in the environment of a consistent and regular practice of transmutation.

Alchemists Prayer

All true Philosophers of the natural or Hermetic sciences begin their labors with a prayer to the Supreme Alchemist of the Universe, beseeching His assistance in the consummation of the Magnum Opus. The prayer that follows, written in a provincial German centuries ago by an adept now unknown, is representative: O holy and hallowed Trinity, Thou undivided and triple Unity! Cause me to sink into the abyss of Thy limitless eternal Fire, for only in that Fire can the mortal nature of man be changed into humble dust, while the new body of the salt union lies in the light. Oh, melt me and transmute me in this Thy holy Fire, so that on the day at Thy command the fiery waters of the Holy Spirit draw me out from the dark dust, giving me new birth and making me alive with His breath. May I also be exalted through the humble humility of Thy Son, rising through His assistance out of the dust and ashes and changing into a pure spiritual body of rainbow colors like unto...

Also labeled: Alchemy

Golden Tractate

Section I Even thus saith Hermes: Through long years I have not ceased to experiment, neither have I have spared any labour of mind And this science and art I have obtained by the sole inspiration of the living God, who judged fit to open them to me His servant, who has given to rational creatures the power of thinking and judging aright, forsaking none, or giving to any occasion to despair. For myself, I had never discovered this matter to anyone had it not been from fear of the day of judgment, and the perdition of my soul if I concealed it. It is a debt which I am desirous to discharge to the Faithful, as the Father of the faithful did liberally bestow it upon me. Understand ye, then, O Sons of Wisdom, that the knowledge of the four elements of the ancient philosophers was not corporally [physically] or imprudently sought after, which are through patience to be discovered, according to their causes and their occult [secret] operation. But, their operation is occult [secret], since...

Also labeled: Alchemy

Speculum Alchemie

The principles of all the metals are: Salt, Mercury, and Sulfur. Mercury, Sulfur, or Salt alone cannot give origin to the metals. However, when united, they give birth to diverse mineral metals. Therefore, it is logical that our Philosophical Stone must inevitably have these three principles. Sulfur is the fire of Alchemy, Mercury is the Spirit of Alchemy, and Salt is the Mastery of Alchemy. In order to elaborate the red elixir and the white elixir, we inevitably need a substance in which Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury are found completely pure and perfect. This is because the impurity and the imperfection of the alloy is again found in the amalgam. However, nothing can be aggregated to the metals except for the substances that are extracted from them. It is logical that a strange substance cannot serve us. Therefore, the raw matter of the Great Work must be found within ourselves. We perfect the substance (the crude matter) according to the art. This...

Also labeled: Alchemy

Yeshe Tsogyal: Advice about Sex

Yeshe Tsogyal (eighth century, Tibet) was a consort and disciple of Padmasambhava, the Indian Master of Tantra who helped lay the foundation for Tibetan Buddhism, and who is very highly regarded in Buddhism, second only to the Buddha Shakyamuni. Yeshe Tsogyal recorded many teachings of Padmasambhava, and gave teachings herself. The following is excerpted from her songs, as recorded in "Sky Dancer: The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel" by Keith Dowman (Penguin Books - 1989). ••• Tsogyel's Karmamudra Instruction After I had finished, the Nepali girl Kalasiddhi performed many prostrations and circumambulations and then made this request: Mother, when you have vanished into inner space, What should we zap-lam initiates of the Tibet...

Also labeled: Tantra

Yeshe Tsogyal: Sex and Initiation

Sometime in the eighth century A.D., Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) the Indian Master of Tantra, gave the following teaching to his consort and disciple Yeshe Tsogyal. Though this text is very esoteric and difficult to fully comprehend, it is highly valuable. In particular, this passage stands out, but must be understood in context; in Tantra, bodhichitta is an esoteric term for sexual energy. "If there is leakage of bodhichitta, the Buddha Unchanging Light is slain, and since there is no superior presence to whom such a crime can be acknowledged and thus atoned, such karma as that of the Avichi Hell results. Therefore, with the power of retraction, drawing up 'love' with the base energy of life-force, I held it in the pot of my belly, and maintaining the recollection of pleasure uncontaminated by lust, divesting myself of mind-created samadhi yet not slipping into an instant of torpor, I experienced the ascent of...

Also labeled: Tantra