CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Three Inner Tools of the Aspiring Alchemist
• Simple Consecration of Tincture as Talismans
• Holy Blood, Holy GrailFixing the Stone
It was previously noted and stressed that for alchemy to be alchemy and not just an odd school of chemistry, the inner aspect must be consciously cultivated, maintained, and strengthened. Despite its inability to explain how the phenomenon works, modern science has demonstrated repeatedly in the laboratory that the attitude, the very intention, of the operator involved affects the outcome of various experiments in the field of particle physics. In The Holographic Universe, Michael Talbot described decades of research into the mindbrain-body connection and coupled it with cutting-edge research in physics. As mentioned in chapter 5, Dr. Bernard Grad at McGill University demonstrated the reality of the interconnectedness of the universe and the impact of emotions and focused thoughts on matter with some salt water, seeds, and potting soil.
From shamanic practices in Siberia to the Egyptian temples, right up to the current day, there has always been a belief in the flexibility of the universe and a belief that with the proper attitude and knowledge, each of us could literally shape destiny. While this belief has been expressed in a variety of practices and traditions, three fundamental tools remain consistent across time and cultures: prayer, ritual, and meditation.
Often seen as separate items, these three tools in combination are the means whereby each of us can enter into heightened states of awareness, knowledge, and well-being. In combination, they are the psychic counterpart to the three essentials of alchemy: meditation is sulphur, or the essence of things; prayer is mercury, or the messenger, the conveyer of ideas and desires; ritual is salt, or the physical action, the connection to physical life and matter. In more practical terms, we can say that in meditation we still our mind to experience a single idea, concept, or emotion or to be open to the influx of knowledge or psychic visions. In prayer, we verbally express our heartfelt desire. This desire can range from material wants and needs to the sublime desire to experience consciousness of the cosmos. In this regard, prayer shares many similarities with auto-suggestion, only the underlying principle is that our words are not limited to our own subconscious but rather are mediated through the subconscious to the collective consciousness, the cosmos, God, or whatever it is that represents the supreme universal power to the petitioner. Ritual takes our desire and expresses it dramatically through an orchestrated use of symbolism, color, sound, rhythm, and scent.
Throughout this book, a variety of meditations have been given to help aspiring alchemists focus their thoughts on a specific idea with the intention of deriving a personally meaningful experiencean experience that will assist them inwardly as well as in their laboratory work.