Alchemy: an example of when theory is called science

A person cannot call theory or faith –knowledge, but faith and knowledge do need each other to discover and validate what one is experiencing, or if one gets their worth from the right places and is after the right treasures. Although it is unjust to enslave the poor it is equally unjust to steal from the rich and take away one's hard labor especially if they are investing into those under them in order to produce a product that makes the hard toil of life more enjoyable within their common boundary. We are trying to discover something much bigger than money, so keep in mind we are trying to avoid judging moral issues, but out discover who or what has our desires and who our gods or God might be, what we trust in, and if it lines up with reality — observable science/knowledge.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.
Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means.
When his life is half gone they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. ( NIV )

What a person greatly values affects how they see the world; whatever has the heart effects a person's perception and how they interpret the world. At one time many ancient peoples thought the sun was a pure form of gold. Although it is somewhat obvious the sun is a huge fire-ball in the sky, but if we were to wipe out all of our preconceived knowledge and understanding we can see how one might be persuaded to believe the sun was a form of gold if all we had to go on were looks.

The inhabitants of ancient Peru certainly thought of gold that way: to the Inca's it was "the sweat of the sun," used to make everything from fishhooks to ceremonial tiaras. To Hindu sages it was "the mineral light" a physical token of divine intelligence. And the Greek poet Pindar, writing in the fifth century BC, called it "the child of Zeus." Even today, gold's chemical symbol, AU, derives from the Latin word "shinning dawn." ( p16 )

Gold is not much more than a pretty rock or type of metal that is not useful for much mechanically, especially to the ancients. So what gives gold its power over some people? There seems to be a subconscious connection between gold and who we value or labor for. Gold was the first widely accepted form of money, or trust for security. Today we mainly use it to make wedding rings to symbolize a valued marriage and love. The question; what or who is it that one values as an entrustment from heaven?

Although many people in the ancient past did not know exactly how the unseen elements integrated with nature as we have discovered, they did recognize that the sun was an energy source and gave light to the world, some even worshiped the sun, and it was the reason the ancient Egyptians made their gods from gold. How did these gods give them worth or fulfill their desires: did they bring them into reality with true intimate friendships or steal away reality with imaginary friendships and a flesh fantasy? The priests, in all religions, were the educators of the ancients but they ceased obtaining revelation or wisdom, probably due to their self interests and lack of awe/reverence; to be cherished in a greater glory is the only reason that what is real and true becomes very valuable, whether it is a glory that covers you in life, or a glory that covered you in death, the two basic forms of trust and influencers of one's perceptions and interpretations.

But regardless around 500BC there was a secular hunger to understand and discover how the world was working. The Greeks became famous for employing structured reasoning called the philosophies and started the first form of western school the Akademia, The Academy was founded by Plato in ca. 387 BC in Athens. According to one of Time Life Books editors , Constable (1990), Aristotle also had definite ideas about the origins of metals, including gold. Metals came, he suggested, from ‘vaporous exhalations’ from the sun (p21).

According to another of Aristotle's precepts all of nature was, like the human race intent on self improvement. In his words, Nature and God are working towards an end, striving for what is perfect. Gold being the most nearly perfect metal, was the obvious end product to these spontaneous changes. …This system confirmed the first dictum of Hermetic belief As above, so below. …Each of the most important metals, they believed, belonged to one of the seven known planets. Lead was equated with Saturn…Mars was iron…Mercury… associated with the planet of the same name. The moon was silver, and the sun, naturally was gold. ( Secrets of the Alchemist; mysteries of the unknown, p21-22)

What is alchemy?

One can begin to understand how heavenly desires made gold seem so perfect, but was it the right heaven? The ancients philosophers did not see elements as evolving into a downward state – dying or breaking down, but evolving to an upward state: and gold was the obvious end product to these spontaneous changes. This "obviousness" was alchemy's theory {religion or philosophy} and some useful discoveries were made along the way, but all the while trying to prove a theory that misinterpreted reality; a corrupted desire blinded them in their interpretations, or perceptions. Alchemy, originally called magic, was the forerunner to chemistry. The ancient alchemists seemed to have believed the source and unification for all the elements was the sun, which in their eyes was a pure form of gold. All a magi or priest had to do was facilitate this evolution, or transformation toward the divinity and oneness with gold. The reward or result of this transformation would enable one to lay claim to everything under the sun as a god, and the key was the philosopher's stone. Indeed philosophy was the only way it could happen, and this philosophy did lead to autocracy which is an evolution from Aristotle's ideology – aristocracy. But were they defining chemistry or was chemistry defining them?

In a contrasting irony modern day astrophysicist and many chemists theorize a similar correlation; all the elements came from hydrogen and helium {what the sun is made from} from a void in a Big Bang? Yet no known explosions, especially from nothing, organize matter, and not even nuclear explosions put molecules together – it goes against science; knowledge and understanding. The Big Bang is a theory and religious belief where wisdom or divinity is to become one with a void – having or being absolutely nothing is pure godliness, which really defines death not life. Could these perceptions or interpretations be tied into a subconscious desires? Alchemy's origin goes back to Egypt who was famed in early metal smelting. Again, Constable (1990) of Time Life Books explains;

But the most oft-cited candidate for founding genius of alchemy was Hermes Trismegistus — or Thrice-Great Hermes — who, according to some versions of the legend, was an Egyptian priest of the first century AD. Other accounts hold that he was the human incarnation of Thoth, the god of wisdom and scribe of the underworld, who came to earth and reigned as pharaoh for 3,226 years. ( Secrets of the Alchemist; mysteries of the unknown, p19)

As much as 1.4 million pounds of gold was plucked from the desert, making Egypt the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. …if gold was matter in it's perfect form — a metallic sunshine, an offspring of the gods — then any person who learned to create it would certainly take on the attributes of divinity. The successful alchemist would be wise, powerful, and quite possibly immortal. ( Secrets of the Alchemist; mysteries of the unknown, p17)

One attribute common to all religions is to bring paradise back on earth but some questions arise in defining paradise, and then who can get God's favor in order to do so. The first Magi noted correctly that the stars marked a time when paradise was on earth, and that it would return at a certain age when men would be reunited with God. During the Age of Aquarius a flood temporarily cleansed the world of corruption and brought about a climate change; ended a lush green paradise and started the clock. Time would be limited for people on earth to decide who they would give their life to — who's trust they would labor for in order for a dream from heaven to give birth in reality. Some mystics today think 2012 is the beginning of this golden age because in truth the Age of Aquarius is at hand again; the scales are being weighed and the credit lender has a case with the Judge on who the gentiles trust {USA is the promised land of the gentiles}. But in the least it will be the birth of a foreign child that will labor to bring about the fulfillment of a dream from heaven because interest, a wedding cup, was passed to him from the nations. Evolution is really about becoming one with who inspires your dream and sharing a common interest, but will it be from the right heaven? To see an in-depth presentation on this click on Time and Climate Change when you have spare time. In the first century AD, Christendom and Islam took on alchemy as occult belief's intertwined with a common desire, Among them was the notion that a quaff of liquefied gold could impart immortality (Constable, 1990, Secrets of the Alchemist; mysteries of the unknown, p30).

Its Father is the Sun, its Mother the Moon; the Wind carries it in its womb; and its nurse is the Earth. This Thing is the Father of all perfect things in the world. Its power is most perfect when it has again changed into Earth. Separate the Earth from the Fire, and the subtle from the gross, but carefully and with great judgment and skill.

It ascends from earth to heaven, and descends again, new born, to the earth, taking unto itself thereby the power of the Above, and the Below. Thus the splendor of the whole world will be thine, and all darkness shall flee from thee.

This is the strongest of all powers, the Force of all forces, for it overcometh all subtle things and can penetrate all that is solid. For thus was the world created, and rare combinations, and wonders of many kinds are wrought.

Hence I am called HERMES TRISMEGISTUS, having mastered the three parts of wisdom of the whole world. What have I to say about the masterpiece of the alchemical art, the Solar Work, is now ended. (Real Alchemy; a Primer of practical alchemy, 2009 Ibes Press: Lake Worth, Florida, p18)

The earth; a nursery to heavenly treasures

In the above quote Hermes is really writing about re-establishing an authority, and in a sense referring to a resurrection of the gods which were cast down from heaven during a worldwide catastrophe; a flood which cracked up the earth and threw it out of balance ending paradise. Of course gold is the uniting element and proof of this desire for the gods to reign because gold was interpreted as coming from the sun. In a nut shell Hermes is saying the earth is nursing gold; a renewal of the children of the god – sun. But in reality what are the treasures that God is nursing in the earth; what was the seed he planted in the garden of paradise? A perception of reality depends on how one obtains worth and a metaphysical relationship, and interest to see a dream come true from heaven.

Ever since paradise ended people have been striving for it to return or so to speak looking for a new world. Even Columbus discovered the Americas because he was looking for a way to India; the land of a green paradise and the fabled ruler of East Asia the Great Khan, being inspired by Marco Polo's writings. Columbus was not out to bring the words of life and the love of God to the lost natives he ran across by pouring out the best of his strength for their trust, although the gospel was brought over to the natives in pretense, Columbus was after another treasure.

Sadly, Espanola did not yield the Great Khan of Columbus' dreams, but it soon disclosed a relatively dense population, a more developed culture and economy than the explorers had yet found, and enough gold in evidence to seem promising. Unlike the islanders at San Salvador, who had come out in eager droves at the sight of the ships, the people here were elusive, so Columbus sent a party of sailors ashore to capture a few "in order to treat them well and make them lose their fear, that something profitable might be had." (The explorers. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books Inc., p69)

Vasco da Gama was actually the one who reached the Indies and he also committed great atrocities to obtain riches from paradise and to find comfort and fame in death, and in the name of Christianity! Hernando Cortez went to South America to spread the gospel. Although under religious pretence he destroyed many pyramid temple centers but it wasn't the Son of Man that he treasured, and he started a gold rush for Spain. But there was a change in the weather because North America was going to be the Promised Land for the Gentiles, or was what transpired not destined but a coincidence?

Hernando Cortes lost the first ship he sent to Mexico in a severe hurricane, along with its crew of over seventy. Because of the frequency of hurricanes during the gold, silver and slave times, it was said that, "a ship was sunk for every lonely mile of unexplored Florida coast" (Florida's Hurricane History, The University of North Carolina Press, p41).

And later in 1715

A fleet of 15 Spanish ships commanded by Admiral Don Juan de Ubilla, loaded with some 14 million pesos worth of gold, silver, and jewels; one of which was the flagship Capitana. On July 31 they encountered a hurricane which took out all ships but one and lost 700 lives. Perhaps more than any other expedition this hurricane gave this portion of Florida the nickname "treasure coast" (p46).

What treasure is God after? Many of the European Christians from the Old World kept the truth as a secret language and indeed it was a mystery even to them; it was a Dark Age and even hidden from them because they were players. It was a time when Europe generally didn't have a friendship, glory, or an interest worth their labor, they were constantly looking to conquer and enslave within the Feudal system. They preached death as salvation and being poor as piety as long as they could obtain the power to own the world ?! Is this a trust from the right heaven or did they become an enemy to true trust because they crossed a sacred boundary and mocked the Son of Man for their own glory? Can a person value life at all if they do not labor for the love of their life and see death as a curse? If a person is not enlightened within a real glory bigger than themselves they don't desire truth and will even pervert it with no conviction. But if they seek, ask, knock, and find it for real, they will labor for a true friendship because they are a part of, and also have something special to offer, in seeing an outrageous and satisfying dream from heaven give birth into reality. That's what happened to the Plymouth Pilgrims who were looking for a new world. They weren't after a love/slave(s) so they can love them self and look forward to death, but a real heavenly treasure and entrustment worth the best part of their strength/life. So then looking at who or what provided for them in history, it begs the question, did God put his treasure into earthen vessels or metal, really! And/or what is our Father/Creator after? What inspires what we desire, if we desire anything real at all? Why do people even think of worshiping an unknown god or even pretending/faking God, and to impress who? There is a dark force at work there, there is a joker in the deck.

A person that values what they labor for will seek out a true friend {inspired by the same glory} providing them what is lacking because they have reciprocated a common interest worth spending all they possess into seeing a glorious shared dream become reality. Trust is a sacred thing when it comes to real heavenly glories otherwise a person mocks their own life and can't perceive reality, they become delusionary and as irony would have it, look for life among the dead. When a person truly has a real trust from heaven they are not dependent on the world, and indeed set up a border to ensure independence because they have something absolute inside that gives them a life which is worth their best labor to return the interest; a special entrustment only for those who really, really, value a real treasure from heaven. It really leads to an intimate friendship that cherishes their mutual vulnerability, causing sacrifices to be made to keep the boundary sacred so a dream based on reality can be conceived free from a love/interest that is a lie.

When a person really does experience a glory from within a reality, they will not remain the same, they will evolve, transform, and be changed because of an inspired heavenly desire. But is it from the right or true heaven? There are heavenly inspirations that are not really from heaven. Jean Dubuis (cited by Bartlett ,2007) plainly states what goal becomes obvious to a true alchemist; not to invent to make life easier, not to discover an intimate relationship, but to take the place of The Creator:

Alchemy is more than just something you do in a laboratory. It is a spiritual path to enlightenment – to evolving. It can be thought of as a psycho-physiological transformation directed by human self-consciousness (p40).
Paracelsus said, You will transmute nothing if you have not first transmuted yourself
(Real Alchemy; a Primer of practical alchemy, 2009 Ibes Press: Lake Worth, Florida, p41).

Alchemy affirms that at the origin, there is consciousness.
Consciousness is the need to Be of the Absolute.
In order to satisfy this need, consciousness created life, and in order to evolve, life created matter. ( Jean Dubuis as cited by Bartlett, Real Alchemy; a Primer of practical alchemy, 2009 Ibes Press: Lake Worth, Florida, p18-19)

Consciousness and transformation

There are different levels of consciousness, and even today there is obscurity in how to define consciousness. When consciousness is more than being aware of one's own existence it is linked to a metaphysical relationship. We will attempt to define consciousness in the context of worth, desire, and love, because this really is the only way to give consciousness meaning and colors perception. It can cause an evolution when in the presence of some kind of glory. Evolution or transformation is about becoming one within a glory because of a shared desire and affection.

So what is it that needs to be absolute for consciousness to be a delightful part of life? Absolute and God are separate terms depending on the context, so we need to understand why the difference. If God is a real being he would not need to be absolute because he would be absolute. All he would have to do is show his Glory and all would confess in that glorious Light. But needless to say God has hidden himself and for a reason, he wants his children to trust in something that will change them in preparation for something extremely dreadful and wonderfully astounding. So if this really is the case what needs to be absolute that comes from God, but apart from God?

But first let's look at consciousness and absolute from a human perspective, if a person was beautiful and strong would they need to prove it? I think there could only be two reasons they would have to, and the person they were proving it to would reveal what they were conscious off:

1. If one wanted to enslave or demean another person with their grander wouldn't it cause one to become self-conscious because they would be trying to prove their absoluteness really in loving themselves by taking away the value or freewill of another person in their vulnerability; and coerced worship really makes darkness an absolute because of unreal interests — the lesser cannot satisfy the works of the greater!
2. Or to protect their boundary or border to keep their interests/betrothed/children from being abused, from being corrupted or defiled in subjection to unwanted vulnerability because one loves – trust; not really self- conscious but conscious of the fruit they bare, trust is the absolute in this case because trust is the focus. Trust is the shelter to who they will be intimate and conscious of, so they can reciprocate each other's valued interest freely because they are covered, and not naked/vulnerable before the world.

So if trust should be the facilitator to being conscious of an absolute, trust requires a shared interest with the freedom to choose it. And if a person were invited to share in another's beauty and strength because they had a real and true interest {valued the other personally and as a fundamental part to a dream coming true} they would become one and only be conscious of life from within that intimacy, not focused on themselves because one is immersed in another's trust/love. Then REAL and TRUE intimate FRIENDSHIP would be the absolute of one's consciousness and neither being {consciousness} is self-conscious because of the interest in the other, and the fulfilling of reciprocated desires. In a true reality this vulnerability is always covered by the greater glory for the glory of fulfilling each other's susceptible desires to see a shared dream come true.

Children are very aware of life and being alive when they are covered in their vulnerability, not really self-consciousness until trust is broken and offenses committed and then their perspective is darkened. So then the only conscious that needs to be absolute is one that is not absolute because that one is dying to find worth and are not self-satisfying. This happens because trust requires a freewill and allows us to test an interest, even in ourselves, but not without a risk/price ! And when one comes to the point of giving trusting in themselves away, and seriously considering sacrificing their life willingly to a REAL higher power and intelligence for a shared interest, a god for a greater glory in death, or God to have their life or vulnerability covered from death's poisonous sting to see a glorious dream come true {a taste of a new world}, one's desires will be enticed by a glory if one values spending their energy for a real interest. When one is truly hungry and interest is real, one will be invited to an intimate table by a Real Spirit distinct of one's self, and if one highly delights and desires what they tasted, what they digested will cause a transformation in preparation for a reality.

Evolution is about becoming one through a shared desire – it is about the future, not about science but about trust! It's about finding one's identity within a greater glory and receiving an entrustment with a calling to bear and nurture fruit by who fathered one's dream from a heaven. Trust is based on a metaphysical perception, but science and invention become very meaningful and make sense in this light; discovery becomes very exciting when one understands there are hidden purposes in everything.