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Post by Admin on Jul 22, 2021 12:12:10 GMT
“The art of the alchemist, whether spiritual or physical, consists in completing the work of perfection, bringing forth and making dominant, as it were, the “latent goldness” which “lies obscure” in metal or man. The ideal adept of alchemy was therefore an “auxiliary of the Eternal Goodness.” By his search for the “Noble Tincture” which should restore an imperfect world, he became a partner in the business of creation, assisting the Cosmic Plan. Thus the proper art of the Spiritual Alchemist, with whom alone we are here concerned, was the production of the spiritual and only valid tincture or Philosopher’s Stone; the mystic seed of transcendental life which should invade, tinge, and wholly transmute the imperfect self into spiritual gold. That this was no fancy of seventeenth-century allegorists, but an idea familiar to many of the oldest writers upon alchemy—whose quest was truly a spiritual search into the deepest secrets of the soul—is proved by the words which bring to an end the first part of the antique “Golden Treatise upon the Making of the Stone,” sometimes attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. “This, O Son,” says that remarkable tract, “is the Concealed Stone of Many Colours, which is born and brought forth in one colour; know this and conceal it . . . it leads from darkness into light, from this desert wilderness to a secure habitation, and from poverty and straits to a free and ample fortune.”
― Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness
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Post by Admin on Jul 23, 2021 16:39:28 GMT
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Post by Admin on Jul 23, 2021 18:37:03 GMT
Esoteric Alchemy:
The Transmutation of Attitudes
Alchemical gold is better than gold, but real alchemists are rare, and so are true Sufis.
Al-Ghazali
#fourthway #alchemy #presence #consciousness #Gurdjieff #ouspensky #awakening
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Post by Admin on Jul 28, 2021 15:42:45 GMT
Kabbalah and Contemporary Spiritual Revival www.academia.edu/672876/Kabbalah_and_Contemporary_Spiritual_RevivalPreface In the last decades of the 20th century, a surprising revival of interest in Kabbalah and Hasidism occurred in Israeli society, in Jewish communities in the Diaspora, and to a certain degree in the Western culture in general. Since the late 1960’s, and especially, during the last two decades, new Kabbalistic movements came into being, whereas old Kabbalistic Yeshivot and Hasidic groups have become more active. Today, many forms of Kabbalistic rituals and practices are performed, revived, and re-invented, along with Kabbalistic themes being integrated in literature, art, music and popular culture. Most contemporary Kabbalistic and Hasidic movements emerged out of earlier forms of 20th century Kabbalah, reproducing and developing previous Kabbalistic themes and practices. Yet, today`s Kabbalah is created in the framework of postmodern culture and new spiritual formations (especially, the New Age) stimulating its revival and to a large extent shaping its cultural expressions. The present volume includes sixteen articles which investigate the new forms of Kabbalah, their cultural contexts and their contacts with other forms of contemporary spiritual revival. The papers were written by prominent scholars from a variety of disciplines, including history of Kabbalah, sociology, anthropology, and religious studies. Some of the articles deal with various forms of contemporary Kabbalah and Hasidism. Yaakov Ariel investigates the origins of the movements of Renewal and return to tradition; Chava Weissler examines the Performance of Kabbalah in the Jewish Renewal Movement in the United States, and Rachel Werczberger explores the theme of healing in the rituals of Jewish Spiritual Renewal in Israel. The Contemporary Renaissance of Breslov Hasidism is discussed by Zvi Mark, and Jonathan Garb presents his research of the mystical Renaissance in the contemporary Ashkenazi Haredi World in Israel. Elliot R. Wolfson’s study focuses on the Kabbalistic-Pietistic Teachings of Itamar Schwartz, one of the more prolific contemporary teachers of Kabbalah in the Haredi world. Jonatan Meir examines the boundaries of Kabbalah in the thought of R. Yaakov Moshe Hillel, of Yeshivat Hevrat Ahavat Shalom of Jerusalem. In her study `Kabbalah for the Gentiles`, Jody Myers draws attention to three contemporary Kabbalah teachers (Ariel Bar Tzadok, Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Michael Laitman) who affirm the appropriateness of teaching Kabbalah to non-Jews. Other articles trace the...
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Post by Admin on Aug 1, 2021 21:51:58 GMT
MOTTO OF THE DAY: PARACELSUS, JUNG AND ALCHEMY Each time a student of universal ethics examines a text by Carl Jung, remarkable problems emerge. Writing about Alchemy, for example, Jung makes a large amount of absurd statements. It may be useful to select one or two of them, which are especially significant and seem to indicate the dark Karmic waters navigated by him. In a text about Paracelsus, Jung wrote: “…The truth of the Church and the Christian standpoint could never get along with the thought implicit in all alchemy, ‘God under me’.” [1] What should we say about that? In the first place, Esoteric Philosophy dismantles the myth of a monotheistic god. It makes no sense to talk of a unique and singular God who manipulates the evolution of Nature according to his personal wishes. Secondly, it is a complete nonsense - if not a deliberate falsehood - to say that Alchemy has ever had the intention of placing itself above the divine world, or above the Divine Law; or that it aims at placing the deities below the alchemist. From the ethical and Karmic viewpoint, this is the gravest mistake anyone can make. The idea expressed by Jung denotes a profound spiritual ignorance. The goal of Alchemy is in fact to know and to humbly cooperate with the Laws of Nature, and with the Universal Law, which are both divine and transcendent. The alchemist places himself at the service of the divine world. This is the highest goal he can aspire to, and he is happy enough with such a bliss. On the other hand, Hitlerism and Nazi sorcery - along with similar activities - invert the levels of consciousness and place a human being devoid of ethics in the role of a thief of divine things. Alchemy is inseparable from Ethics, a topic which is remarkably absent from the writings of Carl G. Jung. An “elegant” and “refined” selfishness does not care about Ethics; but every field of authentic knowledge is inseparable from it. In his search for absolute power, Adolf Hitler misused concepts and realities of the astral and subtle world, but he did this with inverted signs, using a calculated ambiguity, and, of course, with no respect for life or for truth. In another part of his text on Paracelsus, Jung repeats the idea that, in the alchemical process, man places the divinity below him. Using words like “daemonic” in a dangerously ambivalent way, Jung separates alchemy from any ethics or decency. He demonstrates that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, unless he’s consciously calling Alchemy a witchcraft of the worst kind, such as Hitler’s. This, however, would have nothing to do with Paracelsus, nor with true alchemy. Carl Jung states: “The inner driving-force behind the aspirations of alchemy was a presumption whose daemonic grandeur on the one hand and psychic danger on the other should not be underestimated. Much of the overbearing pride and arrogant self-esteem, which contrasts so strangely with the truly Christian humility of Paracelsus, comes from this source.” [2] Alchemy is the exact opposite of what Jung says. It is in harmony with Christian mysticism, with Christian ethics, and with the mysticism and ethics of other religions. Without ethics, there is no alchemy. This is the unavoidable starting point, in approaching Jung’s work or anyone’s work from a philosophical and esoteric point of view. Whenever a supposed knowledge deals with astral and subtle realities but does not put itself humbly and honestly in the service of the divine world, it must be classified as inferior witchcraft or selfish magic. Every authentic knowledge has an ethical intent. The intention of the truth-seeker determines the kind of magnetic field which surrounds him. Contrary to what misinformed readers of Carl G. Jung might think, Paracelsus is one of the great names of the highest ethical, mystical and alchemical tradition, whose aim is to increase the Light of human Reason and to encourage the correct practice of universal brotherhood. (Carlos Cardoso Aveline) NOTES: [1] “Alchemical Studies”, by Carl Gustav Jung, in the item “Magic”, paragraph number 155. In the Portuguese language edition, “Estudos Alquímicos”, Carl Gustav Jung, Ed. Vozes, RJ, Brazil, 422 pp., 2003, see p. 123. [2] “Alchemical Studies”, by Jung, item “The Arcane Teaching”, paragraph number 164. In the Portuguese language edition, “Estudos Alquímicos”, pp. 130-131. 000 Read the article “Paracelsus and the Book of Nature”: www.carloscardosoaveline.com/paracelsus-and-the-book-of-nature/See in the associated websites the two-volume compilation “The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus”. Volume I: www.carloscardosoaveline.com/the-hermetic-and-alchemical-writings-of-paracelsus-volume-i/ Volume II: www.carloscardosoaveline.com/the-hermetic-and-alchemical-writings-of-paracelsus-volume-ii/000 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus
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Post by Admin on Aug 4, 2021 16:00:46 GMT
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Post by Admin on Aug 11, 2021 15:43:24 GMT
Hermes Trismegistus, The Three Times Great and Many Times Forged www.academia.edu/40530979/Hermes_Trismegistus_The_Three_Times_Great_and_Many_Times_ForgedMore than "Three Times Great", Hermes Trismegistus was a mythological character with multiple personalities and diverse roles. Also, to him are attributed the authorship of some works, although historically he never existed, but was present in the imagination of Hermetists for many centuries. The present study intends to show how one of the most successful cases of pseudo-epigraphy has been able to attract and influence admirers and supporters for so long, even after successive challenges proving Hermes Trismegistus's lack of historicity, as well as the challenges of the remote antiquity of his doctrines, and the disenchantment of their secrets with the indications of the sources in the different philosophical and religious systems contemporary to the time of the composition of the first hermetic texts.
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Post by Admin on Aug 13, 2021 16:57:18 GMT
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Post by Admin on Aug 15, 2021 15:40:09 GMT
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Post by Admin on Aug 16, 2021 15:44:40 GMT
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Post by Admin on Aug 18, 2021 15:40:07 GMT
Construction Through Appropriation: Kabbalah in Blavatsky's Early Works www.academia.edu/26543875/Construction_Through_Appropriation_Kabbalah_in_Blavatskys_Early_WorksNineteenth Century Studies, Rosicrucianism, Occultism, Theosophy, Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture, Nineteenth Century Occultism, Contemporary Kabbalah, H. P. Blavatsky, Esoteric Freemasonry Occult Alchemy Hermetic Rosicrucian, Knorr, Adolphe Franck, Religious and Magical Practices, Charles William King, Samuel Fales Dunlap, Christian Ginsburg
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Post by Admin on Sept 3, 2021 15:58:08 GMT
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Post by Admin on Sept 4, 2021 15:38:27 GMT
Seeing Voices: Elucidating the Unconscious via Tarot Hermeneutic with Jung and Deleuze www.academia.edu/3885478/Seeing_Voices_Elucidating_the_Unconscious_via_Tarot_Hermeneutic_with_Jung_and_DeleuzeThis chapter positions the hermeneutic practice of interpreting the meanings of Tarot images against the background of Carl Jung's analytical psychology and Gilles Deleuze's practical method of transcendental empiricism. The common approach to the dimension of the unconscious unites these three modalities. Becoming conscious of the unconscious is the task undertaken by all three practices. Tarot readings make visible the realm of invisible archetypes by virtue of their embodiment in the images of Major and Minor Arcana, thereby addressing the major postulate of Hermetic and Neoplatonic philosophies. We literally see the multiple silent "voices" of the unconscious in the imagery of a specific Tarot layout. While the visible world is sensible, the invisible is uncanny but still intelligible. Tarot embodies Gnostic knowledge of deep meanings “hiding” in the Mundus Imaginalis – the imaginal world. Plato’s story in the Republic illustrates this concept: Diotima-the-Priestess teaches Socrates that it is a daimon or spirit (by the name Eros) that fluctuates between the two realms.
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Post by Admin on Sept 6, 2021 15:39:07 GMT
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Post by Admin on Sept 7, 2021 15:48:58 GMT
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