The Separation of Science and Mysticism: A Detriment To All?

As many of my treasured readers may know I have been taking an abundance of mathematics and physics courses over the past two years while getting my Master's degree in bio-medical engineering. I am pretty sure at this point, that the ghost of Sir Isacc Newton has begun haunting my brain, scraping his chains through the halls of my cerebellum. For anyone who has taken at least Physics I and II and Calculus I and II, you will know that Newton pretty much has his named stamped on everything from his "Three Laws of Physics (which form the foundation from which most other physical laws/theories are defined) to "Newton's Method" ( a method for finding successively more precise approximations for the zeros of real functions in Calculus). For all intensive purposes we could say that Newton for the most part, invented Calculus ( although this is highly debated as another scholar during his time was working on the fundamentals of Calculus but from a different perspective). However, in terms of what we as students learn in university it is Isaac Netwon's principles in both mathematics and physics that govern the majority of material that is taught. But what is never spoken about is that Newton was also a famous alchemist and mystic. In fact, the majority of what we study in science and mathematics today were discovered by great intellects who were also mystics, alchemists, and magicians...Giordorno Bruno, Pythagoras, Plato, Poincare, Einstein, Descartes, Kepler, Bach, Roger Bacon, Pascal, Copernicus, Albertus Magnus, Geber, Paracelsus. This list is far from complete and leaves out the many mystical thinkers who have made great contributions to other important areas such as literature, music, and art that so highly influence us today.

Contemplating this and studying the universe from both a magical and scientific perspective it seems obvious to conclude that humans are functioning with limited knowledge on both sides of the fence. Limited because these famous scientists and mathematicians combined their work with techniques, and teachings that gave them a more complete understanding of the nature of reality which has now been separated from thier discoveries. Where they were praying, meditating, and connecting with the Spirit to uncover the mysteries of the universe and nature, we are left with the bare-bones of what they percieved. Where they were eating the hot, sumptuous pie just barely cooled from the oven, we are left with the crust (which is exceptionally tasty), but not the filling or its freshness. These masters were getting in touch with higher states of consciouness that helped them to uncover some of the many wonderful principles that we exploit today in our inventions, studies, experiments, and discoveries.

Albert Einstein for example, used to use a personal technique that he uncovered when he was working on the Special Theory of Relativity. He would sit in a chair with a metal ball and a metal bowl. Thinking of his question or what he was working on he would let himself drift off to sleep. Just before he would fall asleep he would enter that state of consciousness between waking and sleeping which is totally unbounded by the intellect, this is known by some to be transcendental consciousness, the dialectic, hypnogogia. In this state he would uncover the answers to the mysteries that he contemplated, unrestricted by the intellect, emotions, and sensations and attachments to the physical world. When he began to transition into the sleep-state the ball would drop into the bowl and wake him up so that he remembered what he uncovered. Although one of the world's greatest physicists, Einstein believed he could get in touch with the underlying unity of existence to unveil its true nature and make some of the most important discoveries to physics since Newton himself.

The seperation of science and mysticism didn't happen during the Age of Enlightenment, but has been a part of intellectual thinking since antiquity and has affected our studies of mathematics and science from its inception. Pythagorean cults are a perfect example. Although no writings exist from Pythagoras himself (he beleived in the concept of "mouth to ear" that still lives in the Golden Dawn tradition today). We do know by cross-referencing the writings of his students that Pythagorous was a mystic, mathematician, musician, and astronomer who did not see the seperation between these subjects but instead viewed them as being bound by a unifiying principle. He taught unification with the Spirit though harmony, humility, honor, and the contemplation of the infinite through numbers and music. It wasn't until after his death that two "Pythagorean Schools" emerged, one that focused soley on his mathematical and scientific teachings and the other which focused soley on his spritual teachings. It seems that the separation of holistic knowledge into bits and pieces was fated from antiquity.

If we begin to research and study the life-works of many of the scholars listed above, it becomes quite clear that the physical knowledge that we have obtained from their works is but a mere reflection of the spiritual principles that they uncovered simultaneously. "As Above, so Below" is the great spiritual edict, or as many a Golden Dawn magician may say, "Kether is in Malkuth and Malkuth is in Kether". If we contemplate these teachings of pure math or physics or chemistry from the view point that there is a reflective side of these subjects, a new world, a more complete world, begins to open itself up to us.

The next thing that we may deduce (or debate) is that not only is the corpus of out scientific knowledge incomplete, but possibly the corpus of our magical teachings. Is it so far fetched, to look at the study of something such as electro-magnetic fields and associate them with the way that magical current flows during hand-on healing techniques? Chapter X of The Kybalion concerning polarity begins, "Everything is dual, everything has poles, everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same, opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree..." For those of you who may have studied electricity, current, and electric fields this may sound similiar to you. Protons and electrons have an equal but opposite charge. Protons having a positive 1.67*10^-19 charge and electrons having a negative 1.67*10^-19 charge. These elementary particles are governed by Newton's "Third Law of Action and Reaction" which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Not only does this govern the movement of objects in the macroscopic realm but also the behavior of particles in the microscopic realm. The fact that these two particles are equal and opposite are the reason that atoms are held together and that molecules are made.Next comes what is known as an electric field where a distribution of charge (a bunch of charges bundled up together) causes what is known as an electric field. A single particle has an inner or outer pointing electric field, but it is the distribution of charge that causes things such as electric current.

Now let's look at this from an esoteric point of view. How many of you have under-taken the study of an energy healing technique or been the recipient of one and thought "Wow, I can feel this energy flow out of my hands" or "I can feel you touching me even though you are inches away from my body"? Is is so hard to make the connection that these energies may behave similarly to what we study in science? That there may be some type of energetic current or distribution of energetic particles causing this flow and that we may turn it on and off by at will? We spend a great deal of time honing our magical will in order to control these energies.Combined with a more specific understanding of how these energies work we could allow our will to turn into a sharply honed knife. And what about distance healing? Could quantum physics govern the principles of healing from far away? What about the discussions of the astral plane, where things such as time have no meaning? In the realms of quantum physics time is totally transcended, in fact the results that we receive from our experimental studies in quantum mechanics are totally dependent upon how we observe them because they deal with a plane of existence that is nothing but potential. Does this sound familiar?

Now this post is not meant to prove the connection between science and magic. I think that has been well written and well documented. The point that I am trying to make is that not only are we as a species of intelligent beings doing ourselves a great disservice by poo-pooing time honored and proven techniques (meditation, yoga, magic, etc..) that can help us to gain greater physical knowledge, but that we as magicians may not be utilizing all the knowledge that is available to us either. (Yes, I believe a physics book could be part of your grade material if used in the proper way) I have often heard it said by modern day mages that if science was only willing to take on the studies of esotericism our discoveries would grow exponentially. But I have rarely heard it spoken of the other way. However, over the past two years I have come to believe that when the separation of science and mysticism of an individual's teachings and discoveries takes place not only does the scientific community suffer, but spiritual community does as well. It makes complete sense that one should study chemistry along with alchemy, or physics along with ritual magic and meditative techniques. Knowledge is universal. It is one, it is not meant to be separated from itself into pieces. You cannot bake a pie with just a crust or just a filling, you need both. Please tell me your thoughts...

Nosce Te Ipsum

VH Soror FSO

Azoth or The Star In The East- Commentary Part 1

"I knew on a very deep level that this was a Sacred Art"

Alchemy is known as the Royal Art. It is an art in the sense that it calls forth both the creative and destructive forces within. It stimulates both the inner and the outer, and gives a greater meaning to that which at first glance may seem worthless or trite. It opens the world like a book to the hungry reader and tells a magnificent tale of worlds outside, within, and surrounding our own. It is Royal or Noble in that it repels any superfulous influence. Its is a path of purity, of higher status for the soul trapped in a muddied world, one that places the crown of immortabilty on anyone who would undergo its trials and blessings. It is spoken of in Greek Myth and in Spiritual Allegory. In fact, I would say that it is the only Art. Truly every spiritual tradition, every system of High Magic, every mystical teaching is only an extension of the process of alchemy The transmutation of the soul from the state of unknowingness and plumbous nature of lead to that of the perfected, incorruptable, and auriferous nature of gold. To elevate oneself from the imperfect to the perfect, to be a vessel which holds the essence of the All, and can with a touch turn other things imperfect into their exhalted counter-parts...that is the nature of the mystical life, the spiritual life. To those who seek the Royal Path I offer a commentary on portions of Azoth or the Star of the East. It's purpose to offer a bridge for your own research and development in the Great Work for you will see that alchemical texts draw from many, many sources and it is the work of the alchemist to delve into each mystery slowly uncovering its source and its meaning, digesting it and making it apart of oneself. And as I am a student always and forever I welcome any commentary from fellow alchemists and mystics alike. May we all move forward together in the Great Work. I hope this short blog is helpful and interesting. I will be off on a spiritual journey for a few weeks time, so this one is short but when I return I shall continue with Part II.

Nosce te Ipsum

Soror FSO

Preface.

In the books of the old physical Mystics, who conducted the experiments of transmutation and investigated the possibility of Nature in the world of metals and minerals, we find frequent reference to an all-permeateing and sublimating principle, which of the many forces deal with or referred to in occult chemistry appears most potent and most universal.

metals and minerals- refers to a more advanced stage of alchemy usually partaken of only after mastery of the

vegetable/herbal realm in which one has completed the "vegetable stone" known as the Minor Opus. This is the process of balancing and purifying the elements within through seperation and recombination. This work corresponds to the work of the Outer Order in the Golden Dawn taking one from Malkuth to the threshold of Tiphareth as well as to the world of Yetzirah and its effects on the astral body. The mineral work corresponds to the permanent psychic changes that are made in Briah, the Inner Order work and the spheres of Tiphareth, Geburah, and Chesed.

all-permeating;all-evading- Azoth is effective in all planes and for all times

sublimating-the spiritualization of matter; purification, the raising of one's vibrational energy. In chemistry this corresponds to the process of transition from a solid to gas with no liquid phase in between. Sublimation begins with the removal of the superfulous so that the purest parts remain possessing only the quality of the spirit, the term sublimation can also refer to the creation of the astral body.

It is the 'essential and final principle of the Great Work; its analogies in the intelligible order are to be found in the Divine Will; it is, allegorically speaking, the hand of God in Nature, and therefore in its symbolical aspect, as the outward sign of a withdrawn and unattainable potency; it has not been inappropriately designated the God of the Sages.

intelligible- denoting the metaphysical ream which is accessible to the intellect as opposed to the world of phenomena accessible only to the five senses. According to Pythagoras there are two worlds the sensible and the intelligible, the latter has the Monad as an originating principle. Plato also expounded on the intelligble world using his "Divided Line" analogy, a quick summery which can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analogy_of_the_divided_line

This force is the alchemical Azoth, The Catholicon, Magnesia, The Sperm of the World, Mercury, and the "Universal Medicine of Things, endowed with the most intent and concentrated virtue.

Azoth- The Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End, formed from the first and last letters of the hebrew alphabet Aleph-Tav

Catholicon- a remedy for ills

Magnesia-the "white" or "red" magnesia, the "magnet of Jah", the attractive principle of Divine Wisdom. This 'magnet' is also the power of attraction which establishes the orbits of the planets and the astronomical order of the heavens ( we hear this echoed in the Zelator initiation "He has bound Man with the Stars as with a chain. He allures him with Scattered Fragments of the Divine Body in bird and beast and flower, and He laments over him in the Wind and in the Sea and in the birds".\) It is the matter of the Stone. It "yields to nothing but love because generation is her aim and this is never accomplished through violence" The Sperm of the World from which all things are naturally generated, she (Magnesia) is of a middle nature (the Reconciler)

"It contains within itself" says the Book of the Wood of Life, "all other Medicines, as well as the first principle of all other substances, their accidents excluded. Unto this all things are alike; it uncovers every species, and imparts and immense streangth and catholic, central virtue.

catholic- universal

accidents-The nine accidents are quality, quantity, relation,action, passion, time, place, disposition, rainment. Accident was a term used by Pythagoras to describe a quality that was not apart of something's inherent nature (substance). For example a dog is a dog whether it is black or white. Therefore the dog is the substance, and the color is its accident. When the substance and accidents are reconciled together they form the one title, the perfect number, iota (10) (Matt 5:18: Verily I say unto you, till the heaven and earth pass away, one iota, or one title may not pass away from the law, till that all may come to pass). The iota is associated with the letter Yod-Hand in the hebrew alphabet. It is also associated with Virgo and The Hermit in the Tarot. (refer to the previous reference as Azoth being the hand of God in Nature)

The Essence of The Rosicrucian

A very bright student sent me a ritual earlier this week that she had been working on for me to review. As I was reading through it I came across something I had not thought about in awhile, but which has always been very profound to me. It is often known at "The Confession" or "Negative Confession" which is taken from the "Papyrus if Ani". If you are familiar with Egyptian mythology and especially if you are a student of the Golden Dawn you should be well familiar with The Egyptian Book of The Dead aka the Pert-Em-Hru, which roughly translates to "The Book of Coming Forth By Day".

In it the soul of the deceased, guided by Anubis is brought through the underworld to re-unite with Osiris. Some of you may know of this as an analogy for The Great Work, or Alchemia. As the soul (candidate) is taken through the Duat (underworld) he is brought before Maat, who weighs the heart against the weight of her feather. Should the soul be lighter than the feather than it would be granted eternal life in the Duat and unification with Osiris. If it weigh heavier the soul would be consumed by Ammit a creature depicted with the head of a crocodile, the hind-legs of a hippopotums, and the forequarters of a lion.

The beauty of "The Confession" is that it really expressed the true essence of what it means to be a Rosicrucian. And in return it affirms the connection that Rosicrucianism has with Egypt both alchemically and in spiritual teachings. I believe "The Confession" is one of those rare pieces of human history that represents the true essence of "The Rosicrucian Way" It is by standards such as these that an Adept of the Rose and Cross should seek to live in his life by...by the highest of standards. Presented below is "The Confession".

I hope you will enjoy this, and should you have any suggestions for other texts in this vein please feel free to leave them in the comments section so that myself and others may explore them. I highly recommend "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" by John Climacus and "Rosicrucian Symbols" by Franz Hartmann. The latter has a wonderful chapter on living the Rosicrucian Way.

Nosce te Ipsum

-FSO

"I have destroyed wickedness. I have not done evil to mankind. I have not oppressed the members of my family. I have not wrought evil in place of right and truth. I have no intimacy with worthless men. I have not demanded first consideration. I have not decreed that excessive labor be performed for me. I have not brought forward my name for exaltation or honors. I have not defrauded the oppressed of their property. I have made no man suffer hunger. I have made no one to weep. I have caused no pain to be inflicted upon man or animal. I have not defrauded the temple of their oblations. I have not diminished from the bushel. I have not filched away land. I have not encroached upon the fields of others. I have not added to the weights of the scales to cheat the seller and I have not misread the pointer of the scales to cheat the buyer. I have not kept milk from the mouths of children. I have not turned back the water at the time it should flow. I have not extinguished the fire when it should burn. I have not repulsed God in His Manifestation."

and following this confession we often say...

For I am Osiris triumphant, Even Osiris Onnophris, the Justified One. I am He who is clothed with the body of flesh, yet in whom is the spirit of the Great Unknowable One. I am the Lord of Life, triumphant over death. He who partaketh with me shall rise with me. I am the Manifestor in matter of those whose abode is in the invisible. I am purified; I stand upon the universe, I am the reconciler with the eternal gods, I am the perfector of matter and without me the universe is naught.