* WEDDING OF THE WORLDS *
"What use are torches, light or eyeglasses, if people will not see?"
- Heinrich Khunrath
Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae, 1602
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This exercise is from my course "The Tree of Stars: A Seminar on the Alchemical Tradition", offered most recently at the University of British Columbia, May 2001. Unless you have a background in esoteric studies, it will strike you as rather obscure and mystifying. That's fine. If it has any validity, the part of you the exercise communicates with already understands it. So why not carry on? See what happens. You are invited to a wedding.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arrange your body so that it is comfortable. Take a few deep breaths, gently allowing the body to relax. Close your eyes if you like; and imagine that you find yourself on a terrace by an ancient, vine-entwined castle. It is dusk. On the terrace is a fountain, and a garden, and flames dance in basins set about. Beyond the battlements surrounding the terrace and castle you can see rolling countryside - vineyards, groves, stones. On the eastern horizon a full moon blooms, wreathed in silver; to the west, a garnet sunset. Faint music echoes from somewhere inside the castle. You enter by a great door and wander the halls, alone. Pass through an arch into a large, well-lit, windowless room that is perfectly square. One wall is covered by a tapestry or painting of this image:
- from Musaeum Hermeticum, 1625
Imagine that the picture is not just an inanimate object, but a living being of immense age. Sense the presence behind the image. Express greetings, and curiosity. Examine the details of the picture. Note that much of this image has a geometric structure.
First, explore the circles. There is a large circle, within which is written this text: Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem. Be intrigued by the suggestiveness of these words, even if you do not understand them. Wonder what they mean.
Arranged inside the rim of the large circle are seven smaller circles, each containing a scene. Examine each in turn, wondering. Clockwise from the bottom left: a bird perches on a skull; a bird views a dead bird lying on the ground; two flying birds grasp the dead bird; the flying birds elevate a crown; two birds rest in a leafy tree; a unicorn kneels by a rosebush; a woman emerges from an open grave.
At the centre of the image is a smaller circle containing a man’s head. Sense the presence behind the face.
Now notice the triangles. As if eclipsed by the large circle, the points of a large inverted triangle can be seen. The bottom point depicts a cube with five stars, and the word Corpus. The upper left point shows a sun, and Anima. In the upper right is a moon, and Spiritus.
Surrounding the central head are seven long triangles forming a seven-pointed star. Examine the numbers and symbols in these areas. Clockwise from bottom: 1, and the symbol of Saturn; 2, Jupiter; 3, Mars; 4, Sun; 5, Venus; 6, Mercury; 7, Moon. Wonder what it means.
A small triangle is visible on the head, echoing the large triangle. At the points of this triangle are three symbols: bottom, the symbol of Salt; upper left, Sulphur; upper right, Mercury. Be intrigued. Again, sense the presence behind the face.
Around the edges of the picture, other forms are visible. In the lower left corner is a mound of earth; a fire-breathing dragon looms out of a cave, and a sun-king reclines on a lion. In the upper left corner a lizard bathes in flames. A bird spreads its wings in the upper right corner. In the lower right corner is a sea, and a moon-queen riding a whale or fish. What could these forms mean?
A few more details: To the left of the large circle is a hand holding a candle. Atop the circle is a pair of wings. To the right is a hand displaying an object that might be a feather, or perhaps eyeglasses. Below the circle a foot touches the sea, and another the earth. The hands, feet and head convey that the geometric shapes and the symbols they enclose comprise the man’s body. Sense his presence. Sense him sensing you.
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This picture is a symbol of the place where two worlds meet. From the external world come the sensations of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting, and the feelings of the body in this world. These sensations arise from the contact of the sense organs with Nature, the ultimate source of which is Mystery. From the inner world come thoughts, impulses, emotions, fantasies, dreams. These mental phenomena too are rooted in Nature, which grows from Mystery. Between outer and inner Nature, between Mystery and Mystery – this is the site of the wedding. This picture is a symbol of you, and of what you could be. You are a marriage of worlds.
The alchemist Michael Maier taught that the journey toward the Philosopher’s Stone, the goal of alchemy, requires a four-wheeled chariot. The wheels are: Nature; Reason; Experience; and Matrix.
Nature is the Mystery around us and within us. We must aspire to have a mature relationship with the Presence of Nature. Experience is gained by paying attention to the correct things. Reason is a calm and clear mind that can systematically explore. Matrix is the set of concepts and symbols found in the alchemical tradition. Study of alchemical materials helps to shape the attention into a pattern of wholesome noticing; this study also guides the exploring mind along valuable paths. Hence it acts as a Matrix, a framework for Reason and Experience in their ever-ripening encounter with Nature.You can revisit this special room in the hermetic castle as often as you wish. As you develop the Four Wheels, the image will become more and more meaningful, more and more present. So will you.
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And when you have finished contemplating and wondering, bid the presence in the picture goodbye, and resolve to come again. Then proceed through the arch and the halls and emerge onto the terrace. It is now night, full of stars, and fragrance, and shadow, and fire.
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