Rosicrucian Beacon Magazine - 2012-09 - AMORC

Published quarterly by theEnglish Grand Lodge for Europe,the Middle East and Africa of theROSICRUCIAN ORDER AMORCGreenwood Gate, Blackhill,Crowborough TN6 lXEUnited KingdomSeptember 2012, Vol 21, No. 4CONTENTSTel: 01892-653197Fax: 01892-667432Email: RCBeacon@amorc.org.ukWeb: www.amorc.org.uk2 Building the Temple of Man - Part 1 - by Lynn Hodgkinson, SRC8 The Radiant Dawn - by Bill Anderson, FRCEnglish Language Magazineof theRosicrucian OrderEurope, the Middle Eastand AfricaIssued free to members of theRosicrucian Order AMORCEditorsBill AndersonPaul GoodallDesign and LayoutRichard BonwickStatements made in this publicationare not the official expressions ofthe Rosicrucian Order or its officersunless specifically declared to be so.All material published in thismagazine is copyright of the SupremeGrand Lodge of AMORC and maynot be copied or reproduced in anyform without the prior consent of thecopyright holder and the individualcontributors.Changes of address must reach usby the first of the month precedingpublication.15 Being Content - by Ralph M Lewis, FRC18 The Nature of Alchemical Mercury - by Paul Goodall, FRC25 Medicine Man: Heal Thy People - by Frank Isles, FRC30 Philosophy: Its Nature and Purpose - by Alexander F Skutch35 The Paradise Garden - by Connie James, SRC40 The Valley and the Mountain - by Gregory Sablic, FRC41 Art and Medicine: Two Complementaries - by Brenda Andersen44 Who Am I - by Roland Northover44 Day-Break - by A Humble Hedge-CutterCOVER SPREAD“Alchemical Mercury”1The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

– PART 1 –by Lynn Hodgkinson, SRCThis article is adapted for theRosicrucian Beacon from a presentationof the same title given by the authorduring a Rosicrucian Convention at theAmmerdown Centre, Radstock nearBath on 15-17 June 2012.ince THE earliest civilisations, humankindhas recognised the existence of an invisiblepower. People have striven to express this powerin many different ways: the nature and laws ofthis higher intelligence, this divine entity andcreator of all, this all-present being, this father, mother,divine presence, the ruler and guardian of our existenceon Earth. It can be seen in the earliest forms of art andsculpture across different civilisations throughout theworld’s history.In recognising the omnipotence, omnipresence andomniscience of this unseen entity, we recognised ourown inferior or inadequate status in the Cosmic scheme,or at least our imperfections and our need to be guidedand governed by its invisible power. This gave rise to asense of deference, of a desire to acknowledge the might2The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

and majesty of a higher state, and to reflect this in arespectful and reverential way whenever we wished toappeal to, communicate with, or receive inspiration fromit. Acknowledgement of this higher power required thepreparation and establishment of a special exalted place:a place of sanctity, a sacred space.The Creation of a Significant SpaceIn the early history of the human civilisation the conceptof the Temple was born. It may have begun with somethingcalled a templum. This is a Latin word describing a zone ofthe sky or earth marked out by the diviner or soothsayeras a suitable place in which to take auspices. He wouldobserve the flight and cries of birds within the templumand draw omens from these signs. It was a sacred space thatcould be inaugurated either in the sky or on the ground.A templum in the sky was marked off with imaginarylines which divided it into four regions according to thecardinal points. On the ground, the space might eitherbe marked off with imaginary lines or eventually, withphysical delineations such as trees or walls.It is at this point in human development that theconcept of the Temple was born. This was a major stepforward in the ascent of consciousness for early humans.The Temple-space was to be a distinct and holy placewhere one stepped out of the everyday activities of themundane world, cleansed the mind and body, and enteredthe silence to commune with the Absolute. It was a placeof sanctuary, a tabernacle where the Holy of Holies couldbe found.Some of the oldest sanctuaries were natural woods.In Sir James George Frazer’s book The Golden Bough,we can read about the creation of the Sacred Grove, andthe veneration and worship of the sacred Tree in manyThe Temple-space was a distinct and holy placewhere one stepped out of the everyday activities ofthe mundane world.different civilisations throughout human evolution.As the centuries passed, these sacred spaces becameincreasingly sophisticated, gradually evolving intomonuments, and ultimately into the beauty and majestyof the great temples, churches and cathedrals of the world.The central attribute of the Temple was the Altar itself,being the threshold of contact with the Holy Presence,the connecting bridge between the Earth plane and thespiritual.Within this temple space, human beings engagedin the most profound and meaningful expressions of theA templum in the sky was marked off with imaginary lines dividingit into four regions according to the cardinal points. Within it the flightand cries of birds would be observed by the diviner in order to abstractomens from such observations.higher aspirations of themselves. Whether in a forestgrove, surrounded by the beauty and harmony of nature,or in a cathedral, surrounded by inspiring lines of form andsymmetry, it functioned as a sanctuary where the mysticcould retreat for a while into the Silence. The sanctuaryof today remains the same: a place where illusions anderrors fall away, a place of enlightenment. Even now it issomewhere we can, for a moment, find meaning and peaceamidst the chaos of creation and the hustle and bustle ofour daily existence.Spiritual AscentThe development of the temple was commensurate withthe beginnings of a sense of humility, a recognition ofunworthiness giving rise to Will: the will to develop andaspire or rise to a state that brought human consciousnessin closer contact with that of the Divine.Regarding our own spiritual journey, thereis also that sense of ascent or rising associatedwith the reaching of the Temple. Whether inthe form of a quest or series of personal trials, wesymbolically cleanse and transform ourselves bymetaphysically ascending the steps of the sacrededifice. And the only way we can do this is through thelearning experience, and an increasingly enhanced levelof self-knowledge. In other words, we have to work toreach this special exalted place, to prepare ourselves, toimprove ourselves, to prepare to meet with the beautyand perfection of the Divine.Once we enter the Temple we set ourselves in relationto the universe. We are at a connection point with higherrealms, with the Divine. This is because the temple isthe place where both realms, the macrocosm and themicrocosm, meet and are one. It is where we recogniseThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 20123

Some of the oldest sanctuaries were natural woods containing a SacredGrove within which people could engage in the most profound andmeaningful expressions of the higher aspirations of themselves.the oneness of the universe and the unity of all matter.It is where we begin to experience the connectedness ofall existence, and our own place in the scheme of things.It is the birthplace of knowledge and understanding, theschool where we begin to recognise the Divine Withinand its relationship to the Whole.The Divine Withinthe sacred tree or pole at the centre of the sacred ground,represents the descent of the sacred or the Divine; therealm where the initiate might ascend to the Divine orCosmic realm. The sacred space had become the pointof intersection, the threshold, the ‘key’ for entry to theother realms of our being.This Cosmic Tree is the pillar which holds up the skyand permits communication between the world above andthe world below. It epitomises the plan of Creation: it ispivot, axis and sphere. Through its roots, it is attached tothe nourishing earth, and through its leaves it opens to thelight. The so called ‘Axis Mundi’ (cosmic axis, world axis,world pillar, centre of the world), in religion or mythology,is the world centre and the connection between Heavenand Earth. As both the celestial and geographic pole, itexpresses a point of connection between sky and earthwhere the four compass directions meet. Communicationfrom lower realms may ascend to higher ones andblessings from higher realms may descend to lower onesand be disseminated to all. It is the Tree of Life, the treeof all knowledge. Indeed the Tree of Life of the Kabalaencapsulates this symbolism.In varying cultures the Tree has always been asymbol of growth, rebirth and ascent. The DruidsAt some stage then in the evolution of human consciousnessit was clear that the Divine was not just something whichwas ‘out there’ and separate from humankind, but spoketo some corresponding spark within us.The Temple had become a place where the divineconnection could be made, to experience a consciousrealisation of the Divine within and without. TheTemple was therefore important in facilitating spiritualcommunion. But in tandem with its development wasalso a shift in realisation of the human relationship withthe Eternal, namely, that we are revealed to ourselves bytranscendence. We realise the Divine within, and thesacred is revealed to us as a human attribute of which wehave allowed ourselves to be dispossessed. As aspiringmystics we come to realise the operation of Cosmic lawon all planes of existence, in the universe and in ourselves.And through this knowledge we truly enter our ownInner Temple.The Cosmic TreeSo let us return a moment to those sacred groves and treesthat were referred to earlier. Perhaps it is here where we canpick up the golden thread, the key to our understanding.Our ancient forbears perhaps knew a thing or two after all!In many ancient mythologies, the centre of the Temple orThere is also often a sense of journey or ascent associated with reachingthe Temple. Whether in the form of a quest or series of trials wherebywe symbolically cleanse ourselves, or physically ascend the steps ofthe sacred edifice, it is about changing or transforming ourselves insome way.4The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

The sacred is revealed as a human attribute of which we have allowedourselves to be dispossessed. Once we realise the operation of Cosmic law onall planes of existence, we have truly entered our Inner Temple.venerated the Oak tree. The Laurel was sacred to Apolloat Delphi. To the Chaldeans the Cedar was the tree oflife and revealer of oracles. To the Irish the Hazel wasthe tree of knowledge. The Divine or Cosmic Treerooted in Heaven can be found in Maori, Indonesian,Micronesian, Aztec and Mayan mythology. In the HinduKatha Upanishad the ancient tree symbolises Brahman,the Immortal. All worlds are contained within it. TheAtman is the spirit of Brahman within, and can onlybe accessed through a sincere willingness to embracespiritual growth.As a matter of interest, in relation to the sacredtree we might consider the Maypole, thatquintessentially European phenomenon. Onetheory holds that Maypoles were a remnant ofthe Germanic reverence for sacred trees sincethere is evidence for various trees and woodenpillars being venerated across much of GermanicEurope including Thor’s Oak and the Saxon Irminsulpillar. In Norse paganism, cosmological views held thatthe universe was a world tree, known as Yggdrasil. Ithas been suggested that the Maypole was in some way acontinuance of this tradition.The Chain of BeingOther symbols of ascent and descent, or communicationbetween realms or different levels of existence are theimages of a ladder, stairway or chain. These are featuredwidely in medieval and Renaissance art, because theCosmos was conceived as a series of interlockinghierarchies, like links in a chain or steps on a ladder, fromthe material realm through to the highest divine sphere.The concept of the ‘Great Chain of Being’ expressedThe Cosmic Tree is the pillar which holds up the sky and permitscommunication between the world above and the world below. Themetaphysical constructs of the Axis Mundi and the Tree of Life allowcommunication and ascent from lower realms to higher ones, and blessingsfrom higher realms may descend to lower ones for dissemination to all.the order and harmony of the Cosmos. This ascent anddescent between worlds can also be a journeying ortransference between different levels of consciousness. Insuch symbols we see, metaphysically speaking, that All isultimately embodied in one great vibrational keyboard;different levels of consciousness within the one spectrum.The Golden Chain of Zeus (Iliad Book VIII 19-27)described by Homer relates a story in which Zeus boasts tothe other gods about his strength, saying that if he hung agolden chain from the sky, and attached the earth, the sun,The quest for the Divine Experience and InnerCommunion has been narrated in many andvarious tales.the moon, the sea and all the other gods to it, he wouldstill be able to pull them up; and all of them combinedwould not be able to pull him down out of heaven. Wealso see this symbolism in the ‘Ladder of Lights’ inherentin ancient Egyptian and Tibetan mysticism, and medievalalchemy.The Ladder of AscentFrom remote antiquity, the ladder was taken as a paradigmof spiritual ascent. In a bas relief from the 3 rd dynasty ofUr, dated c. 2070-1960 BCE, there appears a seven rungladder suggesting initiation leading from the lower to thehigher realms of consciousness. Above the initiate is theconjunction of the crescent moon and sun, symbolisingthe union of masculine and feminine principles as theThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 20125

and he dwells within our heart...“There is a bridge between time and eternity, andthis bridge is atman, the spirit of man. Neither daynor night cross that bridge, nor old age, nor death,nor sorrow. There is a spirit which is pure and whichis beyond old age and death; and beyond hungerand thirst and sorrow. This is atman the spirit inman, all the desires of this spirit are truth. It is thisspirit that we must find and know: man must findhis own soul. He who has found and knows his soulhas found all the worlds, has achieved all his desires.”The visionary ladder upon which the sleeping Jacob sees angels ascendingand descending is a representation of the discovery of the temple within, amajor step forward in one’s personal spiritual evolution and the approachto true self-knowledge.central meaning of initiation.The best known example is that of Jacob’s Ladderrecounted in the Christian Bible (Genesis 28:10-19)which was widely interpreted as a symbol of CosmicHarmony, and famously depicted in an inspiring paintingby William Blake. It is a visionary ladder upon whichthe sleeping Jacob sees angels ascending and descending,a symbol of cosmic harmony. In the account, God says(after describing the land which he gives to Jacob and hisdescendants):We could say that the process is one of returningfrom exile, of rediscovering that which has been lost.The Spiritual JourneyThe quest for the Divine Experience and InnerCommunion has been narrated in many and various talessince the beginning of the attempts by people to articulatetheir inner experiences. It is the Chrétien de Troyes’ HolyGrail, Malory’s Morte D’Arthur, and the stories ofthe Knights of the Round Table. These stories describethe journey to a profound mystical experience. Considerthe tale of Sir Galahad who in his simplicity and humility“...looked into the depths of his own being, entered the Temple“Behold I am with you and will keep you whereveryou go, and will bring you back to this land. AndJacob awoke from his sleep and said: Surely theLord is in this place; and I did not know it, this isnone other than the house of God and this is thegate of heaven.”In veiled language Jacob has discovered the TempleWithin. Access to higher realms is through our owninner gateway. This is a major step forward in one’spersonal spiritual evolution and the approach to trueself-knowledge. This is the meaning of the words: “KnowThyself and thou shalt know the Kingdom of Heaven.” Inthe Chandogya Upanishad, we read:“In the centre of the castle of Brahman, our ownbody, there is a small shrine in the form of a lotusflower, and within can be found a small space. Thelittle space within the heart is as great as this vastuniverse. The heavens and earth are there, and thesun and the moon and the stars and all that now is,and all that is not: for the whole universe is in himof his own heart and communed with God in the Silence, atRediscovering that which has been lost and the journey to a profoundmystical experience is a theme central to works such as Malory’s MorteD’Arthur, The Vision of Piers Ploughman, The Pilgrim’s Progressand Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.6The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

“...the pineal gland... is a very small organ, aboutthe size of a grain of wheat, and yet it is a most vitalone. It is, shall we say, a transformer of the CosmicConsciousness, of the intelligence of the Cosmic,into rates of vibration, into an energy which isdiscernable by our objective minds. For furtherexplanation, and as an analogy, we may say it islike a little valve that at certain times, dependingupon our thinking and our meditation, and becauseof certain psychic exercises we perform, opens andpermits Cosmic inspirations and Divine Wisdomto pass through and be reduced to a means that thebrain can translate into comprehensible notionsand concepts.We have an inner transformer which acts as the channel of communication.It is called the Pineal Gland. Perhaps we could say this is our personalCosmic Tree, or mystical Ladder of Lights.his own altar.”While there are many poetic works of Faith andSpirituality, for example, The Vision of Piers Ploughman(c.1360), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late 14 thcentury) and The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), there isanother medieval one in particular that is especiallybeautiful called Pearl, Cleanness and Patience. It uses thedevice of dream and vision, and is the personal record of aspiritual crisis brought about by the loss of something orsomeone very dear. The crisis is resolved by the assurancewhich spiritual revelation and experience brings, and theknowledge that the beauty and innocence of childhood,or something precious to us and which we thought lost,is actually within, and accessing it opens the gates to theKingdom of Heaven.The Pineal GlandFast forward now to the present day, while keeping inmind those archetypal symbols of tree, ladder, stairway,chain and bridge which all describe the process ofcommunicating with higher levels of consciousness. Thereis within the human brain an inner transformer which actsas the channel of communication. It is called the PinealGland. Perhaps we could say this is our personal CosmicTree, or mystical Ladder of Lights. Here is an extractfrom a Rosicrucian Degree monograph written by formerImperator of the Rosicrucian Order, Ralph M Lewis. In ithe provides a very succinct description of the importanceof the pineal gland and its function:“Again, we may say it is like a radio receiver thatreduces high frequency electro-mgnetic waves tosound waves to which our ears respond and whichcan be conveyed to our brain where we can interpretthem. It is a bridge across which the DivineConsciousness passes from the Cosmic to the mortalmind of man.“This then is the Third Eye. It gives us vision of theCosmic, a perception of God, and an insight intothose Divine realms, far removed from the physical.It is the true eye of the soul.”In this first part we have travelled together fromthe development of the Outer Temple to that of theInner Sacred Space. Accessing the Divine experience at apersonal level is only possible when one enters this sacredspace. The Temple is the starting point, the stepping stone,the springboard for the ascent of consciousness. And so,physically entering the Temple is the symbolic equivalentof entering the silence within ourselves to ascend to higherlevels of consciousness and to commune with our higherself and the God of our Heart. In part two we will explorethe Temple of Man further through pictorial symbolismand metaphysical concepts.Sources1. For this first part of the article I am indebted to James Haughey,‘The Altar of God’ in the Rosicrucian Digest, October 1974, pp.8-10, 34.2. I would like to acknowledge that the whole presentation wasparticularly unified in concept by my reading of the works ofRalph Maxwell Lewis, Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order,AMORC (1939-1987), and also the work of Rosicrucianswho wrote in the Rosicrucian Forum and Digest over theyears.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 20127

Thales of Míletus and theGenesis of Scientific Enquiryby Bill Anderson, FRCNow how I long for truth in the light of day and on the banks of anunseen river of no return; even if only there is hope without tears andstrange messages from all the places we would never expect…This Moment Now by Abe Akinwunmi, FRCt WAS a HOT summer’s afternoon, when allsensible people stay indoors and rest. But, I’vealways done my own thing and this time was nodifferent. Hot, sunny afternoon, to me, meantfewer tourists to disturb my musings. Anyway, Ihad a hat, backpack and plenty of water with me.I Feel a PresenceI was on holiday near Ephesus on the Aegean coast ofTurkey (in Anatolia, from the Greek word meaning‘east’ or ‘sunrise’) and had driven south and inland tothe site of the ancient city of Priéne (Πριήνη in Greek).It had been, at one time, on the coast, built overlookingthe sea, on steep slopes and terraces extending from sealevel to a height of some 380 metres (1,250 feet.) So hereI was, sitting in the ruins of the Bouleuterion or CouncilHouse staring out across the fields towards the fabledcity of Míletus (Μίλητος.) Once, all those fields had beenunder water, until gradually, down through the ages, thesilt brought down river by the river Maeander (yes, theone where we get the word ‘meander’ from) deposited somuch silt that the land gradually extended out into thesea, leaving both Priéne and Míletus landlocked.8The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

I found it very peaceful sitting there,save for the incessant sound of the cicadaswhich however, strangely lulled me into aperiod of quiet introspection. There wereno other tourists near me, and what fewthere were on site were clustered aroundthe Temple of Athena, the ancient Greekgoddess of wisdom, further up the hill. Thecity had been built on the steep slopes ofMt Mycále (Μυκάλη,) which towers overthe city. At one time this was a peninsulajutting out into the sea, pointing towardsthe island of Samos across the strait wherePythagoras was born. Mount Mycále ispartly made of rocks laid down during thePalaeozoic era, the oldest of the geologiceras some 542-251 million years ago. Thatera was a time of dramatic geological,climatic and evolutionary change, whichwitnessed the most rapid and widespreaddiversification of life in Earth’s history.As I sat there alone, I felt the need to meditate, andwhat transpired surprised me. Sitting in the sun under themountain, I felt a presence, very ancient, but palpable. Asentience is the word I use to describe it: not unfriendly,but waiting. Waiting for what, I could only guess. Perhapsfor a resurgence of times long gone, of times when this partof the world was one of the great, intellectual hotspots ofthe planet, a sacred place from the dawn of civilisationitself ?After a while, I felt it was time to leave, so I walkeddown the hill, back to my car and made my way acrossthe one-time bay and through the cotton fields to thekhora or territory of Míletus, an area known as Milesia inancient times, some 25 kilometres (16 miles) away, and mysomewhat basic hotel in the nearby town for the night.Before the Persian invasion in the middle of the 6 thcentury BCE, Míletus was considered the greatestand wealthiest of Greek cities.That evening I went out for a walk while overhead thegreat summer triangle, the first magnitude stars Deneb,Vega and Altair, dominated the night sky. This groupingof stars has always fascinated me; a great triangle in theheavens above, and a good sign for the next day. I sat forwhat seemed like hours, watching it as it crossed the sky,letting my imagination roam back through time some2,500 years to a time when someone else was watchingthe stars and contemplating the mysteries of the universe.The ruins of the Bouleuterion or Council House at the site of the ancient city of PriéneNew DawnThe new day saw me out after an early breakfast andheading as fast as possible towards the ruins of the pólisor city of Míletus. Another beautiful day, which wouldgive me time to look around before the first of the touristbuses arrived. Originally, the city had also been built ona peninsula jutting out into the sea, but the land hadreclaimed itself and the sea was now some 10 kilometres(6 miles) away. What is interesting though is that Míletuslies in a straight line between Priéne and the sanctuaryof Apollo at Dídyma (Δίδυμα,) which was, after Delphi,his most celebrated temple, with its own oracle. Apollohimself is thought to have had an Anatolian origin.After a walk around the site I made for the theatrewith its panoramic views and sat down to contemplatewhat I knew about the city, what I had seen andread about, and its most famous son. Míletuswas a marvellous city in what is now AydinProvince of Turkey, near the mouth of theMaeander River in ancient Caria. Before thePersian invasion in the middle of the 6 th centuryBCE, Míletus was considered the greatestand wealthiest of Greek cities. It had a large territorywhich included rich agricultural lands and tree-coveredmountains that supplied timber for its navy and grazingfor its flocks. The sea was the main connection with theother Greek city-states while the Maeander valley leddeep into Anatolia which was the ancient heartland ofcultures and ideas.In the early and middle Bronze Age the settlement,then known as Millawanda, had come under MinoanThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 20129

Originally the city of Míletus was built on a peninsula jutting out into the sea, but the landhas reclaimed itself and the sea is now some 10 kilometres (6 miles) away.influence. Legend has it that an influx of Minoans fromCrete occurred, displacing the indigenous people. Thesettlement was renamed Míletus after a place in Crete.Following the devastation caused by the eruption of Theraand the demise of Minoan civilisation, the Late BronzeAge (c: 13 th century BCE) saw the arrival of other Indo-European Luwian language-speakers from south centralThe wealth of Míletus was the result of itssuccess as a trading centre.First of the SevenThere is a saying that the Greeks alwayshave a word for it. But for one Greek inparticular, that word is ‘amazing’. Thalesof Míletus was the first of the great Greekphilosophers, one of the Seven Sages ofAncient Greece, who was said to have beenthe originator of the phrase ‘Know thyself ’which was engraved on the front façade ofthe Temple of Apollo at Delphi. There isa question mark about Thales’ birth year,which is believed to be around 640 BCE, butall sources agree that he died in 546 BCE,aged 94 years.Míletus, where Thales was born, was themost important city of a series of city-statesthat stretched along the east shore of theAegean Sea. An area dotted with myriads ofislands large and small, notched with multitudes of inletsand bays, and with a favourable climate. His parents wereExamyus and Cleobuline. Some said he was of Phoenicianancestry. Others said that he belonged to a noble Milesianfamily. In any case, time has shown that Thales gave as muchprestige to his city as he received from it.Thales appears to have always remained unmarried.This event was important enough to be mentioned byPlutarch in his Parallel Lives, in the story of Solon ofAnatolia known as the Carians. The town was destroyedin the 12 th century BCE and starting about 1000 BCE theterritory was resettled extensively by the Ionian Greeks.Legend relates of an Ionian foundation event sponsoredby a founder named Neleus, (a Mycenaean Greek,) fromthe Peloponnese in the south of mainland Greece.Apart from Greece proper, the Greeks had spreadaround the Aegean Sea and along the coast of modernTurkey. The Greek Dark Ages that followed were a timeof Ionian settlement and consolidation in an alliancecalled the Ionian League. There then followed the ArchaicPeriod of Greek civilisation that began with a suddenand brilliant flash of art and philosophy on the coast ofAnatolia. In the 6 th century BCE, Míletus was the site oforigin of the Greek philosophical and scientific tradition,when Thales, followed by Anaximander and Anaximenes(known collectively, to modern scholars, as the MilesianSchool) began to speculate about the material constitutionof the world, and to propose speculative naturalistic, asopposed to traditional, supernatural explanations forvarious natural phenomena. Science was born.Thales of Míletus was the first of the great Greek philosophers, one of theSeven Sages of Ancient Greece, who was said to have been the originatorof the phrase, ‘Know thyself ’.10The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

Míletus held a trading concession at Naucratis on the Canopic or westernmost branchof the Nile, and it is possible that Thales first visited Egypt on a trading mission whereit is reputed he gave a demonstration to the Pharaoh Ahmose II on how to measurethe height of the Great Pyramid.Athens, another of the Seven Sages of Greece. If Thales didproduce any children, none of them became prominentenough to become historically recorded. And though weremember Thales primarily as a philosopher and scientist,he was not exactly a pauper. He was an enterprisingbusinessman, becoming a dealer in olive oil and salt.It occurred to me that establishing whether ornot Thales travelled and which countries he visited isimportant to establish what information he could haveacquired from other sources. Plato made the pointthat the Greeks took from foreigners what was of valueand developed their notions into better ideas.Eudemus, who was one of Aristotle’s students,believed that Thales had travelled to Egypt. Anumber of ancient sources support that opinion,including some who stated that he spent timewith the Egyptian priests. By 620 BCE, or even earlier,Míletus held a trading concession at Naucratis on theCanopic or westernmost branch of the Nile, and itis possible that Thales first visited Egypt on a tradingmission. Travel to Egypt would not have been difficult.The wealth of Míletus was the result of its success as atrading centre, and there would have been no difficultyarranging passage on one of the many vessels which tradedwith Egypt. It is related that while in Egypt, he gave ademonstration to Pharaoh Amasis (Ahmose II) of the26 th dynasty, whose capital was at Sais near Naucratis,by merely thrusting his staff into the ground at the endof the shadow cast by a pyramid, and thus, byforming another shadow, he compared the twoshadows and measured the height of the pyramidfor the pharaoh. He is also said to have given anexplanation for the inundation of the Nile afterwitnessing the phenomenon.Josephus wrote that Thales was a discipleof the Egyptians and the Chaldeans whichsuggests that he also visited what is now Iraq. It isthought that Thales visited the Babylonians andChaldeans and had access to their astrologicalrecords which enabled him to predict the solareclipse of 585 BCE.Míletus had founded many colonies,perhaps as many as 90, around the Mediterraneanand especially along the coasts of the BlackSea. The Milesians traded their goods for rawmaterials, especially iron, timber and fish.Strabo mentions a sheep-industry and the yieldof soft wool, and Aristophanes mentioned thefine and luxurious Milesian wool. The Milesiantraders also had access to the hinterland. Theland around the mouth of the river Maeanderwas fertile, and planted with olive trees. Thaleshimself was associated with a commercial venture in theproduction of olive oil in Míletus and on the island ofChios, but his interests may have extended beyond thosetwo places. Olive oil was a basic item in the Mediterraneandiet, and was probably a trading commodity of someimportance to Milesian commerce.It seems likely that Thales was one of the ‘greatteachers’ who, according to Herodotus, visited Croesus,the king of Lydia, in his capital Sardis. From Sardis, hecould have joined a caravan to make the three-monthjourney along the well-used road, to visit the observatoriesThales realised that certain definite principlesapplied to geometric shapes.in Babylonia, and seek out the astronomical knowledgewhich the Babylonians had accumulated over centuriesof observation. Alternatively, as Milesian merchantmencontinually plied the Black Sea, gaining a passage on shipcould have been easily arranged. From any number ofports Thales could have sought information, and from theport of Sinope he may have ventured on the long journeyto Babylonia, perhaps travelling along the valley of theTigris, as Xenophon did in 401-399 BCE.In a letter said to be from Thales to the mysticPherecydes of Syros, regarded as the teacher of Pythagoras,Thales stated that he and Solon had both visited CreteThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201211

It is said that Thales wrote of his travels to Pherecydes of Syros (depictedhere) who is regarded as the teacher of Pythagoras. Travel was notexceptional among notable people during those times.and Egypt to confer with the priests and astronomers,and travelled all over Greece and Asia. All we can say fromthese reports is that travel was not exceptional, with manyreports describing the visits of mainly notable people toforeign lands. There must have been any number of peoplewho visited foreign lands, about whom we know nothing.Water, the First PrincipleLooking out over what was once the sea, you canunderstand why Thales concluded that watermust be the basis of all things. He believed thisbecause water is colourless, shapeless, is ever-changing,ever-moving, and of great quantity on Earth, disappearingand reappearing as by magic. He observed that water alwaysflows according to a set pattern or cycle, that it does notappear to change from this pattern. He noted that waterfalls from the sky, visibly, to pour into streams, rivers, lakes,then into the sea. He knew that water, wherever it existed,was only transient, even in plants, animals and people, andthat from all these it returned to the sky invisibly, onceagain to fall visibly. So, of course, he thought water mustbe the basic stuff from which all else comes.Metallurgy had been practised long before Thalespresented his hypotheses, so he knew that heat couldreturn metals to a liquid state. Water exhibits changesmore obviously than any of the other so-called elements,and can easily be observed in its three states of liquid,vapour and ice. The understanding that water couldgenerate into earth is basic to Thales’s watery thesis. AtMíletus he could observe that water had the capacity tothicken into earth. Míletus stood on the Gulf of Ladethrough which the river Maeander emptied its waters.Within living memory, older Milesians had witnessedthe island of Lade increasing in size within the Gulf,and the river banks encroaching into the river to such anextent that at Priéne, across the gulf from Miletus, thewarehouses had to be rebuilt closer to the water’s edge.The ruins of the once prosperous city-port of Míletus arenow ten kilometres distant from the coast and the Islandof Lade now forms part of a rich agricultural plain. Therewould have been opportunity to observe other areas whereearth generated from water, for example, the deltas of therivers Halys, the Ister (Danube), the Tigris-Euphrates,and almost certainly the Nile. This coming-into-beingof land would have provided substantiation of Thales’sdoctrine. To Thales water held the potentialities for thenourishment and generation of the entire cosmos.GeometryIn school we learn about geometry. Geometry is therelationship of lines, curves and angles to one another.Some of these relationships are so obvious, so simple,that it can be difficult to believe that each one had to bediscovered for the first time. For example: any straightline passing through a circle’s centre and bisecting thatcircle’s perimeter on both sides divides the circle into twoequal parts. This fact appears so simple that it astounds usThales was interested in almost everything,investigating almost all areas of knowledge.that someone had to discover it initially. That someonewas Thales.While travelling in Egypt one time, Thales looked atthe very practical methods used by Egyptian assessors inmeasuring land for tax purposes. It occurred to him thattheir quite complicated system of triangles, rectanglesand lines could serve other practical means. Always onthe outlook for new and better ways of doing things, heset about studying these matters and soon came to realisethat certain definite principles applied to all triangles,12The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

‘universal ether’. History tells us that Thales drewmaps of the stars, something never done before,but none of these have survived the 2,500 yearssince his death.ElectricityTo Thales water held the potentialities for thenourishment and generation of the entire cosmos.rectangles, angles and circles. As his studies advanced,he found many fundamental truths. Among these arefor example, that if two sides of a triangle are equal, thentheir opposite angles are equal. What we regard today asan elementary geometrical fact was difficult for studentsof many lands over the centuries to understand.The following are also Thales’ geometrical firsts,making him the author of abstract geometry:• He discovered that when two straight linesintersect, the opposite angles are equal.• He found that the sum of the angles of anytriangle equals two right angles, or 180 degrees.• He proved that the sides of similar triangles areproportional.• He appears to have been the first man to inscribea right-angled triangle in a circle.AstronomyAs far as written history is concerned, Thalesseems to be the first man to have recordedobservations covering that phenomenon wecall electricity. He achieved this distinction bynoting that when the material we know as amberwas rubbed vigorously with woollen cloth orfur, it attracted to itself other substances likehair, feathers, straw, paper and so on. The Greekword for amber is elektron, which describes its particularsunny, yellow colour rather than its electronic properties.Our word ‘electricity’ comes from this Greek word, orlater from the Latin equivalent, electrum. Being a man ofwide interests, Thales also knew about the strange forcewe call magnetism. He carefully studied loadstones, thosenaturally occurring rocks high in iron which we knowas magnetite. Sailors in those days believed that if theirship were held together by iron nails and sailed over anunknown bed of loadstones, the natural magnetic forcewould draw all the nails out of the ship’s timbers and theboat would fall apart.If it had not been for others who closely followedThales’ philosophy, we might not have much idea ofwhat he did or thought. Either he neglected to recordhis own thoughts, which seems unlikely, or they havebeen lost since.Philosophy Begins in WonderThales was a practical man as well as a theorist. Hedid things as well as thought about things. Without acomputer, Thales calculated accurately the total eclipseof the sun on 28 May 585 BCE. More than this, hepredicted that eclipse far enough in advance to leaveplenty of time for the prediction to become knowngenerally. The culmination of the event became ofsuch consequence that when it actually happened,it stopped a fierce battle between Ionia’s neighbours,the Lydians and the Medes. Both sides called a haltto their fighting, laid down their arms, and sat downand talked it over!Other amazing astronomically thingsattributed to Thales record him as the first manto divide the Earth’s year into 365 days. He alsobelieved the earth floated in a ‘sea of elemental fluid’.This idea may well have been the initial concept of aIt was time to leave Míletus, the tourist buses had startedto arrive, and my musings were coming to an end. Thosewho believe that Thales inherited his views from Greekor Near-Eastern sources are wrong. Thales was esteemedGeometry: Thales’ Theorem states that an inscribed angle in a semi-circle is a rightangle (90 degrees) leading to other geometrical and mathematical theorems.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201213

Electro-magnetism: Thales seems to have recorded observations on thephenomenon we call electricity. He noted that when amber was rubbedvigorously with woollen cloth or fur, it attracted to itself other substances.The Greek word for amber is ‘elektron’.in his times as an original thinker, and one who brokewith tradition, not as someone who conveyed existingmythologies. Aristotle unequivocally recorded Thales’hypothesis on the nature of matter, and offered a numberof conjectures based on observation in favour of Thales’declaration. His report provided the testimony that Thalessupplanted myth in his explanations of the behaviour ofnatural phenomena.Thales would have been familiar with Homer’sacknowledgements of divine progenitors but he neverattributed organisation or control of the cosmos to thegods. Aristotle recognised the similarity between Thales’doctrine about water and the ancient legend whichassociates water with the gods Oceanus and Tethys, buthe reported that Thales declared water to be the nature ofall things. To Aristotle, Thales’ theories were so obviouslydifferent from all that had gone before that they stoodapart from all earlier explanations. Thales’ views werenot ancient or primitive, they were new and exciting,and were the genesis of scientific conjecture aboutnatural phenomena. Aristotle acknowledged Thales asthe founder of natural philosophy.Thales was undoubtedly what we would term todaya ‘polymath’, for he investigated virtually all areas ofknowledge: philosophy, history, science, mathematics,engineering, geography and politics. He proposed theoriesto explain many of the events of nature: the primarysubstance, the support of the earth, and the cause ofchange. He was involved in the problems of astronomyand provided a number of explanations of cosmologicalevents which traditionally had been attributed to the gods.His questioning approach to understanding heavenlyphenomena was the beginning of Greek astronomy andphilosophy, which continues today in modern science andthe pursuit of truth found in mysticism.His hypotheses were new and bold, and by freeingphenomena from godly intervention, he paved the waythe rise of scientific endeavour. He founded the Milesianschool of natural philosophy, developed the scientificmethod and initiated the first western enlightenment.He was highly esteemed in ancient times, and a lettercited by Diogenes Laertius, and purporting to be fromAnaximenes to Pythagoras, advised that all discourseshould begin with a solemn reference to Thales.Thales is the first person we know of who proposedexplanations of natural phenomena which were materialisticrather than mythological or theological. His theories werenew, bold, exciting, comprehensible, and possible ofexplanation. He did not speak in riddles like Heraclitus,and had no need to invent an undefined non-substance, asAnaximander did. Because Thales gave no role to mythicalbeings, his theories could be refuted, and arguments couldbe put forward to discredit them, an approach he would nodoubt have approved of. His hypotheses were rational andscientific, and Aristotle, while acknowledging him as thefirst true philosopher, nevertheless criticised his hypothesesin a rational, logical and scientific manner.Twenty-five centuries ago Thales wondered: “Ofwhat and how is the world made? What is the relation ofthe world to the rest of the universe?” The most outstandingaspects of his heritage are: The search for knowledge forits own sake; the development of the scientific method;the adoption of practical methods and their developmentinto general principles; his curiosity and conjecturalapproach to questions of natural phenomena. In the 6 thcentury BCE Thales asked the question, “What is thebasic material of the cosmos?” A complete answer has yetto be discovered!Once again, with the sun rising higher, it was timeto move on; this time to Didyma, following the SacredRoad from Míletus. And I was looking forward to whatI may discover there.Twenty-five centuries ago Thales wondered: “Of what and how is the worldmade? What is the relation of the world to the rest of the universe?”14The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

y Ralph M Lewis, FRCan WE EVER be content? Defining whatcontentment really is comes down to howsatisfied we are with our present status. Butdoes the sustaining of a particular satisfactionequal prolonged contentment? Continuousstimuli, invariable sensations, no matter how enjoyable atfirst, eventually result in boredom. However, we shouldobserve that consciousness is an active state, its activity beingmaintained only by varying stimuli.Psychological tests have proven for example thatwhen we are exposed to a continual sound of unvaryingpitch and volume, we eventually become ‘deaf ’ to it. Ourconsciousness appears to no longer respond to the auditoryimpression. In fact for us to hear a habitual sound requiresus to concentrate upon that sound; we need to consciouslyisolate it from other sounds of which we’re aware.Contentment therefore does not arise from a particularthing or condition; it can only come from a general state offreedom from any kind of aggravation.Let’s suppose for instance, that someone enjoys listeningto music. When listening to it, anxiousness or aggravateddisturbance of the emotions are dispelled or are, at least, moreeasily suppressed. But if the music that contributes to theirsense of well-being was played repeatedly, hour after hour,day after day, its agreeable and pleasing sensations woulddiminish. The listener would finally come to experience thesame piece of music as being unsatisfactory and inducingdissatisfaction. It is a common experience that a play or afilm that once brought pleasure is less and less satisfactoryin doing so every time it’s seen thereafter.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201215

When listening to music or reading a book, anxiousness or aggravateddisturbance of the emotions are dispelled or are, at least, more easilysuppressed.There are people who will tell you that all throughtheir lives they have found happiness in the reading of aparticular book or in reciting the words of a poem withoutexperiencing any diminishing gratification. But actually,if we think about it, that book or poem wasn’t being reador recited constantly. There may have been hours or evendays between the reading, so the stimulus wasn’t constantenough to cause monotony to set in.Monotony follows where there’s no change, and if ourconsciousness isn’t varied enough, a state of lethargy andirritation occurs. Those of us who are exposed toconstant intense excitement, as great mental andphysical activity, or those who are engaged instrenuous work, will often need to wind down,expressing a desire for quiet and relative inactivity.When they achieve this, a sense of contentment arises.Having said that, this doesn’t mean that a state of lessstimulation is necessary for contentment. Rather, it showsthat the conditions of the previous environment, takencollectively, were becoming all too monotonous. Moreover,the quiet and peace that follows is a different kind ofexperience, a consciousness of different stimuli which, bycontrast, is a gratifying change.Personal SatisfactionThe elements of contentment lie principally withinourselves. We won’t all experience ‘well-being’ in thesame environment. Our temperament, personality andconditioning must be taken into consideration. Forexample, a dynamic person, one of considerable nervousenergy, can find pleasure only in exceptional activity. Theirenergy must be dissipated or it causes a restlessness that isdiscomforting. Another type of person may be an introvert.Their contentment is had perhaps in contemplation,periods of abstraction and creative thought.Continuous restlessness is evidence that we have desiresand urges that aren’t being satisfied. We may frequentlychange our interests, but to no avail. Consequently, ourinability to achieve contentment isn’t always due to anymonotony in our mental or physical activity. It must berealised that, although variations or changes are necessaryfactors of contentment, they alone aren’t sufficient. Thechange must be consistent. It must be a change within thegroup of things in which we find satisfaction.Individual PursuitsHowever, a continuous change of general interests bysomeone is an indication of emotional (not mental)instability. It demonstrates that they are not aware ofthat desire or desires which will bring them the personalsatisfaction they crave. Their frequent changes from onekind of activity to another imply a blind search for a sourceof inner peace. Such plunging into life may of courseeventually unearth or reveal to them the course they shouldpursue for satisfaction, but it is a trial and error methodwhich most often brings failure and discouragement or evenmental and physical suffering. Having said that, we do needto have some exposure to life, to its multiplicity of appealsand demands, if we’re to learn what’s in harmony with ourlatent abilities and desires.If our consciousness isn’t varied enough, a state oflethargy and irritation occurs.When we are young our minds are continuallyactive and we need to find a channel for expression; ifnot, our inhibited energy may lead to emotional distress.Youthful mental energy sometimes makes it difficult toattach ourselves to, or engage with anything worthwhilefor a length of time. For young people, education shouldallow exposure to different fields of human endeavour,an essential component so they may find a relationshipto their inclinations. They should, as in all progressive,modern schools, have an opportunity to do manual workas well as academic subjects. In this way, a connection mayresult allowing them to concentrate on a particular sphereof activity where they’ll find contentment.As far as the individual pursuit of contentment isconcerned, an essential first step is to begin by askingyourself what you want in life? This shouldn’t be construedin terms of particular things. As we’ve said, no one thingalone, if constantly indulged in, provides a long-lastingfeeling of satisfaction. The question should be related toyour feelings, your urges. In general, what activity, whatkind of life, physical or intellectual, appeals to you?16The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

The Right ChoiceA little thought will soon make clearto you that such answers as ‘wealth’or ‘fame’, for example, are inadequateas ends in themselves. Wealth perse is an award that’s achieved as theconsequence of the accomplishment ofsomething else. You cannot set out tobe wealthy. Rather, we become wealthybecause we’ve been a success in somebusiness venture or other. We cannot besuccessful in an enterprise unless we cangive ourselves fully to its demands. Todo this without any mental reservation,we must really enjoy it. What we domust make us content.The same reasoning applies tofame, which is recognition for someachievement. We must first, by hard,personal work, win that fame. Again,to win acclaim we must have some outstanding ability.This ability must be liked. It must provide personalcontentment.There are many people who find satisfaction increating, for example. They firstly need to discover, bypersonal analysis and endeavour or just through a naturalbent, what kind of creative talent they have. They should trywriting, painting, music and perhaps other pursuits such aswoodwork or mechanics, always being aware however thatit’s the act of creating that provides the greatest satisfactionfor them. Others may find that, whenthey’re outdoors or close to nature,working on a farm or in the forests,they experience an ecstasy or senseof unusual well-being. Such pursuitswill often lead to a career that is verysatisfying.In contrast, how unfortunate arethose people who discover, only afterthey have incurred many obligationsand commitments which prevent themfrom making changes in life, that they’rein the wrong job? Life can be miserablein this kind of situation unless theyresort to an effective substitute, such asa hobby or pastime. Once a particularlysatisfying interest has been found,engaging in it will be a contributingfactor to their contentment.Sometimes it may be that the needsof daily life and family obligations don’tAs far as the individual pursuit of contentmentis concerned, an essential first step is to begin byasking yourself what you want in life?Once a particularly satisfying interest has beenfound, engaging in it will be a contributing factorto contentment.permit the time for us to indulge in ourtalents and desires. Consequently, wewill suppress our interests, hoping thateventually when we retire we will beable to find the time to pursue them.In the meantime we will be deprived ofcontentment which sometimes leads tounrest, casting an emotional gloom overour lives and creating what we mightsee as a drab existence. The only optionfor someone in these circumstancesis to try and find at least an hour ortwo a week to do what satisfies theirinterests. This will at least provide afeeling of contentment that will bridgethe interval until circumstances changeand they can spend more time engagingwith their pastime.Remote IdealsThere is also a negative aspect to this subject and it concernsthat state of mind by which we permanently obstruct theacquisition of contentment. The lives of others, great menand women, have always been the incentive for many toachieve success and happiness. However, not everyonecan be a Beethoven, a Francis Bacon or a Thomas Edison.Consequently, don’t make your ideal in life the activities ofa famous film star, singer or sportsperson unless you havewithin yourself similar ingredients.Live for today! By that statement it is not impliedthat you shouldn’t plan or prepare forthe future. Rather, don’t just make everyday a building block for some futurecastle of dreams. Try and live a life sothat some part of each day will satisfya healthy and natural desire. Ideally,contentment should be cumulativedaily, not a sudden prize at the endof life.We must also realise thatcontentment isn’t a great exaltation,reaching to a peak of emotional pleasureand satisfaction. Such a state can bedangerous because it cannot be sustainedand the let-down, the reaction, can beadverse. The realisation of contentmentis an adjustment to the affairs of lifein order to have normal pleasures andsatisfaction. It is a smooth highwayrather than an acceleration to peaks anda plunging down the other side.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201217

The Nature ofAlchemicalMercuryby Paul Goodall, FRCThis article is adapted for the Rosicrucian Beaconfrom part of a presentation entitled Alchemy:Its Nature and Symbolism given by the authorduring a Mystical Weekend hosted by BelfastPronaos at the Clandeboye Estate near Bangor,Northern Ireland on 21-23 October 2011.Nostrum Magisterium incipitur et perficitur una re tantum, id est Mercurio.“Our majesty is begun and perfected by only one thing; that is Mercury.”here IS SEEMINGLY nothing moreconfusing or elusive in alchemy than thefigure of Mercury; yet this is the centralsymbol in the alchemical process. To add toits perplexity it has many guises and roles inalchemical literature and various attributes are attachedto it. On the one hand it represents the universal agentof transmutation, equivalent in fact to the role of thePhilosopher’s Stone or ‘Elixir Vitae’, while on the other, itis involved on an equal and opposite role against Sulphur,represented in the metaphysical construct of the TriaPrima of Paracelsus which is discussed below. Withoutgoing into great depth, this article will try to clarify therole of Mercury within spiritual or metaphysical alchemyand what makes it the central symbol of the alchemicalprocess. But first we will require some knowledge of whatalchemy is and what premises allow it to be formulated.The Alchemical ProcessPractical or physical alchemy appears to have developedfrom ancient metallurgical practices. Although thisaspect of alchemy is important not just from an historicalperspective but also as far as putting inner alchemy into18The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

context, the act of transforming metals intothe superior gold is now largely a select affair,particularly since its practice requires so mucheffort into finding laboratory space and obtainingcostly equipment and hazardous materials.Historically, certainly from the late medievalperiod, the manufacture of gold came to play amore subordinate role as the symbolical aspectof the work assumed increasing importance.So it is not surprising to find that almost allalchemy practised today has evolved into that ofinner work, although that work is defined by thelanguage of traditional physical alchemy whichcan be regarded as an ‘outward sign of an inwardact’. This means that when we are discussingalchemy at the metaphysical level we are referringto abstract qualities or principles often in terms ofand with reference to the physical process.Premises for Spiritual AlchemyLet’s begin by observing some of the premises or beliefsespoused by Rosicrucians that allow us to formulate ametaphysical alchemy that is the inner transformative workof the mystic or initiate.1. Man as an entity is a dual being composed of activeand passive aspects which in alchemical terminologywe call male and female or sun and moon.2. Humans act as agents for cosmic forces thatare continually operating on the physical andmetaphysical planes.3. Esoteric teaching informs us that the universe isdivided into two worlds called the macrocosm andthe microcosm corresponding respectively to theUniverse and Humanity.4. Esoteric teaching also informs us that the totalityof everything is the Universal Soul, so that anyaction we take, however small, has an effect uponthis phenomenon since our soul is an ‘emanation’or partial manifestation of that Universal Soul.The Human SoulUnderlying, and at the heart of the premises outlinedabove is the existence of the human soul. The RosicrucianOrder teaches that the human body, along with allthings in the universe, is composed of atoms that vibrateconstantly under the effect of something called ‘spiritFigure 1: From the late medieval period, the manufacture of alchemical goldcame to play a more subordinate role as the symbolical aspect of the work assumedincreasing importance. David Teniers (1610-1690) The Alchemist, 1680.(Source: http://www.alchemywebsite.com/teniers4.html)energy’ that permeates the material universe. In this waywe are directly related to the phenomenon of existence.However, what distinguishes human beings from theinanimate, material universe is the possession of a soulwhich accompanies another force that vitalises andanimates the body. The soul is imbued with the qualitiesof intelligence and consciousness and as stated above, is anemanation of the Universal Soul, the totality of creation.As the human soul possesses to varying intensitiesall qualities and attributes of the Universal Soul, it can toan extent therefore be considered as being ‘pure, perfectand omniscient’. But it is also constantly striving toevolve itself towards more and more all-emcompassingstates of the Universal Soul. The outward manifestionin daily life of the soul is what Rosicrucians call the‘soul personality’, which reflects the level to which thesoul has encompassed its ‘superset’, the Universal Soul.In an absolute sense then, the soul, and hence its soulpersonality are not perfect, but are evolving.In esoteric lore, this incompleteness or ‘imperfection’came about through the ‘Fall of Man’, and given ourintimate connection to the universal consciousnesswhich permits our state of existence, we can postulatethat we are, each of us, a microcosm of the Divine Essenceor universal consciousness that permeates everythingin the universe. We therefore already possess withinus as a potential, Absolute Wisdom: the totality ofall knowledge and experience we can ever accumulate.This is an important factor in the operation of spiritualalchemy and must be uppermost in our minds if weare to grasp the nature of the ‘Great Work’ whichesoterically describes the alchemical process undertakenby the initiate. We are microcosms of the universalThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201219

mystical quest and of perfecting ourselves inwardly. Thisultimate goal of alchemical work is generally referred toas the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’.As we have now made mention of the Philosopher’sStone, some kind of definition is called for. It is referredto in alchemical writings under several other namessuch as the ‘Elixir Vitae’, the ‘Grand Magisterium’ andthe ‘Red Tincture’. The sole purpose of procuring thissubstance through physical alchemical work relates to itsproperty as the universal agent of transformation. Onceobtained, it is used to ‘perfect imperfection’ in all thingsby a process called ‘projection’. At the physical level it hasthe ability to transmute base metals into gold, while atthe philosophical or metaphysical level it is the realisationof potential and is a catalyst for change, transforming thededicated mystic into the ‘Illumined Philosopher’.Figure 2: Man is a microcosm in relation tothe macrocosm that is the universe.The Tria Primaconsciousness permeating the whole universe, and wetherefore already have within us, well within our reach,this Absolute Wisdom.It is a term that denotes the hidden and generallyinaccessible part of our consciousness that is closest tothe universal consciousness or Mind of God. And bydint of this connection, it incorporates universal truths.It is the font of knowledge that the initiate aspires to intandem with his or her spiritual development, and is thegoal of spiritual alchemy in the sense of becoming at onewith divinity and what we might call ‘finding oneself ’.Rosicrucians call this goal the ‘Mastery of Self ’ which canbe defined as “...an experience where one personally knows,through direct knowledge, the source of all being.”The Great WorkFrom what has been said, and making the case for whatwe term ‘Spiritual Alchemy’, it follows thatevery human being is both a material and aspiritual microcosm of the Divine macrocosm(see Figure 2). This means that each of us isan agent for cosmic forces that are continuallyoperating on the physical and metaphysicalplanes of Universal Creation, whether we are aware of itor not. However, through mystical, alchemical practise,the initiate participates more fully in the Great Work;in other words, in Cosmic Evolution as it is taking placein the universe, in nature, and in each person. The goalof Spiritual Alchemy is specifically to help us to developand use these powers constructively for the well-being ofourselves and others. Spiritual Alchemy, as perceived byRosicrucians, is therefore, a special means of achieving ourHaving covered the raison d’être of spiritual alchemyand our place in the scheme of creation, let us now lookat a metaphysical structure called the Tria Prima (the‘three in one’) which is the term used to describe thetriangular arrangement in Figure 3. Something we mustkeep in mind as we examine this facet of alchemy isthe confusing sets of theories that developed regardingthe relationships of the qualities that constitute thismetaphysical structure. Essentially it is composed of thefour classical ‘elements’ (earth, water, air and fire) and theprinciples of sulphur, mercury and salt. And there are alsoseveral other correspondences generally associated withthese constituents.The whole forms a triangle reflecting the fundamentalRosicrucian principle of the ‘Law of the Triangle’. This lawstates that “a perfect manifestation cannot be producedwithout the union of two conditions of opposite polarity”(the active and passive in this case), and indeed, we findTraditionally Sulphur and Mercury are, at thephysical level, considered the seeds of all metals, onebeing male, the other female.that the Tria Prima, and alchemy generally, operates inthis manner. This is an important law and is integral tothe operation of the Tria Prima.The Sulphur – Mercury TheoryThe Tria Prima of Paracelsus developed from the dualisticSulphur – Mercury Theory of the Arabs who, in theirturn, inherited it from antiquity, namely Graeco-Egyptian20The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

the spirit, and changes them into one essence. 3He seems to be telling us that the Soul is anintermediary between Spirit and Nature, hence therelationship of Sulphur to the volatile Air we see in thediagram. He also assigns three other qualities to thosealready outlined which have a more physical nature:The three principles from which all things are bornand generated are phlegm, fat and ash. The phlegmis Mercurius, the fat is Sulphur and the ash is Salt.For that which smokes and evaporates over the fireis mercury; what flames and is burnt is Sulphur;and all ash is Salt. 4Graphically demonstrating the Sulphur-Mercury-Salt Theory is an emblematic illustration from the Bookof Lambspring published in 1625 (see Figure 5).It shows a deer and unicorn meeting in a forestclearing. The forest represents the Body while thedeer and unicorn symbolise Soul (Sulphur) andSpirit (Mercury) respectively. The accompanyingtext brings together the metaphysical concept of alchemyand the associated physical and mental work required ofthe alchemist or mystic, it says: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 judgeThat he has attained the golden flesh,And may triumph everywhere…Double MercuryHaving introduced the theatre within which the alchemicalmercury operates, we can now take a closer look at its rolein the alchemical process. The elusiveness of Mercuryis embodied in one of its descriptions, that of ‘doublemercury’. In traditional alchemy, Mercurius is produced bythe union of Sulphur and ‘Argent Vive’ (known in Englishas ‘quicksilver’). 5 Agent Vive is termed by alchemists as ‘firstmercury’ and here we have the clue… First Mercury is theinitial spirit principle acting in conjunction with Sulphurin the Tria Prima which in turn leads to the productionof ‘Philosophical Mercury’ or Mercurius, the transmutingagency equating to the Philosopher’s Stone at the lower orThe elusiveness of Mercury is embodied in one ofits descriptions, that of ‘double mercury’.third point of the triangle.The figure of Mercurius then, often describedas ‘mercurial water’, has the attributes of both fierySulphur and watery First Mercury and this fire and watercombination is in keeping with the transmuting propertiesrequired on the body or substance being worked on.An alchemical engraving from Michael Maier’salchemical series Atalanta Fugiens, first published in1617 (Figure 6), goes toward illustrating this. It showsFigure 5: Graphically demonstrating the Sulphur - Mercury - SaltTheory is an emblematic illustration from the Book of Lambspringpublished in 1625. The forest represents the Body while the deer andunicorn symbolise Soul (Sulphur) and Spirit (Mercury) respectively.Figure 6: Double Mercury; an alchemical engraving from MichaelMaier’s alchemical series Atalanta Fugiens, first published in 1617showing the principles of Sulphur and First Mercury acknowledgingthe figure of Mercurius in his guise of Hermes.22The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

the principles of Sulphur and Mercury acknowledgingthe figure of Mercurius in the guise of Hermes. FirstMercury, who is seated, holds a caduceus in his left handwhile Hermes/Mercurius holds it in his right hand. BothSulphur and First Mercury are looking towards Mercurius.The emblem reflects the double nature of Mercury in thatSulphur and First Mercury are the ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’of Philosophical Mercury, namely Mercurius.Mercury: Agent of TransmutationAs already stated, Mercury represents the universal agentof transmutation, so let’s briefly look at one particularalchemical emblem or mandala that conveys this property.It is from the ‘Twelve Keys’ of the pseudonymous BasilValentine who appears to have lived in the early 15 thcentury (see Figure 7). This emblem also appeared inMichael Maier’s Tripus Aureus (‘Golden Tripod’) of1618.Central to the emblem is the figure ofMercurius (reflecting his role in alchemy) holdinga caduceus rod in each hand. He is flanked by twofigures leaning toward him and obviously in theprocess of some kind of action. Also flankingMercurius are the Sun and Moon representing the maleand female (active and passive) aspects. Below him is adouble winged object which we might see as symbolisingthe ascending human soul personality.Although the names and forms of this figurativesymbol are diverse, Mercurius is essentially one thing, onematter. He is present everywhere at all times during thealchemical process 6 With the addition of the principleSalt by Paracelsus, the role of Mercury becomes confusing:this is why the epithet ‘Double Mercury’ is often used todescribe its role as First Mercury and Mercurius.Investigating this further, let’s now look at anotheremblem that reinforces this central role of Mercury. Hereis an 18 th century engraving, also based on the work of thepseudonymous Basil Valentine (see Figure 8).It is divided into two halves: one side, whosesymbolism represents the female aspect, contains themoon and a group of seven droplets of water, while theother represents the male aspect in the symbols of the sunand a ball of fire. In the central column we see the threecomponents of the Tria Prima: salt, mercury and sulphurin ascending order. At the base of the central column arethe seven planets in the form of flowers while at its top isthe figure of the hermaphrodite or androgyne.To bring these elements together let’s first imposethe Tria Prima triangle on the emblem which immediatelyclarifies their association (see Figure 8a). As the figureshows, we might superimpose two triangles, one greaterand the other lesser, indicating the higher spiritualalchemical work and the lower physical alchemy. Thishighlights the subject of our discussion since we can nowsee that mercury is central to both. Reinforcing this we alsosee that the symbol of mercury also takes this position inthe central column between salt and sulphur.The work of the alchemist or initiate is skilfullydepicted in the central column where we get the sense ofrising or going upward as it is conveyed by the symbolsof salt, mercury and sulphur. This is strengthened whenwe consider that the central column is seated on a moundof earth and culminates in the figure of the androgynewhich itself stands atop the sulphur symbol with theportrayal of the rising phoenix inside it. The phoenixis a symbol of renewal and resurrection signifying thePhilosopher’s Stone while the hermaphrodite representsa uniting of both male (solar, sulphur) and female (moon,first mercury). We also observe a crown upon the headAs the agent of transmutation Mercury is themediator by which the sun and moon becomeunited.of the hermaphrodite indicating attainment. We mightsee the compass and scythe as symbolising victory overlife and death. The initiate or alchemist has to undergo ametaphysical death in order to attain a life that is betterthan was had previously.As the agent of transmutation Mercury is themediator by which the sun and moon become unitedand we see this portrayed in the emblem. The result ofthis unification is the embryonic Stone we see growingout of the earth mound. Mercury also has an associationwith water. In this guise of ‘mercurial water’ or the ‘vitalforce of life’, the nourishment required for growth of theembryonic Stone is provided. 7Figure 7: Mercury as the agent of transformation from the ‘Twelve Keys’of the pseudonymous Basil Valentine first published in 1599.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201223

Figure 8: An 18 th century engraving depicting the central role of Mercury as a mediator. On the right, the greater and lesser work is indicatedby the triangles. (Alchemical emblem source is from www.alchemywebsite.com. The accompanying triangles are added by author of this article)ConclusionOne might ask how this knowledge of Mercury and itsnature can be useful to us practically? After all, we aretalking metaphysics rather than about something tangiblewe can grasp in our hands. If we consider the nature ofconsciousness we might be looking in the right directionto appreciate the metaphysical concepts of spiritualalchemy. We cannot physically grasp consciousness, yetwe understand its power and nature (within limits) as selfevident.In the same way that consciousness is physicallyhidden from us, though we note its effects, so Mercury asa hidden ‘force’ is of a similar nature. There must howeverbe a spiritual impulse or urge on the part of the initiate oralchemist, and direct contact in the form of meditation, tobecome aware of its role, but also to focus on its symbolismin the practical work undertaken to mould and spirituallyevolve the human character and soul personality. Spiritualalchemy is directly connected to consciousness and it isthrough a conscious awareness in the initiate’s daily workof Mercury the mediator, that spiritual attainment willultimately be accomplished.Endnotes1. Hanegraaf, Wouter (editor), Dictionary of Gnosis & WesternEsotericism, Brill, 2006, pp. 25-6.2. Abraham, Lyndy, A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery,Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 176-7.3. Quoted in: Read, John, Prelude to Chemistry: An Outline ofAlchemy, its Literature and Relationships, Kessenger Reprint,p. 27.4. Ibid. p. 28.5. Abraham, p. 124.6. Ibid. p. 125.7. Ibid. p. 128.24The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

Medicine Man:Heal Thy Peopleby Frank Isles, FRCThe basic concept behind the Kachinacult is that all things in the world havetwo forms, the visible object and a spiritcounterpart, a dualism that balancesmass and energy.Kachinas are the spirit essence ofeverything in the real world. Theirexistence is inferred from the steam thatrises from food, to the mist rising from aspring on a cold morning, or the cloudwhich forms above a mountain top.As the breath of a dying person departs,it must also join the other mist-beings ina spirit world, the exact counterpart ofthe real world but with different powers.from Hopi Kachinas (1977)by Barton Wrightt THE HEIGHT OF the Great Depression,Jon, a 12 year old Hopi Native American boylay dying in a city hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona.He had been ill on and off for several years, andwith both mother and father deceased, his only remainingfamily were his maternal grandparents now well in theireighties. Despite assistance from a local charity, Jon hadreceived very little modern education and was ill preparedfor the coarse ways and pace of city life. For a month hehad lain mostly alone in the ward. The doctors and nursestending him had been kind but devoid of warmth andemotion; and he sensed painfully that they were not ofhis family, his lineage, his heritage, and he knew as wellthat they knew he would soon be gone.Late one night, as he lay in the dark room hearingthe occasional ambulance siren as it arrived in casualty,he started feeling strangely detached from and disinterestin the affairs of life, in particular the stressful and hurriedways of the hospital and the many noisy city peoplewho came and went every day. Lying there, he could feelthe cold, numbing presence of death creeping up hislegs, and he knew his end was near. With calmness heaccepted his fate and closed his eyes as he drifted off intounconsciousness.Suddenly, he became aware of a presence, and despitethe pitch darkness, standing by his bed and clearly visible,was a tall Kachina dressed in a dancing kilt and sash,carrying a blue feather in his left hand. For years, Jon hadThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201225

tried to understand and embrace the ways of white peoplewho seemed to own everything and have power over allthings. His aged grandparents had taught him manythings from their past, but it had all been starkly at oddswith the interests of the other children at school, none ofwhom had shown him any real friendship or interest inthe ways of his people.Because of his frailty, and despite the ardent wishesof his grandparents, Jon had not been initiated into theways of his people. His grandparents had given all theycould of what they had learnt themselves, but even theyhad lost much of what had once permeated their people.The only thing Jon knew of Kachinas was through storieshis grandmother had sung to him, so he was apprehensiveas his Kachina spoke.“I am your Guardian Spirit. I have guarded youalways, but you have been careless. I will waithere and watch over your body and protect youon your journey.”With tremendous power, a gust of wind lifted Jonlike a feather and swept him out of the hospital, out ofcity and over to the distant mountains. Below him passedvast flat mesas, deep ravines, revered old water holes, andfinally the old pueblo. Walking into his home, he saw hisgrandmother affectionately combing his grandfather’shair. They did not see him, but he felt great love andrespect for them. And then, as a feather in the wind,he was swept away again. Passingbelow him he saw the sacred placesof his people, places of legend andpower, and the Kachinas walkingby in beauty, each one facing himand displaying briefly an object ofmeaning. Then a great realisationcame upon him, and he knew hehad decisions to make and years oftrials yet to endure before he wouldsee these scenes again. In an instantthe experience was over, Jon was inlimbo, unaware of anything, theinitiation was over, it was done!The Kachina Speaks“My nephew, you have learnedyour lesson,” the Kachina said,“but you have a long life aheadof you and many lessons yet tolearn. Go back, go back to thehospital and to your bed. YouAs the tribal holy man the ‘Medicine Man’ wasthe one called upon to deal with the mysterious. Life’smysteries however extend beyond medication. Hewas the tribe’s minister, philosopher, singer, ritualist,artist, physician, prophet, and seerSilent warrior Kachina by Rabbit. (Source: http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Pictures/Native-Artwork-page2.html)will see a dying boy lying there, but do not beafraid, I will be at your side always, even whenyou cannot see me. Put your arms around hisneck and warm yourself, and you will soon returnto life. But hurry, before the people bury you.”Jon obeyed, his body warmed and stirred back intolife. Two nurses were next to him and one of them holdinghis hand said with excitement, “his pulse is back, his heart’sbeating again; this is incredible, it’sbeen hours!” When Jon opened hiseyes, the other nurse looking at himwith kindness and bewildermentsaid, “Jon, you passed away lastnight; we were so sad. But as youdid not cool off as all others have inthe past, we left you until now. Wewere about to take you to be buriedby your people.” The following daywhile still in bed, Jon’s Kachinaappeared again.“Some day my boy, you willbe an important man in theceremonies. You will learnmore than your parents andgrandparents ever knew, andyou will preserve for your peoplethe ways of the past. But if youdo not obey the callings of yourheart, if you do not obey myevery command, you will be26The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

punished, but only four times. You will be givenonly four trials in your life, and when you facethe fifth, your life will end. Live well therefore,live in the ways of our people and I will hold youlightly, as between two fingers. But if you disobeyme I will drop you, and you will never return.Goodbye, I am ever at your side.”Then, taking a step back, the Kachina raised his lefthand in salutation and faded from sight as a soft eaglefeather rose from the floor, floated through the door andvanished.Jon led an active and rugged life, and never forgothis Guardian Spirit’s admonition. In the many times ofdanger and stress he had to endure, he felt the presenceat his side of his Kachina guarding and protecting him sohe could face and overcome the trials he was destined toundergo. For the rest of his life he remained at the pueblo,though also learned eventually the modern ways, and thelanguage of city people. But he lived a life of frugality inservice to his own people. He was initiated into the secretsof his ancestors, learned the ancient rituals and became amodern ‘Medicine Man’.Holy Man: Medicine ManThis is one instance of how a Native American becamea modern Medicine Man. It wasn’t always done in thisway. Frequently however, there was a vision or psychicexperience around the age of 12 or 13, and the boy thenknew his destiny. The Medicine Man’s contact with hisThe sacred medicine bundle was the holiest of items among the NativeAmericans. Each bundle contained a varied collection of objects andrepresentations of spiritual significance, from animal skins and effigiesto ceremonial pipes. Stewardship of these bundles was usually vested in amember of a tribal clan or society, although the power of the bundle wasbelieved to be beneficial to the entire tribe. The bundles were opened onspecific occasions, and according to precise ritual. (Source: http://www.barefootsworld.net/sacred_bundle.html)Howard Terpning’s Blessing from the Medicine Man. In his psychic,psychological and psychiatric work the Medicine Man excelled. Hewould heal the whole man or woman. (Source: http://itooamhere.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/appreciating-native-american-art.html)fellow tribesmen was close and frequent. He was knownand watched from infancy. His advice, visions andpremonitions had to be successful most of the time or hewould lose the respect of the tribe. He therefore had tobe good at what he did.You may recall how in the New Testament Jesus wasridiculed in his home town. His neighbours dared himto demonstrate his powers, and that was not the bestenvironment for good and noble works. The instancesof rejection of genius by friends, relatives, home townsand native countries are numerous. Yet, in the instanceof the Medicine Man, serving under the most trying ofconditions, we find tribal acceptance.Just who were the Native American Medicine Menand what services did they perform? The title is deceptive,for it seems that the word “medicine” was associatedwith any mysterious force. As the tribal holy man wasthe one called upon to deal with the mysterious and theunexplained, he was in many ways the one person aboveall who could deliver true healing to his tribe. Hence hewas a true ‘Medicine Man’.Life’s mysteries however, extend beyond medication.We must therefore consider the title in its broadest possiblesense. He was the tribe’s minister, philosopher, singer,ritualist, artist, physician, prophet, seer, psychologist,historian, and much more. Primarily however, he was aholy man who cared more for his people and their historyand traditions than any others alive.In the field of physical therapeutics, the MedicineMen made extensive and notable contributions. Sweatbaths, sun bathing, spinal manipulation and counterirritation (zone and reflex therapy) were reportedlyused by them. They also set broken bones, performedbloodletting, pulled teeth and bandaged wounds. Theyprescribed diets as well as fasts. Their herbal, animal andmineral remedies have been a constant source from whichThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201227

Kiva Kachina Dance by Ray Naha: The Medicine Man, as a holyman, fostered and guided the tribe’s cosmology and approaches to life’smysteries. Here a dance is performed in a ‘kiva’ or temple. (Source: http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Pictures/Native-Artwork-page3.html)modern pharmaceutical and nutrition experts are evennow still drawing. They discovered such items as castor oil,cascara, numerous diuretics, emetics to induce vomitingand excrete poisons, anaesthetics to kill pain, as well asThe Medicine Man, as a holy man, fostered andguided the tribe’s cosmology and approaches tolife’s mysteries.sedative and hypnotic herbs. They discovered quininebark for the control of malaria and used willow bark,containing the ingredients of aspirin, for the symptomaticrelief of rheumatism and arthritis.Traditionally, some Native Americans believed thatwithin the area where the disease occurred, a plant or herbfor its treatment was also to be found. They accumulateddeep insight into the uses of many herbal remedies, aknowledge that has for the most part not survived intothe 21 st century. The Incas of Peru for example, wouldsend runners to the seashore for fresh fish to cure goitredue to the lack of iodine in the high altitude streams.In the Yucatan and other areas of Central America,2000 years before Columbus, native healers filled dentalcavities, fitted false teeth and applied artificial limbs.Their skill with surgical instruments was fine enoughto relieve pressure in the skull through the difficult artof trepanning. And it is believed they even managedCaesarean delivery long before the birth of Julius Caesar.In his book La Filosofia Nahuatl, the famousMexican author Miguel Leon Portilla notes that theAztec wise men distinguished between a true doctor ‘elverdadero medico’ and a ‘witch doctor,’ who generallyrelied on superstitious practices. One of the criteriafor differentiation was that a true doctor knew how ‘toconcert the bones’.In his psychic, psychological and psychiatric work,the Medicine Man excelled. He realised somethingperhaps better than some modern physicians do. A patientis much more than a broken bone, a high fever or a slippeddisk. The holy man would heal the whole person. He knewthat somatic ailments can leave psychic scars and viceversa, and he therefore saw fit to incorporate the powersof music, art, religion, psychology and philosophy in histreatments. Full and excellent rapport was one of his usualrewards. Many of the technique he used mystify us today,but that they were effective and resulted in genuine curesis not in doubt.Astral TravelInstances of psychic projection (astral travel) as Jonexperienced, were not uncommon. The Medicine Mantried and no doubt often succeeded in manipulatingthe psychic forces involved in healing processes in orderto alleviate suffering. One can well imagine the depthof psychotherapy involved during a week ofcontinual treatment with attendant drumming,chanting, rituals, sand-paintings, and visitsfrom loved ones. The healing attributed to greatMedicine Men of the past are analogous to themiracles of the New Testament, and may wellhave been of the same calibre and power.The following unusual case shows some aspects of theMedicine Man’s approach. A 10-year-old boy had beenunsuccessfully treated for a bladder condition by severaldoctors. A Cherokee Medicine Man was called, and ashe warmed his hands over some hot coals, he had the boystrip to the waist. Over the lower back in the region of thekidneys, he placed his warm hands directly over the boy’skidneys. As he softly rubbed the area, he chanted someold healing words, perhaps what Westerners would call aprayer. Then he whistled a single note, which he repeatedseveral times over and finally announced he was finished,departed, and the boy was cured. Eighty years later thepatient asserted that since that day, he had never againhad a recurrence of his ailment. The use of sounds, chantsand the laying on of hands for therapeutic purposes is notnew to the Native Americans, and there is ample evidenceto suggest that there existed in past centuries some trulynotable holy men who possessed not only great psychicpower, but spiritual maturity that far exceeded that ofthe norm.Hard as it may be to believe, Medicine Menreputedly even cured gallstones. After working on thepatient’s abdomen, the Medicine Man would suddenlyopen his hand to reveal a stone, no doubt meant to bethe actual gallstone. Of course it may have been a mere28The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

magicians trick to begin with, but it could equally havebeen a supreme ability to manipulate reality, and by sodoing to cause miraculous cures to manifest. The patient’sbelief that the trouble was something tangible, alteredthe perceived reality for good and removed the affliction.The Medicine Man’s unusual powers were also directed atsuch practical duties as directing his tribe to the locationof game and warning them of the approach of an enemyparty. Custer’s Last Stand is perhaps a prime exampleof the latter phenomenal practice. Story has it that thefamous Sitting Bull, who was a Medicine Man, had a visionof the approach of General Custer and his men prior totheir historic battle.As the premier holy man of the tribe, the MedicineMan fostered and guided the tribe’s cosmology andapproaches to life’s mysteries. Pueblos, Navahos andother tribes recognised the sun as the most powerful ofcreative forces; the primal source of life. In Taos, everyspring, the members of each kiva or temple ‘worked forthe sun.’ For six weeks they were confined to the kiva ina state of withdrawal from the outside world and rarelyspoke during this period. With pale cheeks and gazesturned inwards, in the darkness of the kiva the initiateswere oriented to the infinitely expanding radiance of theSun, the imbuer of all things with life. Towards the end ofthis immense endurance rite, they were wholly enraptured,and ‘initiated into the sun.’In western literature similar extended ecstatic stateshave been described by Honoré de Balzac in Louis Lambertand by Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke in his classic bookCosmic Consciousness. Not understanding these states,society has too frequently regarded them as periods ofmental instability. But such episodes, when done in a trueSun worship: The Sun was regarded as the visible means through whichthe Great Spirit revealed himself. Inset shows an 1886 engraving of CreeIndians performing a Sun Dance. (Source: http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/photos/native/lemoyne/lemoyne8/lemoy804.htm)initiatic manner have inevitably been followed by deeprenewal and long periods of creative productivity on thepart of the participants.James Hobbs, in his book Life in the Far West,throws some interesting light on 19 th century Comanchebeliefs. There is little doubt that they had a firm beliefin, and commitment to a future existence beyond life onearth. Their afterlife began beyond the setting sun in thewest. They believed in a Great Spirit from which theycame, and considered the Sun as the visible means throughwhich the Great Spirit was revealed.In fact the Comanches found it difficult to separatethe two, and humbly reverenced the Great Spirit throughtheir worship of the Sun. It was a dominant feature oftheir beliefs, and they revered it as the source of all livingthings. The Sun was the primordial principle of all life,the source of all things. The Earth was worshipped as a‘Mother,’ as it was the producer of all that sustained life.In death, the Comanches returned to the ‘Father,’ partookof the joys of a veritable ‘happy hunting ground,’ and aftera time, returned to mother Earth to be reborn in order tokeep up the population and power of the tribe.Of course the abilities and teachings of the MedicineMen varied with each tribe, and one of the greatest assetsof any tribe was to have a Medicine Man of high calibre.Over the past century, as western minds have slowly cometo understand the central role of the Medicine Man inNative American culture, there has been a growing senseof respect and even reverence for the central role playedby such individuals. One of the deepest, most mystical andmoving descriptions of the crucial role of the MedicineMan in Native American societies of the past (both Northand South America), emerged in a series of books writtenby the anthropologist Carlos Castaneda between the late1960s and 1980s.The ancient Native American view of life on earth,and the links that bind all living things to each other, issomething every western educated person would do wellto research, come to understand and live by. There is abeauty and respect for nature that is so desperately neededin today’s world. With the failure of various treaties onclimate change now threatening the long-term existenceof life on earth, every person would do well to delve intothe higher aspects of the ancestral American view of theso-called ‘Great Hoop of Life’, a sphere of reality withinwhich all animate and inanimate things exist and interactwith each other in equitable ways in accordance withnatural justice and what in other parts of the world iscalled the ‘law of karma’. Adherence to the laws governingthe Great Hoop and its contents, was and remains themost important mission of every Medicine Man, pastand present.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201229

y Alexander F Skutchhilosophy BEGINS with wonder. Tounderstand what it is, we must go back to itsorigins. First among the things of wonder isthe world itself. How did it begin? Of what isit made? How is it governed? Even childrenask their parents these fundamental questions.Western philosophy today evolved from the genius ofthe ancient Greeks. They established and outlined it. Theirideas were such that until modern times no Europeanthinker made any advances of outstanding originality. Theearliest Greek philosophers flourished in the prosperousIonian cities on the Eastern shore of the Aegean Sea,in Asia Minor. They were largely interested in physicalproblems. Above all they sought to discover some singlesubstance of whose modifications all the multiplicity ofthings is composed.Wonder, or curiosity, is one of the fundamentalattributes of the human mind, which has made us whatwe are. But even more deeply rooted and insistent is thedesire to lead a good and satisfying life, our yearning forhappiness. The penetrating intellects of the Greek thinkerssoon perceived the intimate connection between their30The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

desire to know and their yearning for happiness. We donot live in a vacuum, but in a world which has definitemodes of procedure, known as the ‘laws of nature’.Moreover, we also have definite characteristics. We haveour human nature, which is largely inherited, but subjectto modification by social and individual effort. This mustalso be taken into account by anyone who earnestly desiresa good and happy life. Only by understanding ourselvesand the world can we intelligently pursue our highest goalsand set happiness on a firm foundation.The great systems of Greek philosophy sprang fromthe intimate union of two fundamental and interrelatedhuman interests: the thirst for knowledge and the yearningfor happiness and fulfilment. Essentially there were threedivisions to Greek thinking: logic, physics, and ethics.• Logic is the study of pure thought, independentof any objects.• Physics is the study of how things happen in theworld of material objects.• Ethics is the study of how things ought tohappen in the world of human beings.With such a vast field, the cultivation ofphilosophy became a large undertaking, fit toengross one’s best faculties for a whole lifetime.Some thinkers placed more emphasis on onedivision of philosophy than on another. Socrates(c.469-399 BCE), one of the pioneers, was scarcelyinterested in physics; but in his later years he seemsto have devoted most of his time to impressing on hiscontemporaries the need for expert knowledge, and abetter understanding of the terms associated with theleading of a good life.Three faces of philosophy: From the back, Socrates, his disciple Plato, andPlato’s pupil, Aristotle.Although the philosopher ardently desires true knowledge, he above allyearns for ‘wisdom’, which is the application of truth to life.His disciple Plato (429-347 BCE) was far moreconcerned with logical, moral and political problemsthan with physics and cosmological speculation. Aristotle(384-322 BCE), who was Plato’s pupil, is outstanding forthe breadth of his interests and the scope of his writings.He wrote treatises on logic, physics (including longworks on zoology), aesthetics, ethics, politics or the art ofgovernment, and even metaphysics or the discussion ofTo understand what philosophy is, we mustdistinguish it from science and religion.what lies beyond the world of phenomena, especially ofGod. The great Stoic system is also remarkable for its vastelaboration in many fields.The second important centre of philosophical inquiryin ancient times was northern India, where thinkers noless acute than the Greeks, turned their attention to muchthe same problems and reached different conclusions. TheNyaya school of philosophical speculation is based ontexts known as the Nyaya Sutras, which were written byAksapada Gautama from around the 2 nd century BCE.The Indians developed a logic comparable to that ofAristotle; in the Vaiseshika, a metaphysical philosophyclosely allied to the Nyaya school of thought, an atomictheory developed which has some resemblance to that ofLeucippus and Democritus. But the avowed end of the sixclassical systems of Indian philosophy (Vedic systems) isthe release from suffering and the attainment of enduringhappiness. Their logic, their physical and cosmologicalspeculations, their prescribed disciplines, were means tothis supreme end.In China, the third ancient centre of philosophicalactivity, the correct conduct of life or the attainment ofcommunal harmony appears to have claimed relatively fargreater attention than understanding of cosmic order. ThisThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201231

The term ‘Socratic Dialogue’ refers to works in which Socrates is a characterdiscussing moral and philosophical problems; it is a genre of prose literaryworks developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BCE, preservedtoday in the dialogues of Plato and the Socratic works of Xenophon.Taken together, the biblical Old and New Testament provide a frame ofreference for human life whose comprehensiveness we can hardly deny, nomatter how we may judge its correctness.approach set them apart from Western philosophy whereprobing the nature of underlying reality was the prime end.The GoalWhat, then, is the goal of philosophy? When we considerphilosophical endeavour in the light of its origins andits total scope, we might define it somewhat asfollows: Philosophy is the attempt to give lifesignificance, coherence, and stability by seeing itwhole, and in relation to a greater whole. Nothingis more important to any being than its achievinga proper relation to the whole of which it is a part.In the case of ourselves, the larger systems with whichit is indispensable for us to cultivate proper relationsinclude our families, our community, the natural worldwhich supports us and, above all, the Universe whichembraces all of these.Philosophy and ScienceTo understand adequately what philosophy is, we mustclearly distinguish it from certain related endeavours,especially science and religion. The scientist and thephilosopher are equally dedicated to the pursuit of truth.In so far as they are loyal to their respective callings, theyregard the acquisition and diffusion of truth or knowledgeas a sacred obligation; and the deliberate distortion oftruth should not be permitted.But the scientist, in his professional capacity, isconcerned merely with the accumulation of factualknowledge. Some scientists believe that the application ofthese facts to the conduct of life is no concern of theirs.The more impersonal their knowledge, the less relation ithas to human problems and aspirations, the more highlythey seem to value it. Although the philosopher, as thescientist, ardently desires true knowledge, he above allyearns for wisdom, which is the application of truth to life.At the conclusion of the Philebus, a long Socratic dialoguewritten between 360 and 347 BCE which investigates thehighest good, Plato assigned first place to measure andmoderation, second place to beauty and perfection, andthird place to mind and wisdom. Science and art, whichinclude factual knowledge, came fourth from the top.The aims of philosophy and religion are almostidentical. Both have had the audacity to ask, andpropose answers to the deepest questions.That the truths which philosophy discovers must berelated to the conduct of life is a necessary consequenceof the philosophic endeavour to give life significanceand stability by seeing it whole and in relation to a largerwhole. Thus to define philosophy as ‘love of truth’ or the‘pursuit of truth’ is not quite accurate; since this does notdistinguish it from science. The literal meaning of theword ‘philosophy’ is love of wisdom. Wisdom is more thantruth or factual knowledge, for it implies the applicationof this knowledge to life.Philosophy and ReligionThe bonds which join philosophy to religion are no lessclose than those which unite it with science, and they areeven more massive. Most of the great philosophers weredeeply religious men, although many could not accept theorthodox beliefs of their age and nation. And from thiswe may deduce the resemblances and differences betweenphilosophy and religion. At its best, religion, no less thanphilosophy, strives to give life significance and stability byseeing it in relation to a larger whole. For this it needs, asin philosophy, a comprehensive view of the origin, natureand destiny of the world and of humanity. Taken together,32The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

Pyrrho was the starting-point for a philosophical movement known as‘Pyrrhonism’ that flourished several centuries after his own time. Adevotee of this philosophy, Sextus Empiricus (depicted here), advises that weshould suspend judgment about all beliefs. We should neither affirm anybelief as true nor deny any belief as false. This view is known as Pyrrhonianscepticism, as distinguished from Academic scepticism, which, accordingto Sextus, denies knowledge altogether. (Adapted image and text source:http://www.masterandmargarita.eu/en/02themas/h22.html)the biblical Old and New Testament provide a frame ofreference for human life whose comprehensiveness we canhardly deny, no matter how we may judge its correctness.The aims of philosophy and religion are then,almost identical. Both have had the audacity to ask, andpropose answers to, the deepest questions, touching thegrandest and most momentous problems which occur tothe human mind. Yet despite their close resemblance inscope and aims, they differ profoundly in methods. Thisdifference can be most succinctly expressed by saying thatphilosophy is critical, and religion uncritical.Philosophy is constantly searching andtesting. It desires the latest verified discoveries,from whatever source they may come. It insistson subjecting all alleged facts and all plausibleexplanations to merciless scrutiny, and itrelentlessly rejects everything which will not withstandthis probing.Religion, on the other hand, rejects this criticalexamination. Once having accepted a solution of one ofthe grand cosmological or human problems, it regards thequestion as closed; no longer a fit topic for investigationand free discussion. What philosophy welcomes asindispensable to the intellectual life is anathema to anestablished church. For it, there is no greater crime thanto question what the sacred books advance as indubitablefacts, for to disprove them might undermine the veryfoundation of the whole elaborate doctrinal structure.While Roman Catholicism ruled supreme in westernEurope the convicted might procure pardon for some ofthe greatest of crimes against humanity, but to questionarticles of dogma was the unpardonable offence for whichburning alive was prescribed.In the measure that the human intellect is inquiringand original, the thinker inevitably comes into conflictwith the dominant religious notions of the day. Anyattempt to philosophise within the framework of anestablished religion is doomed to restriction and will notproduce wisdom as we defined it above.As has been stated, religion, no less than philosophy,strives to give life stability and significance by seeing itin relation to a larger whole. However, it is preventedfrom wholly achieving this because of its very dogmaticfoundations. To achieve this comprehensive visiondemands free inquiry and receptivity to all fresh insights,from whatever quarter they may come.FaithIt is sometimes held that religion differs from philosophyin that the former demands faith, whereas the latter candispense with this attribute. This is a false distinction; forneither can dispense with faith, although they need it indifferent degrees and with reference to different things.The faith required by religion often has reference toparticular alleged happenings; and the more incrediblethey are, in the light of ordinary experience, the moremerit is sometimes ascribed to unquestioning belief intheir occurrence. Regarding faith as meritorious anddesirable in itself, sometimes as the highest religious virtueand the surest road to salvation, religion has rarely takenpains to reduce the burden it must bear.Philosophy, by striving for rational demonstrationin every sphere where this is possible, has tried toreduce faith to a minimum.Philosophy, by striving for rational demonstration inevery sphere where this is possible, has tried to reduce faithto a minimum. Yet philosophy cannot dispense with faithwithout being driven to that extreme form of scepticismknown as Pyrrhonism, which doubts all things, even thepossibility of knowing anything. How, for example, canI be sure that I live in a world containing solid objectsextended in space? When I dream, I seem to see and touchsuch objects, yet when I awake I recognise that they wereunsubstantial creations of my own mind. Are not thethings and people which I see, feel, and hear in my wakinghours merely more vivid hallucinations of the same sort?The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201233

Does anything really exist outside my own mind?Countless pages have been written on this problem,and it has become evident that the existence of an externalworld, containing solid extended bodies, is not strictlydemonstrable but demands an act of faith. We need faith inthe adequacy of our own psychic processes, in the essentialhonesty of nature of which we are parts, or, as the Frenchphilosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) put it, “faithin the goodness of God, who does not constantly deceive us”.Moreover, philosophy could hardly maintain itsinvestigative nature if there was a lack of faith that realityis somehow rational, purposeful or friendly, so that if weunderstand it and put ourselves in accord with it, it willsupport our highest aspirations. Far from being able todiscard faith, philosophy requires a deeper, more seriousand fundamental faith than religion, which often demandsunquestioning belief in relatively trivial matters.A Way of LifeThe philosopher’s penchant for building vast ‘systems’embracing the whole scope of human knowledge hasbeen disparaged in recent times. Today there are manyphilosophers who restrict their professional activity tothe analysis of the meaning of words and phrases, tological investigations, or to the criticism of science andits methods.In order to avoid errors and place its conclusions ona firm foundation, philosophy needs (and from ancienttimes has found a place for) such preliminary labour; justas biology needs microscopes and astronomy requirestelescopes. But one whose philosophical work stops shortwith details of this sort does not deserve to be called a‘philosopher’ in the traditional meaning of the word. Ifnothing else were essential, then the microscope makerwould deserve to be called a biologist and themanufacturer of telescopes an astronomer. Theseanalyses certainly do not fall under the headingof wisdom, which is what the philosopher hasfrom ancient times aspired to win.Although the philosophic system neednot be as elaborate as the structural concepts erectedby Aristotle in ancient times, or his more moderndescendents, philosophy still attempts to give lifesignificance, coherence and stability by seeing it as a whole,and in relation to a greater whole. At very least it requiresa world view or cosmological doctrine, an interpretationof the nature of man, and an ethic or doctrine of valuesand conduct. These must together form a coherent, selfconsistentbody of thought in order to form a system, orat least the essential framework of one.Because of the continuing incapacity of the stronglyBecause of the continuing incapacity of the strongly established religions toassimilate and adjust their teaching to our modern scientific understandingof the cosmos, life and man, philosophy alone can guide humanity from itspresent deplorable confusion to its ultimate goal.established religions to assimilate and adjust their teachingto our modern scientific understanding of the cosmos, lifeand man, philosophy alone can guide humanity from itspresent deplorable confusion to its ultimate goal. It is ourbest hope. Philosophy at its highest has had aims as loftyas religion at its highest, but its methods are far moreadequate; for it is critical and capable of growth, whereasinstitutional religion clings desperately to outwornnotions of a bygone age.Philosophy, we should never forget, was in the daysof its glory in the ancient world not simply an intellectualexercise but a way of life. The Stoic, the Epicurean, thePythagorean, the Platonist or the Neo-Platonist didPhilosophy alone can guide humanity from itspresent deplorable confusion to its ultimate goal.It is our best hope.not merely learn the principles of his philosophy; helived it. When we consider all that this venerable termimplies, perhaps it is audacious of anyone to claim forthemselves the honourable title of philosopher. But onewho aspires to it must above all endeavour to live like aphilosopher; for the ability to expound philosophicalconcepts and doctrines does not of itself entitle anyoneto this designation. The true philosopher must be readyto accept obligations and endure hardships, to modify hisoccupations and habits, the whole tenor of his life, as hisphilosophy demands.34The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

In Iran, a garden suddenlyappears before your eyes in the middleof a dry sandy desert. That is why in a villagein Iran, a garden shows off like a jewel. It is unique,it is brilliant, it delights the eye.The distance between a Persian garden andthe outskirts of a village is the distancebetween civilisation and barbarism(Mohammed Ebrahim Bastāni-Parizi.)by Connie James, SRCn THE MARVdASHT plain to the eastof the Zagros Mountains in the Iranianprovince of Fārs, 43 kilometres (27 miles)from Persepolis, lie the scattered remainsof the earliest known recorded garden.It was here, at a site called Pasargadae by the Greeks,from the Persian Pāsārgād, where the real founderof the Persian Empire Cyrus II (the Great) builthis capital and his tomb. Even today, some 2,500years later, you can still see the remains of gleamingwhite columns, set against a background of brown hills.In order to understand the real significance of Persiangardens, both informal and formal, we need to put themin the context of the surrounding countryside of Iran. It’sa land given to extremes in climate, from severe winterswith blizzards, to burning summers with blinding duststorms. The mountains are for the main part barren androcky, and the ever present deserts are covered with dustor a yellow slime where the water doesn’t drain away.Within the desolation are green valleys and hiddenThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201235

The idealised Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Garden of Eden or Paradise: The English word ‘paradise’ comes from an ancient AvestanPersian word for an exceptional kind of garden, pairi-daeza, meaning a ‘walled enclosure’, a retreat from the dangers of the worldforests. Elsewhere, the land can be dangerous and hostileto the unprepared visitor. The Persians, however, saw alatent inner beauty, like that of a jewel encased in rock.They left the countryside for the most part pristine,admiring it for what it was, as nature intended, and sacredas God’s creation. Where land was required for humanhabitation, rather than scarring the earth, they helpedmake it blossom, a refuge not just for themselves, butfor animals and rare plants as well. This was the ancientPersian paradigm.Some people think that the four quadrants of thegarden symbolised the four quadrants of the PersianEmpire.The English word ‘paradise’ comes from an ancientAvestan Persian word for an exceptional kind of garden,pairi-daeza. As a compound word, pairidaeza came tomean a celestial garden, a heavenly paradise on Earth; ineffect a walled garden. The description of the Garden ofEden as a paradise is derived from this Persian idea, andsome say, Eden was located in the northern Iranian ZagrosMountains. Classical Greek writers called Persian gardensparadeisos (plural, paradeisoi.). The Hanging Gardens ofBabylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, weresaid to have been built based on the Median (westernIranian) gardens of the Zagros Mountains.Chāhār BāghThe style of Persian gardens can be both formal andinformal. The formal gardens are the type found in front ofpalaces, and are geometric in their layout. Cyrus’ garden,the Chāhār Bāgh, meaning ‘four gardens’, consisted of foursquares within a square; a quadripartite ground-plan. Inaddition to the various formal gardens in Iran, the gardensof the Taj Mahal in India are also an example of a formalgarden. Examples of informal gardens are the familybāghs found on the outskirts of major Iranian cities suchas Tehrān, Esfahān and Shirāz.In Persian (Fārsi,) the word chāhār means fourand bāgh means garden. Chāhār Bāgh was the formalgarden style used by Cyrus the Great for hispalace gardens at Pasargadae. This garden atPasargadae is the earliest known example of theChāhār Bāgh, a design that became the coredesign for subsequent formal Iranian gardens upto and including the gardens of India’s Mughalemperors. The gardens of Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal are basedon Cyrus’ Chāhār Bāgh design.Some people think that the four quadrants of thegarden, the four rectangles or squares within a rectangleor square, symbolised the four quadrants of the PersianEmpire. The squares were created by walkways and straightwhite limestone lined water channels that connectedsquare basins or pools placed at regular intervals. Thesewater-courses or aqueducts formed the principle andsecondary axes of the quadripartite layout and are theearliest known record of gravity-fed water rills cascadinginto regularly spaced basins arranged in a geometricsystem. The channels and basins served both a practicalirrigation function and an aesthetic function. Besideswhich, they also modified the climate of the immediatesurroundings.There were two pavilions beside the Pasargadae36The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

Inset shows a reconstruction of the palace garden of Cyrus the Great atPasargadae c.550 BCE. The paths are conjectural. Water channels definethe space between two palaces. There are two small pavilions. This is theearliest known remnant of what became the classical Persian garden. It islikely to have been planted with cypress, pomegranate and cherry. [Source:http://www.gardenvisit.com/history_theory/]A schematic diagram of a Persian garden: The style of Persian gardenscan be both formal and informal. The formal gardens are the type found infront of palaces, and are geometric in their layout. Note the quadripartitestructure with focal water feature, connecting aqueducts, and surroundingtrees, as well as the placement of the palace. [Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_gardens]garden, where the royal family or visitors could sit andenjoy the beauty and fragrant air. Cyrus also had a throneplaced at the midpoint of the southwest portico of hispalace from where he could view and contemplate thegardens and possibly even hold audiences. In additionto the formal gardens, there would also have been asurrounding park-like forest that included animals.According to Hobhouse, Hunningher and Harpurin their book Gardens of Persia (2004), the Chāhār Bāghgardens of Pasargadae could have contained fruit treessuch as pomegranate and cherries, nut bearing trees suchas almond, vines and roses, an under-carpet of cloverinterspersed with spring-flowering bulbs such as iris andtulips, as well as poppies. The surrounding trees such aswhite-stemmed poplars, cypress and plane would haveprovided wind breaks. When all the elements of thepairidaeza gardens are considered together, they forman integrated composition of shade, micro-climate,vegetation, refuge and healing.Description of Achaemenid GardensThe gardens of the Persian Shahs and their satrapsbecame legendary. Greek and Roman authors suchas Quintus Curtius, Xenophon and Plutarch giveconsistent accounts of the satrap’s paradise gardens:Plutarch describes the paradeisos of the Achaemenidsatrap at Sardis as follows:“One of them was the handsomest because its lawnsand refreshing waters, its retreats and its manicuredlawns displayed an unimaginable royal luxury.”Xenophon describes the paradise-gardens atCelaenae, the satrapal capital of Phrygia and Dascylium,the satrap capital of Lydia, both in Western Turkey. InCelaenae, Xenophon and his companions saw:“...a great park filled with wild animals, andwatered by the Meander.”Xenophon notes that in Dascylium:“That is where Pharnabazus maintained hisresidence, with handsome large villages all around,abundantly provided with all the resources, andwith game both in enclosed paradises and in openspaces - magnificent game! Through the wholelength flowed a river stocked with every kind of fish.Wildfowl were there in abundance as well, for thosewho might hunt for birds.”The Medes and Persians developed the garden andgarden designs on lines similar to their empire buildings.They brought with them their love and veneration for trees.In their Zoroastrian religion, the cult of trees played animportant part, and with them, as with the Assyrians, thesymbol of eternal life was a tree with a stream at its roots.Another object of veneration was the sacred miracle tree,The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201237

which within itself contained the seeds of all.Among the Persians, tree-planting was a sacredoccupation, and as Strabo says, was part of theireducation:38“Boys received instruction in this art in theevenings. And so it came about that thisreverence was seated deep in the souls of eventhe lowest stratum of the people, the commonsoldiers.”Rejuvenation of the SpiritIranian gardens are ideal places to rejuvenate thespirit. They’re a meeting place for all elements ofspiritual and material creation. They’re a placefor personal reflection as well as strengtheningfamily, friendship and community bonds. They’re places, ifyou so choose, to reconnect with your spiritual self and totake a break from active life to continue a spiritual quest.The Persian garden is a sacred space where your innervoice can be heard. It’s a place for sacred contemplationand spiritual nourishment. The pools or channels ofwater that are invariably an integral part of the garden’sA paradise-like garden is seen as a place for spiritualand mental rejuvenation.design, are places for self-reflection. The entire setting istranquil and serene. Complimenting the self-reflection ismeditation, especially when accompanied by the intonationof Rosicrucian vowel sounds or chants.The Zoroastrian approach to the paradise-garden isa balance between the competing demands and functionsof life. The need to develop a calm environment to enablesomeone to refocus isn’t an end in itself, only a meansof enabling you to lead an active, productive and usefullife. Both pursuits have a time and place in everyone’sNaghsh-i Jahan Square, Isfahan, Iran: a Persian garden on a vast scale enclosed onall sides by buildings and featuring a central fountain. Constructed between 1598 and1629, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.The tradition and style of the Persian garden influenced the design of gardens fromAndalusia to India. The Taj Mahal is one of the largest Persian Gardens of the world.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012life. A paradise-like garden is seen as a place for spiritualand mental rejuvenation. It’s also a place for individualintrospection, as well as a place for calm dialogue andphilosophical discussion. But a paradise-garden isn’t theonly means of creating an environment where you canachieve serenity. Nature has provided us with her ownprofusion of gardens from the desert oasis, to verdantmeadows, to picturesque valleys and mountainslopes with breath-taking vistas. For the PersianShahs, their paradise-gardens gave them anopportunity to bring nature into their backyardand one they could stroll through or sit and gazeupon in close proximity to home and work.Sunlight and its effects were also an important factorof structural design in Persian gardens. Textures andshapes were specifically chosen by architects to harnessthe light. Due to the dry heat of Iran, shade is also veryimportant in a garden, without which it could not beusable. Trees and trellises largely feature as biotic shade;pavilions and walls are also prominent in blocking the sun.Also related to the heat is the importance of waterin gardens. A form of underground tunnel, below thewater table, called a qanāt is used to irrigate thegarden and its environs. Well-like structures thenconnect to the qanāt, enabling the drawing ofwater. Alternatively, an animal-driven Persianwell would be used to draw water to the surface.Such wheel systems could also be used to movewater around surface water systems. Trees wereoften planted in a ditch called a jub, whichprevented water evaporation and allowed thewater quick access to the tree roots.The Chāhār Bāgh symbolises the sourceof life. At the centre of the garden is a fountainor source of water, which then flows into four

narrow canals that run at right angles and divide thegarden into four beds. The symbolism of the canals is thatthey represent the four rivers of life running north, south,east and west to water the earth. In the garden itself, themovement of the water would have cast the light andbrought a dynamism to the garden.The four beds could be approached in a numberof ways: they could be paved to create a place to lay outcushions; they could be planted with brightly colouredflowering plants; or they could be sunken beds to give theimpression of walking on a carpet of flowers. In Persian,the word gol means both a flower and the rose, whichhas a major role in Persian poetry; for not only is thebeloved’s physical attributes identified with the rose, buthis/her tears are rose water and s/he dwells in a golestānor rose garden. Golestān is also the title of a collection ofpoems and aphorisms by the poet Sa’adi, for whom rosesare pieces of wisdom and clues to happiness, and the rosegarden is wisdom itself.In the book Goftegi dar bāgh (Dialogue in theGarden) I found the following description of a gardenin Shirāz, the capital of Fārs province, and the culturalcentre of Iran.“In Shirāz, at the edge of that city, behind highwalls, there is a sanctuary, sheltered from the chaosoutside. When you open the door, you step into avestibule or under a false arch with stairs on bothsides and possibly a hexagonal reflecting pool andthe shimmering of water on the scales of a few redgoldfish that continuously slide along the turquoisecolouredtiles at the bottom. There is shade, waterand the tranquillity of the fish. In the damp, coolshade, you rest to take a breath of fresh air and aresheltered from the thirst of the sun and the feverand frenzy outside.“Then, the gravelled avenue leads to an open spacewith a mound overflowing with violets, begonias,petunias, wallflowers, dahlias and a few cornflowers.The borders of the mound and around the flowersare covered with short, decorative boxwood. Thecontinuation of the avenue on the other side of theopen space, a little further, a building with a vastveranda, halls on both sides, sash windows withcoloured glass and an open and cheery appearance.“There are two slender, tall cypress trees in thistimeless garden, and a few purple and amberjasmine plants, and about the reflecting pool, thelength of the veranda, with a short rim, shallow,a wide stone fountain in the middle and the skyLayout of a Persian garden on a Persian carpet. At the centre of thegarden is a fountain or source of water, which then flows into four narrowcanals that run at right angles and divide the garden into four beds.[Image source: http://www.kavehfarrokh.com/iranica/achaemenid-era/pasargardaethe-persian-gardens].mirrored in the water. Around are Judas trees,mimosa trees and acacia trees and avenues thatstretch from the open space to the four corners ofthe garden and divide it into several sections. Onecorner of the garden is taken over by four or five agedplane trees which are planted in a circle so that inthe middle, under a canopy of their branches andleaves, a cool, shady area oblivious to the sun abovestretches out on the ground. This is a place to lie backand rest from the fire and chaos outside.”EpilogueCapturing visions of the old Iran at the threshold of themodern age, Vita Sackville-West wrote in Passenger toTehran (1926):“A savage, desolating country! But one that filledme with extraordinary elation. I have never seenanything that pleased me so well as these Persianuplands, with their enormous views, clear light, androcky grandeur.” She went on to say, “Persia hasbeen left as it was before man’s advent.”When I visited Tehran, I had the opportunityto visit some privately owned gardens located on theoutskirts of the city. The gardens were walled compoundsand a change in climate was evident immediately onentering through the garden’s doors. Cool fragrant airwelcomed me. In summer, while the surrounding landwas desert-like, barren and very hot, the gardens werelush with vegetation and cool. Water, often drawn froma well, played a significant role in the design and inthe creation of the garden’s micro climate as well as itsThe Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201239

calming environment. They were oases with a spiritualquality and places for the restoration of spiritual,physical and community health.As the religion of Islam spread, so did Persian style ofgarden making. And in all the lands that were conqueredby the Arabs, artisans assimilated local traditions mixedwith impressions from religion. So today, we have evidenceof Persian gardens that spread from Moorish Spain andNorth Africa in the west, through the Middle East andwhat used to be the Persian Empire and then to the aweinspiring palaces of the Mughal-period in India, whichdate from the 16 th century. All are different but all arebased on the core values of Chāhār Bāgh and the originalconcept introduced in the Persian paradise gardens.And this style can be scaled to fit any space from a tinycourtyard to enormous palace complexes such as thosein Kashmir.“They bear witness to the rather extravagant hope ofinventing paradise on earth; of creating, despite therigours of the climate, a space far from the uproar ofcities and human unrest, where the splendour andprofusion of plants gives a picture of nature pacifiedand tamed. Is not this dream a nostalgic memory ofthe first garden, where man and woman experienceda golden age before being driven from it by the angelwith a sword of fire, condemned to wander in aridlands? Or should we imagine the reverse: Thatthe garden east of Eden is a buried memory of theparadises constructed in ancient Babylon?”(GerardGrandval in his preface to The Persian Garden: Echoesof Paradise, 1998 edition )The traditional Persian garden of Eram in Shirāz, the sixth mostpopulous city in Iran and the capital of Fārs Province in the south-westof the country.by Gregory Sablic, FRCNo-one lives on top of the mountain. It’s fine togo there occasionally for inspiration, for newperspectives, for greater vision, and for just plainpeace and quiet. But we all sometimes have tocome back down to the valley. Life is livedhere. The mountain is for dreaming whilethe valley is for working. That’s wherethe farms and gardens and orchardsare, where the ploughing and thelabour are done. That’s whereyou apply the visions you haveglimpsed from the peaks.40The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

y Brenda Andersenany CENTuRIES AGO, an unknownEgyptian artist carved on the wall of apyramid a simple depiction of a doctorperforming an operation. Today, operationscan be seen in films, television and the internet. You’ll beamazed what you can find on YouTube these days! We dofind however that throughout the ages, art and medicinehave been inseparable.Medicine is known as the ‘healing art’. Art on theother hand, has been referred to as ‘natural science’.It’s interesting to note that in medieval times, artistsbelonged to the same guilds as doctors and apothecaries(pharmacists.) Art meant ‘craft’ and there was nodistinction between them. Perhaps it was the fraternityand equality between the two that encouraged thetremendous interest that artists began to show in anatomyand in the illustrated manuscripts that doctors began touse in their treatises during the Renaissance.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201241

Andreas Vesalius illustrated by Stephan Van Calcar (inset)CassiodorusThe medical textbooks of the great Flemishanatomist Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) were illustratedby Stephan van Calcar, a pupil of the great artist Titian(c.1488-1576). Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) mademore than a thousand anatomical sketches for anencyclopaedia planned by his young medical friend,Marco Antonio della Torre. Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528),after an intensive study of the human body, drew a selfportraitshowing exactly where the illness that later killedhim was located. And it is to the immortal Leonardo daVinci that we owe the still popular phrase, “A man isonly as old as his arteries.”The medical profession is certainly a combinationof medicine and art, and the old Chinese saying“One picture is worth a thousand words” provesthat it would be almost impossible to teachmedicine without pictures. The first portrait ofa doctor was a monument erected by PharaohSahura of the 5 th dynasty, c.2550 BCE. Itspurpose was to honour his chief physician for ‘curing hisnostrils’. A Philistine statue to Baal-Zebub, the Lord ofFlies, reveals in its script the ancient belief that insectsspread disease. Two thousand years later it was provedthat flies spread sleeping-sickness, that mosquitoes carrymalaria, and that ticks and lice cause many illnesses. Thestatue did indeed not lie!In the 5 th century BCE, one of Greece’s greatestdoctors, Cassiodorus, recommended the use of picturesin the study of medicine. He advocated the principles ofHippocrates (c.460-370 BCE), the ‘Father of Medicine’,and the herbals of Dioscorides (c.40-90 CE), one ofour earliest botanists. Both left illustrated texts for theirfollowers to use in their medical pursuits, but while hisadvice was employed for the learning of medicinal plants,it wasn’t until the 12 th century CE that anatomical chartswere used for visual instruction. By the end of the 15 thcentury artists and doctors worked together to increasetheir mutual knowledge of anatomy. Plastic surgeryPlastic surgery had its beginnings at this time too,but until modern psychologists were able to proveits effects on personality and general healthhad its beginnings at this time too, but until modernpsychologists were able to prove its effects on personalityand general health, it remained a costly and painfulremedy for lost beauty.Artists have both immortalised and lampoonedthe medical profession. The Dutch painter and etcher42The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

Rembrandt shows young medicalstudents intent upon their subjectin his The Anatomy Lesson (1632).Another Dutch artist, Jan Steen (1626-79), painted more than 20 picturesof doctors. And Hans Holbein theYounger (c.1497-1543) did both artand history a favour when he paintedthe English king, Henry VIII, handingthe charter to the master of the firstEnglish Barber-Surgeon’s Guild.In contrast, at the same time thatthe French Renaissance writer FrançoisRabelais (c.1494-1553) was writing hissatires on medicine, the German artistHans Weiditz the Younger (1495-c.1597)was caricaturing their practices.The benighted doctor, trying to collectjust payment, was the inspiration for afamous poem and an equally famouscartoon illustrating it.Three faces wears the doctor:When first sought, an Angel’s,and a God’s, the cure half wrought.But when the cure complete, he seeks his fee,the Devil looks less terrible than he.While artists per se were painting pictures of doctors,illustrating texts on anatomy and botany, and revealing lifefrom a medical standpoint, many doctors were displayingartistic and creative talent too.In the 11 th century in Spain, the greatAndalusian doctor, Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibnal-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (Albucasis,) inventednew instruments for treating wounds, removingtonsils, and extracting barbs. He made forceps foruse in childbirth and also became one of the first-knownoral surgeons; he performed operations on ugly, irregularteeth. The great Rosicrucian apologist Robert Fludd(1574-1637) made mechanical toys, such as a self-playinglyre and a wooden bull that bellowed. A Dutch anatomist,Frederik Ruysch (1638-1731), discovered a method forsolidifying parts of the body using collared injections,although Leonardo had already done the same withwax. Over one hundred years earlier the French surgeonAmbrose Pare (c.1510-90) introduced artificial limbsand trusses for ruptures; later, the Scottish obstetricianWilliam Smellie (1697-1763) constructed a little leathermanikin in order to demonstrate various parts of hislectures on midwifery.However, it was the Scot Sir Charles BellRobert Fludd(1774-1842) who atta ine d thehighest achievement of an artistdoctor.Through his art studies inanatomy, he was prompted to writea treatise on the relation betweenthe emotions ( joy, fear, etc.) andmuscular action. Proceeding furtherin those studies, and obtaininga medical degree, he discoveredand classified the motor and thesensory nerves. His researches ledthe way to our modern knowledge ofNeurology and Neurosurgery.It’s easy to see how a surgeon candevelop an operation until it becomesa work of flawless art and how anartist can depict the body so perfectly;however, it is often difficult to tellwhere Science leaves off and Art begins.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832), one of the world’s greatest philosophers,wrote: “Colour is the voice of God speaking through Nature”and today the psychology of colour has become animportant factor in the decoration of hospitals, schoolsand all public buildings. Here, once again, the artist andthe doctor are working together to soothe, heal, instructor please the public eye. Doctors have found they canstimulate, depress, excite or calm their patients throughthe use of colour. And one of the most successful forms oftreatment for mental health issues is the encouragementof all types of creative art. It’s the basic ingredient inThe great Rosicrucian apologist Robert Fludd(1574-1637) made mechanical toys, such as a selfplayinglyre and a wooden bull that bellowed.occupational therapy.In industry too, they’ve discovered how to reduceeye strain and fatigue and even certain types of accidentsthrough the scientific application of coordinated colours.Today, the camera has replaced the artist in the illustrationof medical texts, but the application of art as a healing aid isreceiving even greater attention. The doctor who once usedart to help his study is now advising his patients to study art.Modern science, rather than widening the gulfbetween them is, instead, drawing the two mediumscloser together. The study of nature and man, Art andMedicine, will always remain inseparable parts of ahomogeneous whole. And someday, the picture ofhealth will be recognised by all as the finest expression ofbeauty on Earth.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 201243

Roland Northoverm I THIS FLESH, these bones, this blood, thisouter shell? Or the encasement, something that Iwear? Am I this thing that walks, that talks, that’ssometimes ill, and oftimes active, well, and sometimesstill?Am I the riot of emotion’s fickle flame, fanned byeventful wind wherever it may blow? Or sport of fear,harbinger of greed or gain, am I my mind, the thoughtsI think…, my brain?If I…, the real I, am these…, ‘tis surely strange that Ican manage if I will, to still, their vagaries and do to themjust what I will…, arrange their fatefulness…, decide theirgood or ill.The answer’s clear, I’m none of these, theseservants of my Self, but their own Master when I chooseto send them on my errands…, and see that to myselfthey bend and that they fulfil my will, my purposeand my end.Who is this Super Self, this Will, this Master Man?Is he alone or is he patterned chequer in a Plan? Theanswer’s just the same to these three questions …, for ‘tisLivingness of God, encased in man, I am. I’m that…, God’sLivingness…., a priceless gift enwrapped, in threefold shellof body, emotions and mind.But none of these, though son of humankind, andfreed from their entanglement when Charon’s kindlyhand returns the gift from whence it came…, and whereGod is…, I AM.A Humble Hedge-Cutterftimes HAVE I paused to listen to the songsof the birds waking to the first golden rays of thegolden dawn. Listened too to the scuffling inthe tattered remnants of last Autumn’s carpet of leaves asthe new life emerged to take its place in the vibrant buzzand hum of hope.On one side a baby squirrel, on the other young rabbitsscampering hither and thither in joyful appreciation ofLife’s great gift.On such days it would seem that the very cloudshave life of their own. The air is filled with sound, almostinaudible chirping at first from the early risers, then,gradually building into the melody of the dawn chorus.When the golden globe ascends above the horizonall is transformed into The New Day.Then I give thanks that I have risen with the earliestof Nature’s risers and have enjoyed the tranquillity of thebirth of this new day.44The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012

Unity inDiversityThe next EuropeanConvention will beheld from 7 th to the9 th June 2013 in The Hague.The Convention theme is'Unity in Diversity' and anumber of Rosicrucians willexplore this theme. Furtherdetails will follow in monthsto come. For those of youwho remember the Rosicrucian European Convention in Barcelona a fewyears back, you will recall what a beautifully arranged event it was.For all who live in Europe, please make a point of attending thisexclusive Rosicrucian event. Conventions involving many hundreds ofmembers, possibly in excess of a thousand this time, are very special times7 - 9 June 2013Visit the Dutch Grand Lodgewebsite: www.amorc.nland select English as yourlanguage of choice.of reinforcement of the bonds that unite Rosicrucians of many different backgrounds and cultures, andespecially so in Europe with its wealth of different languages and customs. For members living much furtherafield, as your travel costs will be an important factor, please prepare well in advance, and start planning now.Attendance Fee: €35Visit the Dutch Grand Lodgewebsite: www.amorc.nland select English as yourlanguage of choice.Speakers will include:-‣ Lynne McTaggart‣ Tom McFarlane‣ Marja de Vries‣ Michel Bénot.The Dutch Grand Lodge is hosting a one-day seminar at which internationally renowned speakersin the realm of spiritual authorship will be doing presentations on aspects of spirituality as related toscience. If you can make it to this very special public event, why not combine it with a few days ofsight-seeing in Holland. The main tourist season will be over, and it may be a very pleasant time to take in themany beautiful sights of the country.The Rosicrucian Beacon -- September 2012