The Timing of Paradigm Shifts

by Richard Tarnas, PhD and Dean Radin, PhD

From From Noetic Now Issue Eighteen, January 2012


Ed. Note: There are few scholars in the world better equipped to evaluate where civilization is headed than eminent professor of philosophy and cultural history Richard Tarnas. In the following dialogue, excerpted and edited from the Institute of Noetic Sciences’ teleseminar series, Shifting Paradigms, IONS Senior Scientist Dean Radin talks with Dr. Tarnas about the notion of paradigm shifts and what is required for a society to make such a leap. To read a chapter from Tarnas’s book, Cosmos and Psyche, go here.

Radin: In your first book, The Passion of the Western Mind (1993), you explain the context in which we find ourselves, how we got where we are. Most people most of the time don’t think much about why they believe the things that they do and why society works the way that it does. In your second book, Cosmos and Psyche (2006), you use an enchanted view of reality, in a sense, to show why some of the aspects of traditional astrology are actually quite useful in seeing where we are and where we are going.

Culture is your Operating System - Terence McKenna

Christ Crucified - Diego Velázquez -1632

The Emerald Tablet

1.Tis true without lying, certain most true. That which is below is like that which is above that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.

2.And as all things have been arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.

3.The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,

4.The wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.

5.The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.

6.Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
   -Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.

7.It ascends from the earth to the heaven again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior.

8.By this means ye shall have the glory of the whole world thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.

9.Its force is above all force for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.
 So was the world created.

10.From this are and do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (Or process) is here in this.

11.Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.

12.That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.

Translation by Sir Isaac Newton

The Allegory of the Cave

School of Athens by Raphael - 1510

by Plato

Translated by Benjamin Jowett

[Socrates] And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: --Behold! human beings living in a underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.

[Glaucon] I see.

[Socrates] And do you see, I said, men passing along the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, and statues and figures of animals made of wood and stone and various materials, which appear over the wall? Some of them are talking, others silent.

[Glaucon] You have shown me a strange image, and they are strange prisoners.

[Socrates] Like ourselves, I replied; and they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave?

[Glaucon] True, he said; how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads?

[Socrates] And of the objects which are being carried in like manner they would only see the shadows?

[Glaucon] Yes, he said.

[Socrates] And if they were able to converse with one another, would they not suppose that they were naming what was actually before them?

[Glaucon] Very true.

[Socrates] And suppose further that the prison had an echo which came from the other side, would they not be sure to fancy when one of the passers-by spoke that the voice which they heard came from the passing shadow?

[Glaucon] No question, he replied.

[Socrates] To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.

[Glaucon] That is certain.


[Socrates] And now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision, -what will be his reply? And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them, -will he not be perplexed? Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him?

[Glaucon] Far truer.

[Socrates] And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take and take in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him?

[Glaucon] True, he now.

[Socrates] And suppose once more, that he is reluctantly dragged up a steep and rugged ascent, and held fast until he 's forced into the presence of the sun himself, is he not likely to be pained and irritated? When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities.

[Glaucon] Not all in a moment, he said.

[Socrates] He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled heaven; and he will see the sky and the stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day?

[Glaucon] Certainly.

[Socrates] Last of he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate him as he is.

[Glaucon] Certainly.

[Socrates] He will then proceed to argue that this is he who gives the season and the years, and is the guardian of all that is in the visible world, and in a certain way the cause of all things which he and his fellows have been accustomed to behold?

[Glaucon] Clearly, he said, he would first see the sun and then reason about him.

[Socrates] And when he remembered his old habitation, and the wisdom of the cave and his fellow-prisoners, do you not suppose that he would felicitate himself on the change, and pity them?

[Glaucon] Certainly, he would.

[Socrates] And if they were in the habit of conferring honors among themselves on those who were quickest to observe the passing shadows and to remark which of them went before, and which followed after, and which were together; and who were therefore best able to draw conclusions as to the future, do you think that he would care for such honors and glories, or envy the possessors of them? Would he not say with Homer,

Better to be the poor servant of a poor master, and to endure anything, rather than think as they do and live after their manner?

[Glaucon] Yes, he said, I think that he would rather suffer anything than entertain these false notions and live in this miserable manner.

[Socrates] Imagine once more, I said, such an one coming suddenly out of the sun to be replaced in his old situation; would he not be certain to have his eyes full of darkness?

[Glaucon] To be sure, he said.

[Socrates] And if there were a contest, and he had to compete in measuring the shadows with the prisoners who had never moved out of the cave, while his sight was still weak, and before his eyes had become steady (and the time which would be needed to acquire this new habit of sight might be very considerable) would he not be ridiculous? Men would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that it was better not even to think of ascending; and if any one tried to loose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death.

[Glaucon] No question, he said.

[Socrates] This entire allegory, I said, you may now append, dear Glaucon, to the previous argument; the prison-house is the world of sight, the light of the fire is the sun, and you will not misapprehend me if you interpret the journey upwards to be the ascent of the soul into the intellectual world according to my poor belief, which, at your desire, I have expressed whether rightly or wrongly God knows. But, whether true or false, my opinion is that in the world of knowledge the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with an effort; and, when seen, is also inferred to be the universal author of all things beautiful and right, parent of light and of the lord of light in this visible world, and the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual; and that this is the power upon which he who would act rationally, either in public or private life must have his eye fixed.

[Glaucon] I agree, he said, as far as I am able to understand you.

[Socrates] Moreover, I said, you must not wonder that those who attain to this beatific vision are unwilling to descend to human affairs; for their souls are ever hastening into the upper world where they desire to dwell; which desire of theirs is very natural, if our allegory may be trusted.

[Glaucon] Yes, very natural.

[Socrates] And is there anything surprising in one who passes from divine contemplations to the evil state of man, misbehaving himself in a ridiculous manner; if, while his eyes are blinking and before he has become accustomed to the surrounding darkness, he is compelled to fight in courts of law, or in other places, about the images or the shadows of images of justice, and is endeavoring to meet the conceptions of those who have never yet seen absolute justice?

[Glaucon] Anything but surprising, he replied.

[Socrates] Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter light, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the cave.

[Glaucon] That, he said, is a very just distinction.

[Socrates] But then, if I am right, certain professors of education must be wrong when they say that they can put a knowledge into the soul which was not there before, like sight into blind eyes.

[Glaucon] They undoubtedly say this, he replied.

[Socrates] Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and best of being, or in other words, of the good.

[Glaucon] Very true.

[Socrates] And must there not be some art which will effect conversion in the easiest and quickest manner; not implanting the faculty of sight, for that exists already, but has been turned in the wrong direction, and is looking away from the truth?

[Glaucon] Yes, he said, such an art may be presumed.

[Socrates] And whereas the other so-called virtues of the soul seem to be akin to bodily qualities, for even when they are not originally innate they can be implanted later by habit and exercise, the of wisdom more than anything else contains a divine element which always remains, and by this conversion is rendered useful and profitable; or, on the other hand, hurtful and useless. Did you never observe the narrow intelligence flashing from the keen eye of a clever rogue --how eager he is, how clearly his paltry soul sees the way to his end; he is the reverse of blind, but his keen eyesight is forced into the service of evil, and he is mischievous in proportion to his cleverness.

[Glaucon] Very true, he said.

[Socrates] But what if there had been a circumcision of such natures in the days of their youth; and they had been severed from those sensual pleasures, such as eating and drinking, which, like leaden weights, were attached to them at their birth, and which drag them down and turn the vision of their souls upon the things that are below --if, I say, they had been released from these impediments and turned in the opposite direction, the very same faculty in them would have seen the truth as keenly as they see what their eyes are turned to now.

[Glaucon] Very likely.

[Socrates] Yes, I said; and there is another thing which is likely. or rather a necessary inference from what has preceded, that neither the uneducated and uninformed of the truth, nor yet those who never make an end of their education, will be able ministers of State; not the former, because they have no single aim of duty which is the rule of all their actions, private as well as public; nor the latter, because they will not act at all except upon compulsion, fancying that they are already dwelling apart in the islands of the blest.

[Glaucon] Very true, he replied.

[Socrates] Then, I said, the business of us who are the founders of the State will be to compel the best minds to attain that knowledge which we have already shown to be the greatest of all-they must continue to ascend until they arrive at the good; but when they have ascended and seen enough we must not allow them to do as they do now.

[Glaucon] What do you mean?

[Socrates] I mean that they remain in the upper world: but this must not be allowed; they must be made to descend again among the prisoners in the cave, and partake of their labors and honors, whether they are worth having or not.

[Glaucon] But is not this unjust? he said; ought we to give them a worse life, when they might have a better?

[Socrates] You have again forgotten, my friend, I said, the intention of the legislator, who did not aim at making any one class in the State happy above the rest; the happiness was to be in the whole State, and he held the citizens together by persuasion and necessity, making them benefactors of the State, and therefore benefactors of one another; to this end he created them, not to please themselves, but to be his instruments in binding up the State.

[Glaucon] True, he said, I had forgotten.

[Socrates] Observe, Glaucon, that there will be no injustice in compelling our philosophers to have a care and providence of others; we shall explain to them that in other States, men of their class are not obliged to share in the toils of politics: and this is reasonable, for they grow up at their own sweet will, and the government would rather not have them. Being self-taught, they cannot be expected to show any gratitude for a culture which they have never received. But we have brought you into the world to be rulers of the hive, kings of yourselves and of the other citizens, and have educated you far better and more perfectly than they have been educated, and you are better able to share in the double duty. Wherefore each of you, when his turn comes, must go down to the general underground abode, and get the habit of seeing in the dark. When you have acquired the habit, you will see ten thousand times better than the inhabitants of the cave, and you will know what the several images are, and what they represent, because you have seen the beautiful and just and good in their truth. And thus our State which is also yours will be a reality, and not a dream only, and will be administered in a spirit unlike that of other States, in which men fight with one another about shadows only and are distracted in the struggle for power, which in their eyes is a great good. Whereas the truth is that the State in which the rulers are most reluctant to govern is always the best and most quietly governed, and the State in which they are most eager, the worst.

[Glaucon] Quite true, he replied.

[Socrates] And will our pupils, when they hear this, refuse to take their turn at the toils of State, when they are allowed to spend the greater part of their time with one another in the heavenly light?

[Glaucon] Impossible, he answered; for they are just men, and the commands which we impose upon them are just; there can be no doubt that every one of them will take office as a stern necessity, and not after the fashion of our present rulers of State.

[Socrates] Yes, my friend, I said; and there lies the point. You must contrive for your future rulers another and a better life than that of a ruler, and then you may have a well-ordered State; for only in the State which offers this, will they rule who are truly rich, not in silver and gold, but in virtue and wisdom, which are the true blessings of life. Whereas if they go to the administration of public affairs, poor and hungering after the' own private advantage, thinking that hence they are to snatch the chief good, order there can never be; for they will be fighting about office, and the civil and domestic broils which thus arise will be the ruin of the rulers themselves and of the whole State.

[Glaucon] Most true, he replied.

[Socrates] And the only life which looks down upon the life of political ambition is that of true philosophy. Do you know of any other?

[Glaucon] Indeed, I do not, he said.

[Socrates] And those who govern ought not to be lovers of the task? For, if they are, there will be rival lovers, and they will fight.

[Glaucon] No question.

[Socrates] Who then are those whom we shall compel to be guardians? Surely they will be the men who are wisest about affairs of State, and by whom the State is best administered, and who at the same time have other honors and another and a better life than that of politics?

[Glaucon] They are the men, and I will choose them, he replied.

[Socrates] And now shall we consider in what way such guardians will be produced, and how they are to be brought from darkness to light, -- as some are said to have ascended from the world below to the gods?

[Glaucon] By all means, he replied.

[Socrates] The process, I said, is not the turning over of an oyster-shell, but the turning round of a soul passing from a day which is little better than night to the true day of being, that is, the ascent from below, which we affirm to be true philosophy?

[Glaucon] Quite so.

SOMETIMES A MAN STANDS UP DURING SUPPER

Paula Modersohn-Becker.Rainer Maria Rilke, 1906

by Rainer Maria Rilke

Sometimes a man stands up during supper
and walks outdoors, and keeps on walking,
because of a church that stands somewhere in the East.
And his children say blessings on him as if he were dead.

And another man, who remains inside his own house,
dies there, inside the dishes and in the glasses,
so that his children have to go far our into the world
toward that same church, which he forgot.

(Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke trans. By Robert Bly)

Book of Lambspring

THE BOOK OF

LAMBSPRING,

A Noble Ancient Philosopher,

CONCERNING THE

PHILOSOPHICAL STONE;

RENDERED INTO LATIN VERSE BY

NICHOLAS BARNAUD DELPHINAS,

Doctor of Medicine, a zealous Student of this Art.

PREFACE

I am called Lambspring, born of a Noble Family, and this Crest I bear 

with Glory and Justice.

Philosophy I have read, and thoroughly understood,

The utmost depth of my teachers' knowledge have I sounded.

This God graciously granted to me,

Giving me a heart to understand wisdom.

Thus I became the Author of this Book,

And I have clearly set forth the whole matter,

That Rich and Poor might understand.

There is nothing like it upon earth;

Nor (God be praised) have I therein forgotten my humble self.

I am acquainted with the only true foundation:

Therefore preserve this Book with care,

And take heed that you study it again and again.

Thus shall you receive and learn the truth,

And use this great gift of God for good ends.

O God the Father, which art of all the beginning and end,

We beseech thee for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ

To enlighten our minds and thoughts,

That we may praise Thee without ceasing,

And accomplish this Book according to Thy will!

Direct Thou everything to a good end,

And preserve us through Thy great mercy. -

With the help of God I will shew you this Art,

And will not hide or veil the truth from you.

After that you understand me aright,

You will soon be free from the bonds of error.

For there is only one substance,

In which all the rest is hidden;

Therefore, keep a good heart.

Coction, time, and patience are what you need;

If you would enjoy the precious reward,

You must cheerfully give both time and labour.

For you must subject to gentle coction the seeds and the metals,

Day by day, during several weeks;

Thus in this one vile thing

You will discover and bring to perfection the whole work of Philosophy,

Which to most men appears impossible,

Though it is a convenient and easy task.

If we were to shew it to the outer world

We should be derided by men, women, and children.

Therefore be modest and secret,

And you will be left in peace and security.

Remember your duty towards your neighbour and your God,

Who gives this Art, and would have it concealed.

Now we will conclude the Preface,

That we may begin to describe the very Art,

And truly and plainly set it forth in figures,

Rendering thanks to the Creator of every creature.

Hereunto follows the First Figure,

Figure I

BE WARNED AND UNDERSTAND TRULY THAT TWO FISHES ARE SWIMMING IN OUR SEA.

The Sea is the Body, the two Fishes are Soul and Spirit.

The Sages will tell you

That two fishes are in our sea

Without any flesh or bones.

Let them be cooked in their own water;

Then they also will become a vast sea,

The vastness of which no man can describe.

Moreover, the Sages say

That the two fishes are only one, not two;

They are two, and nevertheless they are one,

Body, Spirit, and Soul.

Now, I tell you most truly,

Cook these three together,

That there may be a very large sea.

Cook the sulphur well with the sulphur,

And hold your tongue about it:

Conceal your knowledge to your own advantage,

And you shall be free from poverty.

Only let your discovery remain a close secret.

Figure II

HERE YOU STRAIGHTWAY BEHOLD A BLACK BEAST IN THE FOREST.

Putrefaction

The Sage says
That a wild beast is in the forest,
Whose skin is of the blackest dye.
If any man cut off his head,
His blackness will disappear,
And give place to a snowy white.
Understand well the meaning of this head:
The blackness is called the head of the Raven;
As soon as it disappears,
A white colour is straightway manifested;
It is given this name, despoiled of its head.
When the Beast's black hue has vanished in a black smoke,
The Sages rejoice
From the bottom of their hearts;
But they keep it a close secret,
That no foolish man may know it.
Yet unto their Sons, in kindness of heart,
They partly reveal it in their writings;
And therefore let those who receive the gift
Enjoy it also in silence,
Since God would have it concealed.

Figure III

HEAR WITHOUT TERROR THAT IN THE FOREST ARE HIDDEN A DEER AND AN UNICORN.

In the Body there is Soul and Spirit.

The Sages say truly
That two animals are in this forest:
One glorious, beautiful, and swift,

A great and strong deer; The other an unicorn. They are concealed in the forest, But happy shall that man be called Who shall snare and capture them. The Masters shew you here clearly That in all places These two animals wander about in forests (But know that the forest is but one). If we apply the parable to our Art, We shall call the forest the Body. That will be rightly and truly said. The unicorn will be the Spirit at all times. The deer desires no other name But that of the Soul; which name no man shall take away from it. He that knows how to tame and master them by Art, To couple them together, And to lead them in and out of the forest, May justly be called a Master. For we rightly judge That he has attained the golden flesh, And may triumph everywhere; Nay, he may bear rule over great Augustus.
Figure IV
HERE YOU BEHOLD A GREAT MARVEL - TWO LIONS ARE JOINED INTO ONE.

The Spirit and Soul must be united in their Body.

The Sages do faithfully teach us That two strong lions, to wit, male and female, Lurk in a dark and rugged valley. These the Master must catch, Though they are swift and fierce, And of terrible and savage aspect. He who, by wisdom and cunning, Can snare and bind them, And lead them into the same forest, Of him it may be said with justice and truth That he has merited the meed of praise before all others, And that his wisdom transcends that of the worldly wise. Figure V A WOLF AND A DOG ARE IN ONE HOUSE, AND ARE AFTERWARDS CHANGED INTO ONE.

The Body is mortified and rendered white, then joined to Soul and Spirit by being saturated with them. 

Alexander writes from Persia That a wolf and a dog are in this field, Which, as the Sages say, Are descended from the same stock, But the wolf comes from the east, And the dog from the west. They are full of jealousy, Fury, rage, and madness; One kills the other, And from them comes a great poison. But when they are restored to life, They are clearly shewn to be The Great and Precious Medicine, The most glorious Remedy upon earth, Which refreshes and restores the Sages, Who render thanks to God, and do praise Him. Figure VI THIS SURELY IS A GREAT MIRACLE AND WITHOUT ANY DECEPTION -  THAT IN A VENOMOUS DRAGON THERE SHOULD BE THE GREAT MEDICINE.

The Mercury is precipitated or sublimed, dissolved in its own proper water,
and then once more coagulated.

A savage Dragon lives in the forest, Most venomous he is, yet lacking nothing: When he sees the rays of the Sun and its bright fire, He scatters abroad his poison, And flies upward so fiercely That no living creature can stand before him, Nor is even the Basilisk equal to him. He who hath skill to slay him, wisely Hath escaped from all dangers. Yet all venom, and colours, are multiplied In the hour of his death. His venom becomes the great Medicine. He quickly consumes his venom, For he devours his poisonous tail. All this is performed on his own body, From which flows forth glorious Balm, With all its miraculous virtues. Hereat all the Sages do loudly rejoice. Figure VII WE HEAR TWO BIRDS IN THE FOREST, YET WE MUST UNDERSTAND THEM TO BE ONLY ONE.

The Mercury having been often sublimed, is at length fixed, and becomes capable of resisting fire: the sublimation must be repeated until at length the fixation is attained.

A nest is found in the forest, In which Hermes has his brood; One fledgling always strives to fly upward, The other rejoices to sit quietly in the nest; Yet neither can get away from the other. The one that is below holds the one that is above, And will not let it get away from the nest, As a husband in a house with his wife, Bound together in closest bonds of wedlock. So also do we rejoice at all times, That we hold the female eagle fast in this way, And we render thanks to God the Father. Figure VIII HERE ARE TWO BIRDS, GREAT AND STRONG - THE BODY AND SPIRIT; ONE DEVOURS THE OTHER.

Let the Body be placed in horse-dung, or a warm bath, the Spirit having been extracted from it. The Body has become white by the process, the Spirit red by our Art. All that exists tends towards perfection, and thus is the Philosopher's Stone prepared.

In India there is a most pleasant wood, In which two birds are bound together. One is of a snowy white; the other is red. They bite each other, and one is slain And devoured by the other. Then both are changed into white doves, And of the Dove is born a Phoenix, Which has left behind blackness and foul death, And has regained a more glorious life. This power was given it by God Himself, That it might live eternally, and never die. It gives us wealth, it preserves our life, And with it we may work great miracles, As also the true Philosophers do plainly inform us. Figure IX THE LORD OF THE FORESTS HAS RECOVERED HIS KINGDOM, AND MOUNTED FROM THE LOWEST TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE. IF FORTUNE SMILE, YOU MAY FROM A RHETOR BECOME A CONSUL; IF FORTUNE FROWN, THE CONSUL MAY BECOME A RHETOR.

Thus you may know that the Tincture has truly attained the first degree.

Now hear of a wonderful deed, For I will teach you great things, How the King rises high above all his race; And hear also what the noble lord of the forest says: I have overcome and vanquished my foes, I have trodden the venomous Dragon under foot, I am a great and glorious King in the earth. There is none greater than I, Child either of the Artist or of Nature, Among all living creatures. I do all that man can desire, I give power and lasting health, Also gold, silver, gems, and precious stones, And the panacea for great and small diseases. Yet at first I was of ignoble birth, Till I was set in a high place. To reach this lofty summit Was given me by God and Nature. Thence from the meanest I became the highest, And mounted to the most glorious throne, And to the state of royal sovereignty: Therefore Hermes has called me the Lord of the Forests.
Figure X A SALAMANDER LIVES IN THE FIRE, WHICH IMPARTS TO IT A MOST GLORIOUS HUE.

This is the reiteration, gradation, and ameliorationof the Tincture, or Philosopher's Stone; and the whole is called its Augmentation.

In all fables we are told That the Salamander is born in the fire; In the fire it has that food and life Which Nature herself has assigned to it. It dwells in a great mountain Which is encompassed by many flames, And one of these is ever smaller than another -  Herein the Salamander bathes. The third is greater, the fourth brighter than the rest -  In all these the Salamander washes, and is purified. Then he hies him to his cave, But on the way is caught and pierced So that it dies, and yields up its life with its blood. But this, too, happens for its good: For from its blood it wins immortal life, And then death has no more power over it. Its blood is the most precious Medicine upon earth, The same has not its like in the world. For this blood drives away all disease In the bodies of metals, Of men, and of beasts. From it the Sages derive their science, And through it they attain the Heavenly Gift, Which is called the Philosopher's Stone, Possessing the power of the whole world. This gift the Sages impart to us with loving hearts, That we may remember them for ever. Figure XI THE FATHER AND THE SON HAVE LINKED THEIR HANDS WITH THOSE OF THE GUIDE: KNOW THAT THE THREE ARE BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT.

Here is an old father of Israel, Who has an only Son, A Son whom he loves with all his heart. With sorrow he prescribes sorrow to him. He commits him to a guide, Who is to conduct him whithersoever he will. The Guide addresses the Son in these words: Come hither! I will conduct thee everywhere, To the summit of the loftiest mountain, That thou mayest understand all wisdom, That thou mayest behold the greatness of the earth, and of the sea, And then derive true pleasure. I will bear thee through the air To the gates of highest heaven. The Son hearkened to the words of the Guide, And ascended upward with him; There saw he the heavenly throne, That was beyond measure glorious. When he had beheld these things, He remembered his Father with sighing, Pitied the great sorrow of his Father, And said: I will return to his breast. Figure XII ANOTHER MOUNTAIN OF INDIA LIES IN THE VESSEL, WHICH THE SPIRIT AND THE SOUL - THAT IS, THE SON AND THE GUIDE - HAVE CLIMBED.

Says the Son to the Guide: I will go down to my Father, For he cannot live without me. He sighs and calls aloud for me. And the Guide makes answer to the Son: I will not let thee go alone; From thy Father's bosom I brought thee forth, I will also take thee back again, That he may rejoice again and live. This strength will we give unto him. So both arose without delay, And returned to the Father's house. When the Father saw his Son coming, He cried aloud, and said: - Figure XIII HERE THE FATHER DEVOURS THE SON; THE SOUL AND SPIRIT FLOW FORTH FROM THE BODY. 

My Son, I was dead without thee, And lived in great danger of my life. I revive at thy return, And it fills my breast with joy. But when the Son entered the Father's house, The Father took him to his heart, And swallowed him out of excessive joy, And that with his own mouth. The great exertion makes the Father sweat. Figure XIV HERE THE FATHER SWEATS PROFUSELY, WHILE OIL AND THE TRUE TINCTURE OF THE SAGES FLOW FORTH FROM HIM.

Here the Father sweats on account of the Son, And earnestly beseeches God, Who has created everything in His hands, Who creates, and has created all things, To bring forth his Son from his body, And to restore him to his former life. God hearkens to his prayers, And bids the Father lie down and sleep. Then God sends down rain from heaven To the earth from the shining stars. It was a fertilizing, silver rain, Which bedewed and softened the Father's Body. Succour us, Lord, at the end, That we may obtain Thy gracious Gift! Figure XV HERE FATHER AND SON ARE JOINED IN ONE SO TO REMAIN FOR EVER.

The sleeping Father is here changed Entirely into limpid water, And by virtue of this water alone The good work is accomplished. There is now a glorified and beautiful Father, And he brings forth a new Son. The Son ever remains in the Father, And the Father in the Son. Thus in divers things They produce untold, precious fruit. They perish never more, And laugh at death. By the grace of God they abide for ever, The Father and the Son, triumphing gloriously In the splendour of their new Kingdom. Upon one throne they sit, And the face of the Ancient Master Is straightway seen between them: He is arrayed in a crimson robe. TO THE INVISIBLE KING OF THE WORLD, TO THE ONLY TRUE AND IMMORTAL GOD BE PRAISE AND GLORY NOW AND EVERMORE. AMEN.