Have We Forgotten - Masonic Alchemy

Have We Forgotten?


Its funny how sometimes when your researching something totally different Freemasonry pops up. Below is just that type of article. The italic is the article written by the author, the bold is my notes. Enjoy!

“To raise the evanescent man to a state of perfection enjoyed by the permanent ideal man is the great Arcanum, which cannot be learned in books. It is the great secret that may be understood by a child, but will for ever be incomprehensible to him who, living entirely in the realm of his dreams, has no power to grasp it. The attainment of a higher consciousness is the Magnum opus, the great work, of which the Alchemists said that thousands of years may be required to perform it, but that it may also be accomplished in a moment, even by a woman while engaged in spinning.”
In my humble opinion the author’s idea of the perfected state is somewhat akin to “Divine Union”, pre-ego (understood by a child). When one is living in the realm of dreams they are living in the world of the uncontrolled mind, a mind that is either reaching to an illusionary future or stuck in a by gone past, an unaware condition. The Magnum Opus being unification of man with god, unification of the limited with the unlimited, although a Buddhist very rarely uses the word God think nirvana.
I just love the metaphor of a woman engaged in spinning, total present awareness, no past no future, just now.

“They looked upon the human mind as being a great alembic, in which the contending forces of the emotions may be purified by the heat of holy aspirations and by a supreme love of truth. They gave instructions how the soul of mortal man may be sublimated and purified from earthly attractions, and its immortal parts be made living and free. The purified elements were made to ascend to the supreme source of law, and descended again in showers of snowy whiteness, visible to all, because they rendered every act of life holy and pure. They taught how the base metals — meaning the animal energies in man—could be transformed into the pure gold of true spirituality, and how, by attaining spiritual knowledge and spiritual life, souls could have their youth and innocence restored and is rendered immortal.”
Such a beautiful passage!! Release from the bondage of cravings, ignorance, and delusion.

“Their truths shared the fate of other truths; they were misunderstood and rejected by the ignorant, who continually clamor for truth and reject it when it is offered, and ridiculed by fools. Theology and Masonry have—each in its own manner—continued the teachings of the Alchemists, and fortunate is the Mason or the priest who spiritually understands that which he teaches. But of such true disciples there are only few.”
Here we find the “stone the builders rejected.”

“The systems in which the old truths have been embodied are still in existence, but the cold hands of Sophistry and Materialism have been laid upon the outward forms, and from the interior the spirit has fled. "
The opposite of materialism is idealism. Idealism suggests that there is no material substance and that everything that seems to exist is a product of thought and consciousness.

“Doctors and clergymen see only the outward form, and not the hidden mystery that called these forms into existence. The key to the inner sanctuary has been lost by those that were entrusted with its keeping, and the true password has not been rediscovered by the followers of Hiram Abiff.”
If this statement were true I would think that Masonry has lost its way, but I don’t. I tend to believe that Freemasonry is still a path that is viable to those that understand the allegories and symbolism. Remember the secret of the Philosopher's Stone enabled a man's soul to attain unity with the divine spirit.

“The riddle of the Egyptian Sphinx still waits for a solution, and will be revealed to none unless he becomes strong enough to discover it himself.”
But the true Word still lives. The light of truth still shines deep into the interior world of man, and sends its divine influence down into the valleys, and wherever the doors and windows are open to receive it, there will it dispel the darkness, rendering men and women conscious of their own godlike attributes and guiding them on the road to perfection, until, when all their struggles have ceased and the law has been restored, they will find permanent happiness in the realization of the highest universal ideal, their own divine self“…Magic white and black, or, The science of finite and infinite life
By Franz Hartmann

1. Know that All is One.
2. Know that everything is Thyself.
3. Know that the One in a state of vibration produces the great multiplicity of forms and activities in the Universe. 4. Know that if you examine this multiplicity from the standpoint of your intellectual reasoning, you will arrive at the following deductions:
5. Everything that you call " Life," "Energy," " Substance,” is a Duality.
6. Everything has a tendency to return to Unity.
7. All desire and therefore all suffering originates from duality.
8. Let thy aspiration be for enlightenment.
9. Know that the result of the joys experienced by the attainment of enlightenment is happiness.
10. Rise above the state of condensation.
11. Know that the result of the joys experienced in the state of condensation is suffering.
12. On the road from Unity in motion to tranquility is the state of condensation. It is the cause of your illusions, because you imagine it to be tranquility; and it is the cause of your doubts, because you regard it as the object of your desires. Know that the striving after the unification of the duality is the only source of your will, your desires, and of those joys whose results you call "suffering.”
13. Know that the door for the solution of that which is fixed is what is called "Matter.”
14. Know that everything has to pass through that door.
15. Know that the door for the solution of the fixed is also called "Life.”
16. Know that everything has to pass through that door.
17. And that the long sojourn in "Matter" and the interruption of the voyage by "Life" means retardation in the solution of the fixed and procrastination in the unification of the duality.
18. Enforce the practice of the power of that which is solved over that which is condensed.
19. Direct your attention to the consciousness of that which is dissolved over that which is condensed.
20. Carry this consciousness through all the planes of your being.
21. Elevate your whole body to the capacity to think, to hear, and to see.
22. Cause it thereby to become a fit instrument for the use of your self-consciousness of the One and of your self-power (resulting from unification).
23. Conquer the pains resulting there from.
24. When the divine Language is once heard within thy heart - when the King within thy interior has once obtained dominion - when thou hast passed through water and fire, and thy spirit has become the life of thy blood - then you may say: I am, I go, and I remain.
- Franz Hartmann, from Magic, White and Black

The Western Path Towards Enlightenment

Osiris fills the material world with happiness, purity and order, by which the harmony of Nature is maintained. It was said that he died at the autumnal equinox, when the Pleiades rose in the evening, and that he rose to life again in the spring, when vegetation was inspired with new activity.

“Enough is enough,” was the thought that ran through my mind as I read the newest edition of a very popular cerebral minded esoteric philosophical magazine, available only high end bookstores at a ridiculous price, “when am I going to find an article written about my path?”
Even though this enlightening (hint hint) magazine is published in the West, most of the writers teach an Eastern path, often using confusing and mystical Sanskrit words and unsolvable Zen koans as references. Not that I have anything against the great teachings of the East, I just wonder why one of the greatest spiritual paths of the West has been sadly ignored?
Before I re-introduce you to a Western path which parallels the paths of the East, please allow me explain why I think this path is often ignored.
First and foremost it is sadly misunderstood, first by those outside the tradition and sadly to most of those within.
What makes the tradition I have chosen misunderstood by the public is the ancient code of secrecy, a fact of most initiate paths, a secrecy that serves different purposes, none nefarious. Centuries ago in ancient Greece, and later also in Rome, solemn religious celebrations were held in honor of certain gods or goddesses, to which no one was admitted except those initiated and under the vow of secrecy. Violation of the vow meant death. Their purpose was not only to render worship, but to instruct the people in religious observances and by mystic dramas to preserve the traditions connected with the divinity.
In many ways the tradition I follow today mimics the ancient mysteries school, in fact many believe a continuous chain links us to these very same ancient mysteries, a fact I claim no knowledge of. Suffice to say the path of the initiate is usually secretive for protection from the forces of ignorance which I assure you do exist.
I myself prefer to think the tradition I follow is esoteric, a term comes from the Greek "esoteros" or inner, interior. It was applied in the ancient mysteries to those doctrines that were designed for the initiated, in contradiction to those that were imparted to the uninitiated and termed exoteric. The term Esoteric consequently stood for the mysteries and secrets of the Temple that could be known through preparation and timely initiations only. One expression of the motive for secrecy is found in the sayings of Jesus "that men do not cast their pearls before swine.” No offense intended.
Esoteric in the sense in which we employ it, does not imply any purposely concealed truth. All truth is esoteric until one is unfolded to comprehend it.
It is not my intent to justify this code of secrecy, it may be outdated, yet let the reader know that intolerance still exists.

As far as the crux of this my first blog, the Western esoteric path is still alive and well and yet few realize it. Why? Firstly I believe it has become unfashionable because it is misunderstood, and secondly seeking enlightenment from some mysterious monk has become vogue. After all for many Western seekers the religions of their youth has let them down and assume anything associated with Western esoteric traditions are more of the same, a premise that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Let me state from the beginning, and as clear as possible, I am NOT seeking converts.
It is not my intent to show you another mountain to climb, finish your assent on the path you have already chosen. Attempting to climb two mountains at once is but a fool’s game.
If you haven’t chosen a path, choose one, the world could certainly use a few more enlightened individuals.
My purpose is to reintroduce the path I have chosen in a universal manner to my brothers and others, a path of the heart, not the only path but one that deserves recognition, Freemasonry.