In ancient times, when a detailed understanding of genetics was not available, the idea of qualities being passed on from generation to generation was seen in the breeding practices of farm animals and humans. To have "good blood" or be from a "blue blood" family was seen as desirable, whereas "weak blood" was used to describe social and physical traits that were seen as undesirable. This in part was a holdover from earlier practices of the caste system, such as was upheld in India until the mid-twentieth century and is still practiced in remote rural areas there. In recent years, this idea of royal blood or genetically enhanced qualities being passed on as a result of spiritual practices is found in the belief that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and their children went on to be the royal heads of Europe, and France in particular. While this is a difficult and tricky historical topic to enter into, each of us can experiment to some degree with the idea that our blood, or personal fixed mercury (salt and mercury combined), is in some way affected by what we do and in turn affects the work. Generally, tests involving an alchemist's blood are for acts of transmutation and, as such, are dangerous, in that they involve metallic mercury. However, tests involving the fixing, or making permanent, of an energetic quality brought on by a plant tincture can be undertaken without any harm.
In general, the effects of plant products peak and begin to wear off after one week. For this reason, they must continually be used or a means of fixing their effects must be found. Fixing can be done in one of two ways: either with mineral salts of gold, such as were listed in the previous chapter, or with a homeopathic dilution of one's own blood. Clearly, for health and ethical reasons, once a tincture is fixed with blood, even a diluted drop, it can only be used by its creator and not shared with anyone else. Tinctures fixed with gold salts, however, can be shared.
The process is simple:
1. Prick your finger to obtain a drop of blood. Squeeze off the first two or three drops and dispose of them properly. Take the third or fourth drop and place it in a small vial containing ten drops of distilled water.
2. Shake vigorously ten times to mix the two fluids.
3. Take one drop of this fluid and mix it with ten drops of distilled water. Shake ten times.
4. Repeat this dilution again, at one drop of blood tincture to distilled water.
5. Finally, take one drop of this final dilution and place it in the tincture you wish to fix.
6. Dispose of the remaining fluids properly.
The advantage to this process is that it can be done anywhere with no special equipment; the disadvantage, of course, is that it makes your tincture available only to yourself. Now, it is important to note that fixing the effects of the tincture does not mean that you should stop ingesting your products, only that it enhances the accumulative quality of them rather than allowing it to dissipate over time. This dissipation or accumulation is also impacted by your spiritual practices and daily habits, as well as your health and hygiene.
• The universe is increasingly being viewed as a sort of "hologram" in which we individually and collectively affect the outcome.
• Emotions affect living organisms and even inanimate matter.
• Scientific research at McGill University demonstrated the effect of emotions on water and their ability to change the growing patterns of seeds.
• Prayer, meditation, and ritual are just as important in alchemy as they are in Qabala and other systems of spirituality.
• There are two methods of meditation and two techniques for charging an Elixir or talisman: passive and active.
• The Christian Mass is considered in its esoteric form to be one of the greatest and simplest examples of operative alchemy and talismanic magic.
• During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, cults of the Mass developed in which there developed among the folk traditions a belief in the profound healing and spiritual powers found in merely witnessing the Mass.
1. If you have not done so already, take the time to draw the geometric figures suggested. Draw them in black and white, and later draw them in their complementary colors.
2. Read several articles in the Encyclopedia of Religion, or in other available reference sources, on the following topics: sympathetic magic, talismans, natural magic, the Mass, and sacred geometry.
1. Undertake the practice of passive and active meditation as detailed in this chapter. You may alternate between the methods, with active in the morning and passive in the evening (or vice versa), if you like.
2. Utilize a short prayer or petition before one of your sessions. Notice if it makes any difference in your experience.
3. Practice short periods of prayer often across the day, even if just for a minute or two. This can be a short, simple affirmation coupled with a single clear symbol or image that you use throughout the day. Try to do this every hour if possible.