I got to spend about four days on the shores of Lake Washington with Mt Rainier seemingly sitting
just on the other side even though it's really a couple of hours away by
car. Yes, it's that huge. It's blanketed with snow and is just
beautiful. There are an amazing number of hummingbirds there, taking
advantage of the feeder my parents have hanging out on the deck. When
Kalla came by on Saturday we went outside so she could photograph the
mountain, and the birds were zipping right past us, totally at ease and
playing with each other. That night we went to the luminary display
around Greenlake. It was nice, not too cold and dry.
"When you see your matter going black, rejoice, for this is the beginning of the work."
- Rosarium Philosophorum
I have finally begun an undertaking that is an elementary and classical step in alchemy, and interestingly, one which many modern alchemists overlook. I'm surprised that I didn't do this sooner, but then it also makes sense that I am doing this now as the sign that I am ready to do this, and wasn't supposed to do this before now. I am about to begin my work with the seven essentials. This is a course of spagyrics attuned to the planets and the days. People who dismiss laboratory alchemy are those that tend to discount or miss this process in alchemical growth. In straight-forward terms, the alchemist assembles seven spagryic tinctures, one for each planet and you take them as appropriately attuned on each day of the week for a year.
As
with all alchemy, there's no one way to do this. In fact, one of the
methods is to start completely randomly. Others say to start based on
choices made from one's own astrological chart. Others work with plants
native to where they live. When I took Robert Bartlett's PRIMA class,
he talked about this and how ingesting the plant medicine would bring
about alchemical understanding no matter how you chose to start, and
just by doing so, the process would unfold and offer up guidance in its
own way. Sort of like, if you just start walking the path, you'll learn
and get there along the way. While the taking of spagyrics is said to
lead to comprehension and effects that can't happen any other way, it's
in the making of your own spagyrics that is supposed to really bring
about deep insight and subtle knowledge.
For my first round
of this, I am going to be working with spagyrics made by Al-Qemi, of
which I already have an assortment. I had to order a couple of planets
for which I didn't have a representative tincture, and I did that using a
pendulum to select the plants. While I take these, I will work on a
series of tinctures that I prepare myself, with the plants chosen based
on things I grow myself or which come into my life or otherwise indicate
they are part of the series.
My sister found a friend to take the treadmill we have in our garage that we got from
another friend of hers, and so this next week, when I am done with my
mini-retreat, the garage should quite literally begin to open up. I
will have access to a variety of things of mine that are boxed up behind
where the treadmill is now. A definite dross pass through the garage
is going to happen. I'll be curious to see what's been stashed down
there which I have forgotten. I know there is some kitchen stuff in
those boxes, but I can't be exactly sure what else. Probably art
supplies, and undoubtedly a goodly amount of novelty accumulation. I'll
get to confront feelings of needing to keep things with the fact that I
have not had to use or access those things in about seven years.
Nigredo, anyone? One other side effect of the garage makeover should be
being able to have a bit more lab space. I'd like to get my cordial
stuff situation down there and not be in the kitchen with it as much.