Στην Ινδία ονομάζεται σφραγίδα του Βισνού του Συντηρητή, και δηλώνει τη διπολικότητα της φύσης-ύλη και πνεύμα, ή αρσενικό και θηλυκό. Η κορυφή του επάνω (όρθιου) τριγώνου αντιπροσωπεύει τη θεία μονάδα, ενώ η κορυφή του κάτω (σκουρότερου) τριγώνου αντιπροσωπεύει τον εκδηλωμένο, υλικό κόσμο. Το ανερχόμενο τρίγωνο δηλώνει το πνεύμα, τη συνείδηση και την απόκρυφη σοφία, τα οποία αντανακλούνται στο αντεστραμμένο τρίγωνο (σκούρο) που αντιπροσωπεύει την ύλη, το ορατό διάστημα, την εκδήλωση και τη σοφία του φαινομενικού κόσμου. Τα δύο τρίγωνα μαζί αντιπροσωπεύουν το εκδηλωμένο σύμπαν που προβάλλει από το κεντρικό σημείο μέσα στον κύκλο του όφεως του χρόνου και του χώρου. Επίσης σχηματίζουν το εξάγωνο των έξη αρχών, κοσμικών και ανθρώπινων, οι οποίες προβάλλουν από την έβδομη αρχή, τον ανώτερο εαυτό κάθε οντότητας, η οποία συμβολίζεται από το σημείο στο κέντρο του σχήματος. Παρουσιάζεται έτσι η επταπλή σύνθεση του σύμπαντος και του ανθρώπου.
άστρο του Δαβιδ ….
The Union of Opposites
From The Spiritual Venturer, February 1999
By Rev. Bette Jo Benner
In our previous issue, we discussed the four elements, Fire, Water, Earth and Air. The Alchemists believed that all created matter was composed of one or more of these four elements. Consistent with Hermetic Law which is the basis for Alchemy, this includes man himself. Hermetic Law says “As above; so below; as without, so within.” All outer conditions are reflections of, or correspondences of inner conditions.
The Alchemists’ four elements correlate to four of the basic elements of organic chemistry:
Earth—–carbon
Water—–hydrogen
Air——-oxygen
Fire——nitrogen or sulfur
In turn, they each have a rarefied elemental essence:
Earth – rarified – Gnomes
Water – fluid essence – Nymphs
Air — intangible – AEth – Sylphs
Fire – etheric flame – Salamanders
And consistent with their love of opposites: Earth must become weightless, Water must become fiery, Air must become solid and Fire must become liquid. The four elements were at one in a mysterious object. This object is man. And so Alchemy has to do with a balancing of opposites within ourselves.
The Alchemists’ materials which they used in their physical art also symbolize the aspects of the Great Work of spiritual development. Three materials involved in the Alchemical processes correlate to the three aspects of man; body, mind and spirit. Sulfur symbolizes the intellect, the conscious or masculine. Mercury or Quicksilver symbolizes the emotions, the unconscious or feminine.
The great secret, which for centuries was known only to the Initiated, was finally exposed by General Ethan Allan Hitchcock, a century ago, is that Lead, the prima materia, which is called by a hundred names, every one a riddle, symbolizes the unregenerate man himself.
This lead is us before we have become spiritual beings. It is the base material, negative thoughts, lustful passions and harmful emotions which the aspirant of alchemy must change or transmute into the spiritual or gold. Lead represents the chaotic, heavy and sick condition of metal or the inward man. Gold expresses the perfection of both metallic and human existence.
Remember we said that the Alchemists believed that everything could be raised to a higher level of being. And recently, science has shown that even elements may be changed from one to another, something that was unthinkable only a few decades ago.
This idea was most important as it related to man. The process of raising the level of man has become known as The Great Work. There are three stages to this Work:
1. The Lesser work, also called the fore work or the purification.
2. The Greater work, also called the Main work, the making of the Philosopher’s Stone or Grand Elixir.
3. The After Work, the projection of the Philosopher’s Stone upon the lead to turn it into gold.
The Lesser Work, the successful completion of which is called Luna, is the spiritualization of man, the purified, exalted emotions that have been stabilized or sublimated – brought into the sublime. It is symbolized by the purest possible Quicksilver, which when completed is symbolized by Silver. It is the result of faith followed by works.
The Greater Work, which when completed is called Sol, is the embodying of spirit; an operation of the Holy Spirit which penetrates from without. It is symbolized by the purest possible sulfur, which when completed is symbolized by gold. It is the result of the preparation of the mind followed by grace.
The completion of these two stages of the Work result in the Philosopher’s Stone, that which will transmute Lead, the base man, into gold.
The After Work, or third stage, is almost never discussed. The culmination of this third stage is Illumination.
The Seal of Solomon or the Star of David: Using the symbolism above for the masculine and feminine duality of the universe, we will use Fire for the former and Water for the latter. Fire then, represents the intellect, the spirit and the masculine. Water represents the emotions, the unconscious, the heart and the feminine.
This same symbolism can be found in the story of creation in Genesis. “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” It is the two coming together which is necessary for creation. Together they provide the synthesis of all elements, the union of all opposites.
An equilateral (meaning that all three sides are equal in length) triangle with its apex pointing upward, is used as a symbol for Fire. The same equilateral triangle with its apex pointing downward is a symbol for Water. When the two come together, as in the Seal of Solomon or Star of David the two intertwined triangles represent the union of the opposites both within man and out in the universe.
These two triangles can be symbols in another way as well. The triangle with its apex pointed upwards also represents man. This is part of the symbolism of the pyramid on the dollar bill.
On the lowest level of the triangle is the physical or animal man. This correlates to the level of most of mankind and is the starting point in the Lesser Work. This is the body.
The second level of this triangle is the level of desire. It relates to the appetites and as yet unregenerate desires of the flesh. This is the heart or emotions.
The third level of the triangle is the level of the intellect, as yet unenlightened. It is in the realm of concrete thought. It represents the mind. These three aspects make up the mortal, unregenerate man: body, mind and heart.
If we are to reach Spiritual Illumination, the triangle must be inverted. The top of the first triangle becomes the bottom of the second. The mind, now on the first level, must change and become regenerated and capable of more abstract thought. It becomes higher mind, imbued with higher ideals. This is the First Degree.
The second level, the heart or desire nature becomes purified and through its lofty desires reaches the point of communion with the Hierarchies. This is the Second Degree.
Finally, on the third level, the fully regenerated or spiritualized mind and heart enable the regeneration of the mortal into the immortal. This is the true self and the Third Degree.
