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)

IAO-Osiris As An Active Phase

I recently got back from a magical retreat. I would just like to take a second to give thanks to Adonai for the opportunity to get together with some of the most brilliant, kind, and spiritual people every year to do some wonderful magic. Although the countless hours of magic did make my head feel as if it was going to explode, I feel refreshingly crispy ;) Thus, this blog will be short, and not as intellectually stimulating as usual...but I feel compelled to get the word out, even if I can still hear the echos of snap, crackle, pop ringing in my ears...

Before I left I mentioned that I was starting to go through some personal alchemical changes again. I belive this was instigated by the heavy Senior workings I was doing at the time. I'm happy to say that my retreat quite thouroughly pushed me through the final stages.

For those of you who may not understand what I am talking about. I am discussing the stages of IAO- Isis, Apohis, Osiris or birth, death, and resurrection. In magic this expresses the trancendental formula a person goes through in moving from the imperfected aspects of the lower self to the perfected, exhaulted nature of the True Self. In life, there is one Great IAO, both pertaining to the physical life, as well as the spiritual. In the Golden Dawn an other traditions which use this formula we seek to acceleratd through magical practice. But, within the Great IAO are many mini stages of it, that go into perfecting the self. I liken this to the distlillation process of the alchemists,. or the Great Breath of Thoth.

This Isis stage is denoted by the feeling of excitement and joy one gets when begining a new venture. Countless amounts of energy and zeal for the task (in this case The Great Work) are hallmarks of the experienced. This would be like the excitement one feels before about climbing and conquering a mountain (Abiegnus anyone?) During the Apohis stage, one begins to feel the brunt of the work. This is how you would feel, in the middle of the mountain climb (tired, hungry, worn) He/she may feel a dryness for the Work, lose interest, or start running into road blocks. This can be a very difficult challenge to go through but is necessary for the Osiris stage to occur.

Now, many people think that getting to the Osiris phase is the end of the path, and the beginning of rest, but this is not the case. As someone who has experienced this state a few times I can say that yes a feeling of refreshment occurs. You experience the zeal again of the Isis stage, but now with a more mature knowledge. You are able to reflect back upon the nature of the challenge you went through and see the deeper patterns underlying it and the steps you took to get here very clearly. After reaching Osiris whenever you are presented with the same problem, your internal state will not be affected, but instead you will face it with ease and confidence.

I always feel a deep sense of humilty and gratitude to the Lord of the Univsere when I have reached this stage as well. It is always so amazing to me, that when I have gotten to the point of ultimate surrender and vulnerability during the Apophis stage, the Lord rescues me from the Dark Night, and places me at the top of the mountain. No, I cannot give any credit to myself outside of showing up for the lashings...because it trully is Adonai who gives so freely of these blessings.

The most signifigant aspect of the Osiris phase is not having reached it, but using this accomplishment to continue in the Work, whether that be in furthering oneself into the next stage of purification or helping another to do so The Osiris phase is not a passive end of the road state but an active phase! If we look to the Hall of the Neophyte we see that it is Osiris who, risen to a state of perfection, thus takes it upon himself to invoke the Light of the Higher so that others may begin thier path to perfection.

Thus, as I take a small respite, and prepare myself to climb the next mountain may the blessings of Isis-Shekinah be upon you all.


IAO
Let The Divine Light Descend!