Michael Sternbach

Try clearing your browser cache. That often takes care of the residual issues.

I reported this problem to staff yesterday, whereupon Daeluin reported it to Sean, who fixed it once again. We hope that it will be possible to fix it for good in the near future.

And correct English seems to be a matter of luck even for highly experienced native writers.

Well, technically, it's a leg. But yeah... Looks like there is always a bigger croco.

Well, we could lock them a couple of days without much ado once they went off-topic. Members who feel like commenting on somebody's suspension would find them re-opened thereafter.

Thank you so much, dear fellow Swiss alchemist, for bringing to our attention one of the most important and revealing iconographical works of alchemy! The Mutus Liber was one of the first books I looked at when I started studying this occult science some 20 years ago, and it remains one of my favourites to this day. While most of its illustrations go into technical details of the Great Work, this first one summarizes the metaphysical foundations which it rests on. The curious combinations of numbers and letters seen at the bottom are biblical references, but they are written in reverse (the alchemists loved to pose riddles - this one is comparatively easy to solve). The first couple of these is directly related to the symbolism on this picture. Genesis 28:11, 12 Here we have Jacob sleeping while resting his head on a stone. Sleep is often a reference to the spiritually unawakened state that the average human spends their life in. This brings to mind the man on the bottom level in Thomas Vaughn's picture we looked at earlier. The stone is of special significance in alchemy's allegorical language: It refers to the physical body as the grave of the soul in the Gnostic sense. On the level of the practical work in the laboratory, it is the secret matter that needs to be "awakened" and activated in order to ultimately be transformed into the Philosopher's Stone. The wake up call is provided by the angels blowing trumpets. These are the influences that are leading the aspiring alchemist beyond the boundaries of the physical world; they are "opening up the stone" to the influences of the Moon and the further celestial bodies. The planetary spheres are the realm of the anima mundi, the Soul of the World, whereas Earth or the sublunar sphere are considered the body of the world in the ancient cosmology. Synonymous with the Soul of the World is Mercury, as distinct from the planet, the liquid metal, and the deity by the same name; however, the alchemical Mercury shares with the latter that it is an intermediary between the world of humans and the world of the Divine. Likewise, the angels traditionally act as the messengers between the two, so they are definitely mercurial in nature, ascending and descending on Jacob's Ladder as shown on plate one. Alchemical symbolism is notoriously ambiguous and has lead many a follower of the art into a maze; this is not always intended, but often a consequence of its admirable capturing of multidimensional intricacies that tend to blow the linear mind. So take it from me that the alchemical Mercury is actually linked to the Moon, and to the Heavenly Water that serves to dissolve the Stone (which belongs to the alchemical principle called Salt) at an early stage of the Great Work. This must be a gradual process of opening and closing, thus avoiding the danger of "drowning" the Stone - and the practitioner's consciousness - in this celestial water. Now we have already gained a glimpse of what the Dew means which is the subject of the subsequent biblical citations. It plays an important role in the following plates of the Mute Book. I will let them stand without comment, for the time being. Genesis 27:28, 39 Genesis 27:39 Deuteronomy 33:18 Deuteronomy 33:28 Now much like the five grapes in Vaughn's illustration, we see five bushes above Jacob's head. One of them looks kind of weighed down, this is a reference to the Fifth Element, the Quintessence, inherent in Man and the physical world, but unfolding only in the celestial realm - unless activated in the alchemical work. The other four bushes represent the four elements of the sublunary world; mind you that one of the bushes appears elongated, reminding us that one element (sometimes Fire, sometimes Earth) is distinct from the others (another expression of the so-called 3+1 rule, for those of you who are familiar with this). From the hazardous thorny branches that are forming this "star gate", gorgeous roses grow. Flowers in general are open receivers for the celestial influences. A reason that the rose was chosen here is the fact that it has five petals - another refernce to the five elements and the celestial sphere. However, those roses are growing downwards, thus bringing the Quintessence down, right into the world of matter - the ultimate aim of the alchemical art.

I support this idea. It's quite useless and even somewhat insensitive to turn moderation logs into endless off-topic chats.

Curious if you will see more colour variations on it.

Something to do with the black snake in your garden?

What he is saying is that those snakes were run over by cars, and he made use of what was left of them. Nothing wrong with that, I'd say. When a living being is killed intentionally, obviously that can't be called an accident.

No, but some of them eat humans they don't like.

Intent gives power to your visualizations. It matters more than following a particular technique.

This conversation is just marbelous.

There is no tomorrow. There never was and there never will be. Not that you wouldn't have to pretend that there is and prepare for it sometimes, for practical reasons - nonetheless, tomorrow only exists in your imagination. There is only NOW. Maybe we need another thread: The definition of time.

Not if your head is made of stone.

Amphibium

The planes of the "cube" are actually pentagons. Not sure what it means, but it must be significant. For one thing, five is the number of Man. "Meditate about this I will." Yoda

Morpheus

Neo

Neon

It perfectly didn't.

Certain things mix well with one another; others don't. To discriminate, your intuition is your best guide.

Could it be that your computer has issues?