Sacred space

[Zigzag Idiot]

@tsuki fascinating,,,very rich,,, I need to sit with it

[Zigzag Idiot]

28 minutes ago, tsuki said:

I finally understood why the alchemical principles were so intriguing to me.
They are the shared factor between the Alphabet of Desire (AoD) and the Enneagram of personality (EoP).

Enneagram of personality explains how personality is formed as a coping mechanism that deals with suffering.
In this theory, suffering manifests in three basic forms towards which one of three responses may be formed.
EoP identifies these forms of suffering as Shame, Fear and Anger and it divides the theory into three sections: 3, 6 and 9.

These three forms of suffering link to the AoD sections called: Death, Fear and Hate.
Personality coping mechanisms correspond to alchemical principles: Sulphur, Mercury and Salt.

The three basic sections of EoP are 3, 6, 9 and they are governed by AoP's Death, Fear and Hate respectively.
These "pure" personality types are created through habitual application of Mercury: transcendence.
Type three is the Death of Death, called in AoP as Release.
Type six is the Fear of Fear, called in AoP as Terror (doubt is less extreme).
Type nine is the Hate of Hate, which is Anger in AoP's terms.
These three types are blind to their suffering through habitual turning it onto itself.

The next 6 types are created through projection of this suffering: internalization (Salt), or externalization (Sulfur).
The Sulfur types are: 2 (Destruction), 5 (Fright [?]), 8 (Aggression).
The Salt types are: 4 (Atrophy), 7 (Aversion) and 1 (Loathing).

Alphabet of desire is, however a tool for magic and not for mysticism and therefore it exposes both sides of the emotional duality.
Each of those categories have the positive counterpart that is omitted in EoP. The full spectrum is:

• Death <=> Sex (Creation)
• Fear <=> Desire
• Hate <=> Love

The inverted basic Enneagram types are: -3 (Dissolution), -6 (Joy), -9 (Rapture)
The internalized types are: -2 (Lust), -5 (Attraction), -8 (Passion)
The externalized types are: -4 (Frustration), -7 (Greed), -1 (Attachment).

@tsuki fascinating,,,very rich,,, I need to sit with it

Wanted to bring it all forward.

AOD Alphabet of Desire is a new one to me

[mandyjw]

Thought I was posting in my own journal, sorry.

Edited May 3, 2019 by mandyjw
Thought I was posting in my own journal, sorry. ;)

[jbram2002]

19 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

Thought I was posting in my own journal, sorry.

Nonduality though... is it his or yours?

[tsuki]

Apart from emotional experience, the alphabet of desire provides a map of 4 somatic emotions that map onto 4 alchemical elements. These are: pain-pleasure, elation-depression. They form two dualities such as fire-water, earth-air.

I need to read more about the elements to see the connections.

Edited May 3, 2019 by tsuki

[jbram2002]

@tsuki An interesting way to look at it. Although I'm not sure they relate directly to classical psychological deconstruction of the elements, I might equate them as such:

Fire = Pain (hot to the touch, burning)
Water = Pleasure (cool, bouyant)
Air = Elation (Sky, upwards, uplifting)
Earth = Depression (down, ground, under our feet)

As I wrote in my journal, combining the two axes of the elements can provide a lot of unique looks.

Fire/Earth = Depressive pain
Fire/Air = Elative pain
Water/Earth = Depressive pleasure
Water/Air = Elative pleasure

Deconstructing these corners could provide a lot of insight into their connections. I'll let you take that step, though.

[tsuki]

The basic application of the alphabet of desire seems to be:

1. Freedom through unification of the emotional center in meaninglessness
2. A tool for paralyzing the mind in gnostic or ecstatic rites to achieve magical states of consciousness.

So far I've been using this branch to transform emotions into each other.
I was successful in traversing the dual symmetry (death <=> sex, love <=> hate, fear <=> desire).
I didn't try to change them across categories yet, like love/desire, or death/hate.

The process is straightforward so far.
I am a receptacle for emotional charge until it dissolves into pure energy.
Then, it is possible to transform it through a shift in perspective.
So, in short - it's non-reactivity (mercury) followed by recontextualization.

This process however does not lower the emotional content. Intense love is just as unbearable as intense hate.

[mandyjw]

I experienced death/love intensely when my Grandmother died. 

Love/fear is a dear friend too. 

Intense love and intense hate are only unbearable if you carry great resistance. 

 

[jbram2002]

Nothing is unbearable when you're fully open. Sometimes it's useful to completely open yourself to an emotion for a short time and feel that intensity to its fullest extent. It can be painful, sure, but not unbearable. Holding it back is what makes it hard to bear.

[mandyjw]

@jbram2002 I've done that before with an intense feeling of rejection, it was a very memorable experience. It felt like fire. 

[tsuki]

https://blog.world-mysteries.com/ancient-writings/alchemy-ancient-writings/four-elements-alchemy/

http://opsopaus.com/OM/BA/RE.html

Edited May 4, 2019 by tsuki

[tsuki]

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The elements have been rich symbols for at least 2500 years, for they resonate with our deepest experience of the world. Empedocles, who first identified the four elements, compared them with gods:

  Now hear the fourfold roots of everything:
  Enlivening Hera, Hades, shining Zeus
  And Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears.

Hera rules the fruitful earth, Hades the central fire, Zeus the luminescent air, and Nestis the mollifying water.*

* Beginning in ancient times and continuing to the present, various correspondences between these gods and the elements have been defended. This correspondence is argued persuasively by Peter Kingsley (Ancient Philosophy, Mystery and Magic: Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition, Oxford Univ. Press, 1995, Part I).

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Through the ensuing millennia the familiar structure of the elements has enriched our understanding of many quaternities, but the correspondences have usually been established intuitively, and differences in emphasis have led to differing assignments. However, a structural understanding of the qualities of the elements facilitates moving beyond superficial analogies to the systematic application of these symbols. Such an analysis should not be confused with a scientific theory; rather, by exposing the symbolic structure of the elements, the analysis extends their applicability and creates symbolic links across many domains, a deeper insight essential for understanding the alchemical rotation of the elements.

[...]

Of course, any pair of opposed qualities can be associated with Hot/Cold and Moist/Dry, just as any series of four can be identified with the elements, but the result may have little similarity to earth, water, air and fire. If, however, the qualities are assigned in accord with Aristotle's abstract definitions, then the elements will be earthy, watery, airy and fiery, and their character and behavior will correspond to our intuitions.

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The rotation of the elements depends on two interrelated structures, one linear and the other cyclic. The linear structure is the increasing subtlety apparent in the series Earth, Water, Air, Fire. (I capitalize the names of these ``philosophical,'' or alchemical, elements to distinguish them from ordinary earth, water, air and fire.) The cyclic structure results from the elements' definition in terms of two pairs of opposed qualities, Hot/Cold and Dry/Moist. These had already been identified by Anaximander in the sixth century BCE, one hundred years before Empedocles introduced the four elements, but it was another hundred years before Aristotle's systematic analysis of the elements in terms of the qualities.** He explains that Earth is Dry and Cold, Water is Cold and Moist, Air is Moist and Hot, and Fire is Hot and Dry.

** The main discussion of the four qualities is in Chapters 2 and 3 of Book II of De Generatione et Corruptione (On Coming-to-Be and Passing-Away), lines 329b7-331a6.

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The Hot, he says, is the power of separation, for it causes each substance to cling to its own kind, as occurs in distillation; that is, it dissociates a compound by associating things of the same kind. Conversely, the Cold associates things of different kinds, and allows substances to mix together. As a consequence, the Hot makes things subtle, light, rising and centrifugal, since substances must move away from the center to separate from each other. Conversely, the Cold makes things gross, heavy, falling and centripetal, since substances mix when forced to the center.

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Aristotle explains that Moistness is the quality of fluidity or flexibility, which allows a thing to adapt to its external conditions, whereas Dryness is the quality of rigidity, which allows a thing to define its own shape and bounds. As a consequence Moist things tend to be volatile and expansive, since they can fill spaces in their surroundings, whereas Dry things are fixed and structured, since they define their own form.

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The abstract character of the qualities also determines the relative subtlety of the elements. Since Dryness is self-determining, Fire and Earth have an absolute impulse to go in their own direction (centrifugal or up for Fire, centripetal or down for Earth). This is especially the case for Earth, which is predominantly Dry and self-determining, and so defines a basis for the other elements. The Hot quality dominates Fire, which explains why Fire and Heat have practically the same effect, for Heat expresses itself fully in Fire.

Since Moistness is sensitive to external conditions, Air and Water are not unswerving in their motion; their upward and downward tendencies are moderated by the expansive, spreading character of Moistness. Thus, while Fire and Earth are absolutely Light and Heavy, respectively, Air and Water are only relatively Light and Heavy. Centripetal Coldness dominates Water, which therefore tends to relax or sink into its surroundings. Moistness, which is expansive, dominates Air, which therefore tends to spread actively.

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Therefore, in addition to their opPositional structure, the elements fall in a series of increasing subtlety: Earth, Water, Air, Fire. Systematic application of the elements should take account of both structures, oppositional and graded, or circular and linear.

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The order in which the qualities are listed is significant, since, as Aristotle explains, Earth is predominantly Dry, Water is predominantly Cold, Air is predominantly Moist, and Fire is predominantly Hot; the resulting cycle of qualities is relevant to the rotation. Nevertheless, each element comprises two qualities, one from each opposition. The relationship between the elements and qualities is shown in the familiar ``square of opposition,'' in which each element follows, in a clockwise direction, its dominant quality. 

Source: http://opsopaus.com/OM/BA/RE.html emphasis mine.

Edited May 4, 2019 by tsuki

[tsuki]

Something happened to my fridge recently and the defrosted water is collected at the bottom of it.
It seems like the drain is clogged and I had the opportunity to feel the really cold water when I was removing it.

It is entirely possible to experience the shock of temperature and have the sensation of coldness and heat mixed up.
It struck me however that freezing water has a quality that is reminiscent of how it feels to be kicked in the nuts.

The common factor between the two is paralysis.

[tsuki]

 1.  Earth: Dry   > Cold
 2.  Water: Cold  > Moist
 3.  Air:   Moist > Hot
 4.  Fire:  Hot   > Dry
(5.) Earth: Dry   > Cold

__________| Earth | Water | Air   | Fire
Primary   | Dry   | Cold  | Moist | Hot
Secondary | Cold  | Moist | Hot   | Dry

• Hot: Separation of compound into constituents and grouping into kinds, Subtlety, Lightness, Rise, Centrifugal
• Cold: Association of different kinds and mixing together into compound, Gross, Heaviness, Fall, Centripetal
• Moist: Fluidity and flexibility, Adaptation to external, Volatility, Expansiveness
• Dry: Rigidity, Self-defined boundaries, Fixation, Structure

Edited May 4, 2019 by tsuki

[tsuki]

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The rotation can also be described by two ``laws of motion'' relating any two adjacent qualities, Moist and Hot for example. The first law says that the higher the degree of the earlier quality (in the direction of rotation), the greater the rate of increase of the later quality. In this case we could say, ``Moisture nourishes Heat.'' The second law says that the higher the degree of the later quality, the greater the rate of decrease of the earlier quality. In this case, ``Heat dries up Moisture.'' The two laws combine to cause oscillations in each pair of opposites, which are so coordinated as to cause a rotation. As Heraclitus said, ``The cold become hot, the hot becomes cold, the moist becomes dry, the dry becomes moist''; this ``strife between opposites'' is the motor of the rotation. 

No | Element | Hot | Moist
1  | Earth   | 0   | 0
2  | Water   | 0   | 1
3  | Air     | 1   | 0
4  | Fire    | 1   | 1

Gray code can be used to generalize this 'mechanism' to more features (Hot/Cold, Moist/Dry), but the number of elements has to be a power of two.
That is not Gray code, it's just regular binary code.

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Although elemental rotations are usually toward greater subtlety, Earth to Water to Air to Fire, a reverse (counterclockwise) rotation is also possible; in Heraclitus' words, ``Fire lives the death of earth, and air lives the death of fire; water lives the death of air, earth that of water.'' We find such a reverse rotation in Empedocles' Purifications, where he explains that an immortal spirit must cleanse himself of broken oaths and other crimes by repeated rebirth in mortal form for thrice ten thousand years:

   The mighty air propels him to the sea,
   The water throws him to the earth, and earth
   To sunlight's fire, who yields to whirling air.

This expiatory ordeal brings us to the purpose of the alchemical rotation: refinement and purification.

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by tsuki

[tsuki]

Here's a nice story about Fire and our egoic relationship with it:

Or rather, how egoic will to live is ultimately subject to universal laws and serves to further death.

Edited May 4, 2019 by tsuki

[tsuki]

 

[tsuki]

 

[tsuki]

I have a very hard time understanding what is the ultimate goal of spiritual alchemy, the philosopher's stone, as explained by this article.

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There would be no point to the alchemical rotation if it didn't bring one closer to the goal of the Great Work, the Elixer or Philosopher's Stone. By understanding how it does this, we can see how to turn elemental rotations into progressive spirals of transformation.

The goal of the alchemist's circulation is a ``Sublimation or Exaltation of the Matter of the Work,'' which is ``a process by which substances become more precious, splendid, and excellent,'' as we read in the 1612 Lexicon of Alchemy by Michael Ruland the Elder. This sublimation is aimed at extracting the Quintessence of gold, its spirit in the purest possible state, its Platonic form, because, Paracelsus explained, an object can be separated from its matter and continue to exist as a pure form, which is transferable to other matter.

Sublimation is a process by which the spirit of a substance can be transferred to another substance. The spirit that is to be transferred is the "Quintessence of gold", "Platonic form", "in its purest possible state". Gold seems so far to be the embodiment of paradox, something that is beyond the original formulation of the four elements and is contradictory in its terms.

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The oft-repeated ``Enigma of Hermes'' says, ``Unless you disembody the bodies and embody the disembodied, that which is expected will not take place.'' Therefore sublimation, which is an ascent of the spirit from matter, must be followed by condensation, a descent in which the spirit is imposed on purified neutral matter; the product is a ``permanent ferment,'' which has excess spirit and thus can transfer its form to other matter; it is the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixer that is able to perfect imperfect metals, renew youth and cure any illness.

For now, I have no clue how to interpret sublimation and condensation and how exactly the imposition of the spirit on the purified matter should take place. There is, however a description of what the Philosopher's stone is. It seems to be a substance that can conduct the alchemical process on its own.

It's like someone was trying to distill the rules of creativity and encode them into a mechanical process.
The philosopher's stone is the device that turns other things into philosopher's stones.
Is it a symbolic description of going meta?

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But what is the spirit to be extracted and embodied in the Stone? It has the qualities of the philosopher's gold, the most noble metal, and therefore the most perfect combination of fusibility, the generic characteristic of all metals, and fiery color, the specific characteristic of gold. These two characteristics are represented by alchemical Mercury and alchemical Sulfur, respectively, the spirits of Water and Fire. That is, gold is a perfect combination of the fusibility of Water and the color of Fire. This explains the common alchemical descriptions of the Quintessence of gold as ``the watery fire and the fiery water.'' Since Mercury is the volatile spirit and Sulfur is the fixed spirit, the goal is to volatilize the fixed and to fix the volatile.

Here we have a description of what gold symbolizes. Gold is the incarnation of impossibility, something that is both water (fusible) and fire.
It seems like Mercury is the principle of turning the water into more volatile form (air), and Sulfur is about turning the fire into a solid form (earth).
It looks like Mercury and Sulfur are intermediate products between the original square of opposites and the result, which is Gold. 
They contain two of the four elements within them in an abstract, subtle form. Mercury is a combination of Water and Air and Sulfur is a combination of Fire and Earth. They both embody contradiction - they are Hot and Cold, but in reverse order.

There is no mention of Salt, unfortunately, so there is no correspondence to the three alchemical principles that are found in the Alphabet of Desire.

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The volatilization of the fixed and the fixation of the volatile together achieve a unification of the four elements, for Fire (in the form of Sulphur) makes Water stable by making it Dry and more like Earth, while Water (in the form of Mercury) makes the Fire volatile by making it Moist and more like Air. Solve et coagula, the famous motto of the alchemists, represents this synthesis of the elements by means of Mercury and Sulphur, the principles of dissolution and coagulation. A sixteenth century alchemical text says, ``Our stone is from the four elements,'' and adds, ``In the gold the four elements are contained in equal proportions.'' Thus the Quintessence was often symbolized by the hexagram (``Solomon's Seal'') because it unites the signs of the elements. 

This paragraph describes how properties of Sulfur and Mercury interact to form Gold. I know too little about the symbols to make anything meaningful out of it for now.

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The four elements must be combined in a special way, for the Quintessence is not simply a chaotic mixture of the elements. Nor is it prime matter, a featureless substrate in which the Hot neutralizes the Cold and the Moist the Dry. The Quintessence must embody simultaneously the contradictory pairs, Hot and Cold, Moist and Dry. The scholiast to an alchemical manuscript explains how this is possible:

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Reduce your stone to the four elements, rectify and combine them into one, and you will have the whole magistery. This One, to which the elements must be reduced, is that little circle in the center of the squared figure. It is the mediator, making peace between the enemies or elements.****

Matter cannot have contradictory qualities, so the Quintessence must be immaterial, pure spirit. The figure shows that no point on the circumference can be simultaneously Hot and Cold or Moist and Dry. If, however, the circle shrinks to the point at the center, it will have all qualities at once. This is where the immaterial Quintessence resides, and it is the goal towards which the rotation is directed. 

To ``have the whole magistery'' each step in the rotation must move closer to the central Quintessence, which contains the Platonic form of the qualities divorced from gross matter. This is achieved at each phase of the rotation by refining the element, preserving its own qualities while eliminating contaminating qualities. Thus, the first phase dissolves some of the Earth, converting it to Water, and leaves the rest as dregs. The result is that the Coldness of the Earth is preserved in the Water, but some of the Dry matter is lost, so the rotation spirals a little closer to the immaterial center. The second phase Warms the Water, converting some of it to Air, but preserves its Moisture, leaving some Water as a residue. The third stage converts some Air to Fire and releases the remainder as humid vapors. These first three stages ``volatilize the fixed'' by spiritualizing the matter. The final phase Cools the Hot vapors, and transforms some of the Fire back into Earth, thus ``fixing the volatile'' by materializing the spirit. This completes one cycle of refinement and moves closer to the Quintessence. 

Reducing the stone to four elements is the initial observation of the parts of the whole that interact.
Then, we 'have the whole magistery' when we turn the wheel and purify the substance until we complete the cycle and move closer to the Quintessence. The text seems to suggest that the process is somehow lossy, but I'm not sure how that helps. The second paragraph seems to suggest that the substance loses its form to embody the contradictory requirements.

It was previously said that:

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Heat is the primary agent of rotation. Aristotle explains that the qualities Hot and Cold are active, whereas Moist and Dry are passive. Indeed, as the principles of separation and union, Hot and Cold are identical to Strife and Love (Eris and Eros), which Empedocles had identified as the forces that cause the elements to separate and mix. Aristotle further observes that Cold is just the absence of Heat, so in the end Heat (or Strife) is the motive force for change; as Heraclitus said, ``all things come to be through Strife.'' In practical terms, as the alchemist Olympiodorus said in the 5th or 6th century CE, ``Fire is the primary agent, that of the whole art. It is the first of the four elements.''

[tsuki]

http://opsopaus.com/OM/BA/AGEDE/index.html