A small conclusion of history

[Seipiriz]

What comes to the mind of the average man when faced with the word "Alchemist»?
Probably a man cloaked in robes mixing potions and trying to reach to the formula of the philosopher's stone, the stone which turns any kind of material into gold...

The truth however lies far away...

Alchemists, were people one step further than the age that surrounded them, people having the courage in a dark age to do research into the life's mysteries ... Τhe Alchemists having open minds and trying to broaden through both material and spiritual research their gnostical horizons came into the construction of the philosopher’s stone’s theory. The Alchemists regarded the building of a body of light, a proper vessel for journeying into the Existence, as their ultimate goal and gave it the name “philosopher’s stone”. After this discovery, an essential way to put it in simple words, so that everyone could understand was needed and so a raw paradigm was formed so that everyone could see and understand: “The philosopher’s stone is the way to turn every substance to gold». Gold, the most treasured and wanted thing in the world of the middle ages, gold, that differed the king from his vessels. With the Philosopher’s stone there would be no need of Kings, Church or any form of control over the people. However, this could never fit in a system when the average mind regarded the “status quo” of the church as the most valid law of the land and the Inquisition ruled all.

Soon after the Inquisition realised the threat of the alchemist’s dream came the time of the witch hunting , a frenzied persecution of people who either expressed open-minded opinions or of people who in their way insulted the system of ruleship as it was. In addition to this the greed of merchants and nobles of the times who rushed to hire “alchemists” to nourish their funds with more gold brought the meaning of the philosopher’s stone into its most raw and materialistic form.

The Alchemistic dream however, cannot die, it is there in the base of our triadic state of existence to seize and utilise…Construct your vessel your the journey to knowledge, the never ending journey of becoming one with the Whole…

[Kain]

I'm just moving this one to the Alchemy forum Seipiriz, as it fits more the general Alchemy description than Mutational Alchemy per se...

Kain

[m1thr0s]

The Alchemistic dream however, cannot die, it is there in the base of our triadic state of existence to seize and utilise…Construct your vessel your the journey to knowledge, the never ending journey of becoming one with the Whole…That may actually be said of nearly any spiritual path I think. It's actually not an easy question to answer what has kept alchemy alive all these years...it seems to be a very difficult path...very demanding and not a lot of perks, often isolating and potentially very destructive...yet on it goes, generation after generation from Ningishzidda down to the present day. The thing just won't ever quite die off...

I think this has to do with necessity itself personally. The alchemist attends to those things that utlimately must be attended to if a thing is ever to be mastered on its own terms, whether we are dealing with how to make a proper sword or fight a plague or conquer death itself...even death comes under the alchemists scrutiny as does anything we humans might ultimately be required to master...wherever mastery is something fundamentally unavoidable.

In western culture at least, alchemy has typically been an elite esoteric mostly accessible to the affluent owing to the requirements of specialized knowledge and equipment in many cases. This needn't be a deterrent to most of us today but historically it actually has been the case. Alchemy is preeminently the way of knowledge...one simply cannot approach it any other way. It is very often the path one takes when faith is no longer relevant to one's relation to the All, when beliefs have all been reduced to assumptions and there is nothing left to be done but to methodically prioritize and test them for their assorted truths or falsehoods.

A lonely path sometimes I think...people do not flock in droves to Alchemy, that's for sure, though it is not quite so clear why they do not really, considering that the rewards are virtually always real ones in the end and have in certain instances proved the literal salvation of whole nations. Perhaps all of this will finally be put into a more proper perspective...perhaps not. But alchemy itself will apparently continue to survive wherever people can be found willing and able to take matters into their own hands, armed only with the laws of nature and the instincts of higher genius...

m1thr0s

[Kain]

Alchemy is preeminently the way of knowledge...one simply cannot approach it any other way. It is very often the path one takes when faith is no longer relevant to one's relation to the All, when beliefs have all been reduced to assumptions and there is nothing left to be done but to methodically prioritize and test them for their assorted truths or falsehoods. A wonderful way to put it...I love your description m1thr0s...
A lonely path sometimes I think...people do not flock in droves to Alchemy, that's for sure, though it is not quite so clear why they do not really, considering that the rewards are virtually always real ones in the end and have in certain instances proved the literal salvation of whole nations. Perhaps all of this will finally be put into a more proper perspective...perhaps not. But alchemy itself will apparently continue to survive wherever people can be found willing and able to take matters into their own hands, armed only with the laws of nature and the instincts of higher genius...Well, it certainly is a lonely path if ever I saw one...although I agree that Alchemy will always find itself surviving, as it is the path of taking things in your own hands and personal control...finding out (and adhering to) those laws that actually make things what they are, then proceeding to consciously controlling that mechanism...

Kain

[Seipiriz]

That may actually be said of nearly any spiritual path I think. It's actually not an easy question to answer what has kept alchemy alive all these years...it seems to be a very difficult path...very demanding and not a lot of perks, often isolating and potentially very destructive...yet on it goes, generation after generation from Ningishzidda down to the present day. The thing just won't ever quite die off...

From my point of view the reason why Alchemy never dies no matter how degraded its meaning and goals end up to be in our times, has to do with the slight hazy perception of each and everyone of us of our trinary state of existance. I think that deep inside each human being there is an instinct-like perception of this trinary state, a hidden ascending path in the back of our minds that with the proper will can reform the goals of a lifetime... As long as the possibility is there ,Alchemy will not seize to exist...

[m1thr0s]

This *trinary state* is not an insignificant factor by any means but it plays out everywhere...not just in alchemy. I ran a college paper once on the relationship of the triangle to major world philosophies...tracking how many things could be boiled down to a supernal triad of some kind...father-son-holy ghost, isness-hereness-nowness, itness-thisness-thatness etc etc. It was supposed to be a 5000 word essay but I ran way over and I could have easily written an entire book because it turned out that there was hardly anywhere that this could not be found playing a prominent role in things.

Consciousness triangulates. It's just something that it does inherently. Logic itself is a triangulation process, everthying falling into truth, falsehood, or shades of gray from beginning to middle to end and so on. I am hesitant to conclude that this is a distinguishing characteristic of alchemy in itself as it permeates everything. I am more inclined to think that what distinguishes alchemy is a certain approach to truth which emphasizes first principles and hyphenates analytical and experimental methodologies over belief per se. It was alchemy that laid in the groundwork for scientific method itself for instance and many early scientists were actually self-proclaimed alchemists such as Isaac Newton and many others...

m1thr0s

[Seipiriz]

I certainly agree with you about your option of triangularity and its appearance in the basis of many thing but what I generally wanted to say about Alchemy is that as Alchemy is the "archetype" of research and the questioning of all dogmas and the basic meaning of the triadic state of anything leads to limitless questions and options isnt Alchemy in its base a triadic state itself???

[Kain]

I think the point is that pretty much everything can be described in a ternary context. What distinguishes Alchemy insofar as other paths are concerned, is the analytical approach it employs in regard to resolving complications and the general differentiation of the concept of faith from the whole subject of "Raising the Foundation" of Humanity.

So, essentially, what is being said here is that Alchemy is a methodology / way of approach while ternary existance is a universal fact. We can certainly make use and even base our alchemical work on the premise of the triangle, since it is admittedly a very powerful and essential logic to work in, but Alchemy is not in itself defined by the triangle alone, as it has many facets and ways of approach.

Perhaps it is true that Alchemy *cannot but eventually employ* the triangle, but that still does not make it identify with it directly, unless of course we are discussing an exceptionally speciallized methodology of alchemical work (that is not directly representative of Alchemy on all levels).

Kain

[Seipiriz]

Perhaps it is true that Alchemy *cannot but eventually employ* the triangle, but that still does not make it identify with it directly

Yes this exactly what I meant thanks for clarifying

[Kain]

Yes this exactly what I meant thanks for clarifyingNo sweat...I'm glad you found my clarification helpful Seipiriz.

Kain

[omniprosopus]

triangles are cool but they don't roll very well. Circles have their qualities too, squares, polygons, even scribbles for that matter.

best to make good use of all of it really. don't want to wind up some sort of obsessive-compulsive triangle fanatic.

That's just too weird for words.

-omni

[Kain]

triangles are cool but they don't roll very well. Circles have their qualities too, squares, polygons, even scribbles for that matter.

best to make good use of all of it really. don't want to wind up some sort of obsessive-compulsive triangle fanatic.

That's just too weird for words.

-omniThat's a really good point and pretty much what I've been trying to say myself on this subject...Alchemy is a methodology pretty much attempting to consciously handle the very processes pertaining to the element of change in the universe, and thus it is quite evident that, keeping in mind the multitude of forms we see surrounding us, each of them must be understood for what it is and be realized in it's correct place...thus, even though personally I'm particularly enthusiastic with the various capabilities and possible uses the triangle presents us with, all other forms and shapes of considerable worth must recive their due credit I think...

Kain

[Luciftias]

...Alchemy is a methodology pretty much attempting to consciously handle the very processes pertaining to the element of change in the universe...

haha. Interesting you would say that, seeing as the mathematical symbol for change itself is a triangle, the greek letter delta.

[Kain]

haha. Interesting you would say that, seeing as the mathematical symbol for change itself is a triangle, the greek letter delta.Good point Luciftias. I guess synchronicities run high in every direction concerning this subject...

Kain