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What the heck is Alchemy?

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    #31
    Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

    Part 2 - the dirty part.

    2.reproductiveThe Golden Testament):

    contradictoryRebusRebus
    Also...how do you see the elements in terms of alchemy?

    ETA: I found this quote in a review of Atwood's book "this is to be accomplished by understanding the Elementals of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Of these, the first three are the Principles. Air symbolizes the conscious mind. Earth symbolizes the primeval mind. Water symbolizes the subconscious mind. The term "Elementals" includes Fire that symbolizes sentience. To "know thyself" in this way was the beginning of their philosophy." Is this basically accurate? Can you expand on it if it is? (this makes alot of sense to me)
    Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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      #32
      Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

      So...what is the significance of the Emerald Tablet, and how is it interpreted and used?
      Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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        #33
        Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

        The Emerald Tablets are the reputed first and most perfect expression of Alchemical knowledge. Everything else which has been written is - theoretically - an elaboration on the tablets, or a clarification.

        Depending on who you want to listen to, they were handed to the Egyptians by Hermes (Thoth-Hermes. In the Hermetic arts, they are generally considered the same thing), or they were found by Alexander the Great who established Alexandria specifically to study them, or they were found by Noah's son after the flood in the hands of a mummy in a cave which somehow didn't get flooded, or they were written by Adam, or they were on a tablet that Moses decided not to share...

        I've even heard that they came from aliens...

        None of these stories are likely to be true. They do all convey a similar idea - the knowledge is very old, and was given to humans by a divine power. The idea that a divine power is still involved in learning this art/science is clear when you notice that many Alchemical manuscripts explicitly state that, without divine assistance, the subject is impossible to learn.

        Interestingly enough, it doesn't seem to matter much if "god" is named Allah, Yahweh, Zeus, or Betty Boop. It didn't matter much to the Alchemists themselves, and all those deities don't seem to care either. They help out just the same. Generally the deity in European works is referred to as "the living God" which takes care of the name problem rather nicely, and is... rather descriptive...

        I'm glad that you didn't ask me to explain what they mean...

        The point that everybody picks out is the "as above, so it is below'" and this really is a central idea in Alchemy. It also includes the idea of "the one thing." There are ideas in there that you'll see expresses throughout the entire history of Western Alchemy, so it really is a foundation document.

        Fortunately, it's a lot shorter than most holy books - you can read it in about 2 minutes, write it on a half sheet of notebook paper, and spend the next twenty or thirty years figuring out what it means. Figuring it out is pretty much what Alchemists do - figure out the meaning, and learn to apply it.

        "The Sun is it's father, the Moon it's mother, the Wind hath carried it in it's belly, the Earth is it's nurse" comes from the E.T.s I have some nice illustrations of this - I'll try to post them when I get home. The illustrations date from the mid 16th century, the earliest confirmed date of a copy of the E.T.s is around 700 a.d., from a Middle Eastern source, so you can see that they've had a long shelf life.
        Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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          #34
          Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

          Hello all, hope everyone is well. I have continued to read and study every day. I still do not feel quite ready to do physical work, but have decided that I will start my own herb garden this spring. Recently I read The Herbalist's Bible- John Parkinson's Lost Classic Rediscovered, Herbal Healing for Women- R. Gladstar, some of the herb books on my reading list. I would love any suggestions for the beginning garden, if you have them. The area is fairly shaded, located in a yard interior of a forest.
          I have also been studying stones and their properties. It is all so very fascinating. So much to learn. An interesting thing I read, I believe it was by R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz or maybe his wife, but it stated that if you undertake this endeavor, your entire body will become the battleground, oh what truth I know this to be!
          But so worth it. Any other reading suggestions would be fantastic.

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            #35
            Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

            All the varieties of mint are good for shaded areas, if it's damp. The balm-y herbs, too, lemon balm, bee balm, also chives.

            If you are on the edge of a forest, Our Lady's Rose (a.k.a. wild rose, rambling rose) has a long history of use & association with female deities from Isis to Mary, as the name indicates, and is easily started from cuttings, if it isn't already growing where you are.

            Woodruff too, although I understand that it has some toxic properties.
            Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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              #36
              Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

              Thank you B. for the suggestions. It is a damp area. My idea is to create a space in the TET pattern, borders around the circle.

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              louxor-dieu-thot.jpg
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              One thing that I got out of Parkinson's book was not to overlook what we think of as common household cooking herbs.

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              Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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                #37
                Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                VERY VERY VERY COOL!

                Isaac Newton's previously ignored writings on Alchemy (he wrote more about Alchemy than on any other subject) are now being translated and published on the web.

                In addition, his instructions are being followed, and his experiments replicated. You can see photos of the experiments themselves, the results, and there are instructions for replicating them (even a school chemistry unit!). There is also a long analysis of how Newton's pursuit of Alchemy led directly to his discovery of the wavelengths of light.

                Chemistry of Isaac Newton: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newt...93998C6E35BAF4
                Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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