Compiled by Barbara Shuler

Mark Shuler, Eclipse Photographer

Mark Shuler, a resident of Monterey, California, is a 27-year-old photographer with a keen interest in astronomy and a passion for solar eclipses. He viewed his first eclipse on February 26, 1979 in the state of Washington. "At that moment, " he said, I became hooked on eclipses. " After the Washington eclipse he came home to make preparations for the next total eclipse which was to take place on the other side of the is world in India. He and a friend made at detailed calculations, studying the eclipse path for a precise point to locate for maximum viewing potential. Special photographic equipment was purchased and several "dry-run" rehearsals were organized to test the operation of various cameras and tape machines to be used in recording the event. The elaborate preparations paid off. The expedition went smoothly and Mark was able to bring back a breathtaking chronicle of the first solar eclipse of the decade. He is now projecting a series of photographic adventures to different parts of the world to capture on film the great eclipses of this century or, as it is called by some, the solar age.

A dark shadow slowly moves over the sun until only a narrow crescent is left to behold. Little specks of light remain for a few seconds. And suddenly -darkness! Then, a pearly white corona, the halo of our sun, burst into view. An eerie stillness pervades. All is held captive by the awesome spectacle in the sky. The sun and moon have wedded for a few breathless moments and nature reverently responds to their union.

What can be more inspiring to our inner and outer vision than this grand marriage of our own sun and moon, called in this age a total solar eclipse? It is a wonder of evolution that affects all nature. Throughout the ages men have stood transfixed by the unearthly light shining forth in those few minutes of totality when the moon's disc exactly covers the solar orb. And we ourselves are brought closer to the very portals of the great mysteries in its presence.

Myth and History

As wondrous rarities, eclipses have inspired many different explanations and interpretations. A classical Chinese text, Chou King, is considered to contain the earliest record of a solar eclipse. Historians pinpoint the date as October 22, 2134 B.C., when "the sun and moon did not meet harmoniously." The Chinese leved that a monstrous dragon ed to consume the sun periodically. It was the duty of the court astronomers to predict the dragon's habits and to warn the emperor when the event was about to occur. At that time, a great commotion was produced (noise, beating of drums, arrows shot into the sky) to frighten the dragon away and restore sunlight, On this date, the two royal astonomers, Hsi and Ho, failed to predict the eclipse (allegedly because they had been drinking and carousing instead) and the dragon began to devour the sun before the noise makers could be assembled. The Emperor was furious and, even though the sun returned anyway, he ordered Hsi and Ho beheaded.

Most of the Indians of the Americas worshipped the sun as the central deity in their universe. He was visualized in human form, his face a golden disc emanating rays. Solar eclipses were portents of the sun deity's anger requiring prayers and human sacrifice.

In Japanese lore, the sun is perceived as the goddess Amateratsu. Amateratsu was terrifed one day by wicked brother, Sunasoo, and hid in a rocky cave of heaven closing the entrance with a boulder. The world was temporarily plunged into darkness and, for a while, the evil Sunasoo had his way.

The natives of Zambezi tell a story of the pale moon who jealously stole the fiery feathers of the sun while he was looking at the other side of the earth. The angry sun splashed the moon with mud which stuck on eternally. The avenging moon waits to catch the sun off guard and once in a while returns the insult of a mud splash. The sun then is covered with large spots and cannot shine fully for hours causing darkness to come into the hearts of men and animals who love his light.

Not all interpretations of eclipse are ominous, however. In several cultures, Tahiti, for example, stories of marriage and lovemaking of the sun and moon are given as explanations for the mysterious darkening of the day. The Eskimos, Aleuts and Tlingets of Northern America believe that an eclipse reveals divine providence. The sun and moon leave their places in the sky and check to see that all is in order on the earth.

The heavenly merging of the sun has occurred with the regularity of a giant cosmic clock since the commencement of the present alignment of our planetary body. Snatches of history reveal that this celestial timepiece has periodically played a more immediate role in directing the course of human affairs. The earliest record, as mentioned above, centered around the unusual destinies of Hsi and Ho, the Chinese astronomers.

On, another occasion, the Lydians and the Medes were locked in a struggle in Asia Minor. In the sixth year of battle on May 28, 586 B.C. a solar eclipse occurred (which, unbeknownst to the armies, had been predicted by Thales, a Greek mathematician). The event was reported by Herodotus, the historian: "... day was on a sudden turned into night ... the Medes and the Lydians, when they observed the change, stopped fighting and were alike anxious to have terms agreed on." The sight of the eclipse had shaken both armies and they stopped fighting at once, saving thousands of lives. They agreed to a peace treaty and cemented a bond with a double marriage.

Charlemagne's son, Emperor Louis the Pious, was so overcome by the impact of a total eclipse he witnessed on May 5, 840. that he died shortly thereafter, having been literally frightened to death. The fighting for his throne ended three years later with the historic Treaty of Verdun which divided Europe into three major areas we know today as France, Germany and Italy.

Pope Benedict IX narrowly missed death at the hands of assassins in 1032 A.D. when, wrote Raoul Glaber in 1824, "about the sixth hour of the day there occurred an eclipse of the sun which lasted until the eighth hour. All faces were as pale as death, and everything that could be seen was suffused with the colors of yellow and saffron. . ." In the confusion, the assassins hesitated and the Pope fled to safety.

During the solar eclipse of 1764 a chestnut foal was born on the estate of the Duke of Cumberland in England. The colt was named, appropriately, Eclipse. He was destined to become the greatest racehorse in history. One observer at the time is quoted as saying, " He was never beat, never had a whip flourished over him, never felt the tickling of a spur, nor was he ever for a moment distressed by the speed or rate of a competitor - outfooting, outstriding and outlasting every horse which started against him." The invincible Eclipse made fortunes for many, retiring to stud after winning 26 consecutive races.

Tenskwatawa, a Shawnee Indian and self-proclaimed prophet, tried to unite the Indian tribes east of the Mississippi against the white settlers. Accepting the challenge of the governor of the territory of Indiana, Tenskwatawa sought to prove his supernatural powers by predicting that on June 16, 1806 he would cause the sun to disappear and darken the earth. The eclipse came as predicted and his powers were celebrated.

Modern research into ancient history suggests that although there were great superstitions and wild imaginings connected with solar eclipses, accurate observations of the cycles of eclipses were being made as early as 3000 B.C. Astronomers in Babylonia and Assyria discovered eclipses tend to repeat themselves every 18 years, although they occur at different places on the globe. They called this cycle the saros and it is used to this day to make predictions. (Curiously, although it is certain that the Egyptians paid close attention to the heavens, it has been stated that no one has found a single reference to an eclipse in all of Egyptian history. It has been conjectured that the vision of totality has been preserved in symbolic form. Bryan Brewer, in a recently published book entitled Eclipse, notes that the corona of the sun during certain eclipses resembles the well-known winged globe of Egypt which appears over the pylons or gates to many temples and tombs. This winged symbol is also emblematic of the three personas of the Egyptian trinity: Osiris, Isis and Horus. This parallels the alchemical triad, Sol, Luna and Mercurius. The marriage of Isis and Osiris or Sol and Luna is expressed in the darkness of totality of the eclipse of the sun. This is called the blackness or "nigredo" by the alchemists. From this blackness is born a new vision of the nature of the sun, or, symbolically, a "seeing" of the truth, represented by Horus and Mercurius as the offspring of the union of the two bodies. For thc Egyptian, then, the mysterious transformation of the sun during an eclipse may have been the most exalted and sacred moment for the solar deity which they so ardently worshipped.

Gerald Hawkins, a modern researcher into the enigma of Stonehenge, revcals that the most likely purpose behind the stones and markers that puzzled historians for so long was to predict eclipses. In Stonehenge Decoded, Hawkins views Stonehenge as a working model of the sun-moon-carth system. The sun, the moon and the lunar nodes, each represented by markers, revolve around the earth located in the center. When the markers coincided, an eclipse would take place. It is interesting to note that a recently constructed replica of Stonehenge was a dramatic sight in North America for the eclipse that took place on February 26, 1979.

A Theory about the Evolutionary Implications of Solar Eclipses for the Planet

In The Theory of Celestial Influence - Man, the Universe, and Cosmic Mystery, Rodney Collin shares some provocative insights with his readers about the nature and purpose of total solar eclipses. He begins by observing that if our moon were a few hundred miles larger or smaller or a few thousand miles nearer or further away, the coincidence of the lunar disc fitting exactly over the solar orb at regular intervals could not occur. "Out of all the immense range of size and distance apparently possible for a satellite, this particular point has been chosen," he says. "Clearly such a combination of size and distance must represent some meaning, a focus in some field of unseen force."

Collin postulates that one function of the moon is to alter the constant influence of the sun so that it interrupts the flow of the solar current to the earth in a regular pattern. The principle, he says, is similar to that used in an electric buzzer which utilizes a magnet and a spring to make and break a steady current, producing a mechanical oscillation which we hear as sound. The sequence of these "cut-outs" of solar current is the very regular "saros". Within the 18-year, 11-day saros period, 28 total eclipses are observed somewhere on the globe. Solar radiation, then, is interrupted by the moon at a rate equivalent to a frequency of 4 kilo cycles, if one takes 80 years of the sun's time to correspond to one thirtieth of a second in the time of man. The moon's effect is to produce pulses of high-frequency current. Ac cording to Collin, one of the results of the moon's creation of a high frequency effect may be to "keep the transformed solar energy flowing along the surface of the earth in time, that is, flowing through that part of earth which is covered by the world of nature and organic life." This interaction of the sun and moon which produces what we know as solar eclipses, then, may have played and will continue to play a vital role m sustaining organic life on earth. It is easy to understand, in the light of this theory, how one might well surmise the existence of an unseen hand guiding the bodies of our solar system into a careful alignment to create ideal environments for the evolution of life.

The full implications of these questions about the meaning of the merging of the sun and moon are far beyond us. We know that since the dawn of human consciousness men has sought to understand the purpose and promise behind the spell-binding dark disc which glows with allurement of a great celestial veil ... and we know that in the future, priests, scholars, scientists, poets, warriors and adventurers will continue to strive to penetrate the mystery behind the veil of the wondrous marriage of the sun and moon.

Bibliography

Brewer, Bryan, Eclipse, Earthview, Seattle, Washington, 1978
Collin, Rodney, The Theory of Celestial Influence, Samuel Weiser, New York, 1975
Hawkins, Gerald S., Stonehenge Decoded, Doubleday, 197.5
Jung, C. G., Mysterium Coniunctionis, An Inquiry and Synthesis of Psychic Opposites, Bollingen Series, Princeton UniPress. 1977 Palmer, The Secret Teachings of All Ages Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles
Science Today; "When the Sun Goes Out,"
M. K. V. Bappu: Eclipses in Mythology," Maithili Rao, February, 1980, Vol. 14, No. 2, Bombay
Wallace, Irving and Wallechinsky, David, The Book of Lists #2, " 10 Eclipses that Affected Human Lives," William Morrow and Co., New York. 1980.

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The Analytical Technique Applied to the Water Work

A Modern Approach

Joseph C. Lisiewski Jr.

In addition to the artful gleanings which the Alchemical experimentalist has learned to appreciate, the analytical nature of this Science must also be carefully kept in view in order to fully understand the processes and various manipulative operations which underlie this pursuit. It is essential then, that the modern student pose to every operation the questions:

1. What is to be accomplished in terms of a practical end result?
2. What common factors involved in the experiment can be more efficiently reproduced by modern means?

Of course, the understanding of the theory behind any given operation is a prelude to the above.

As an example of this approach, assume the student is engaged in the production of a functional, permanent Herbal Stone. If he chose to proceed according to the process laid down in Circulatum Urbigerus,¹ he would find the first requirement is that of obtaining a sulphureous medium with which to imbibe the salts. Further, it would be apparent that a large quantity of menstruum, greatly reduced in concentration, would result. This in turn would require extended periods of imbibition of the salts in order to bring about the desired effect. Conversely, through the application of the analytical technique, he would find that through Soxhlet extraction, a highly concentrated sulphureous medium would be obtained, not only in a relatively short period of time, but due to its increased concentration would decrease the time neces. sary for imbibition of the salts in order to bring about their saturation.

Hence, the knowledge of the theory of each operation, coupled with the application of analysis, can go far toward the effective utilization of hme, while increasing the probability of successful completion.

The analytical technique applied to the water work theory

In the Golden Chain of Homer it states:
Take a quantity of dew, rain, snow or hail which you like; but the most expeditious way is if you can take rain water from a thunder shower, receive it into clean glazed vessels, and filter it, in order to separate the dirt from it which intermixes from the roofs of houses, and you will, after filtration, have a Clear, Crystalline water, of no particular taste, in fact a fine clear water, fit to be used like any other fine water. Place this collected water in a warm garret, where neither the sun nor moon can shine upon it, cover the vessels with a linen cloth, to prevent the dust from getting into it.

Let it stand a Month unmoved, and if the place is warm enough, you will by this time perceive an alteration in the water, because this water begins by the power of the implanted spirit to grow warm although imperceptibly and to break. It begins to ferment and Putrefy and acquires a bad smell, and you will observe that it becomes turbid, although it was perfectly clear at first, and a brown spongy earth ascends swimming at the Top, which increases daily and from its weight falls to the bottom.

Here you see a separation, occasioned by the ingrafted spirit of the gross from the subtle. The separated earth is brown, spongy or like wool, slimy and slippery and this slimy earth is the Universal Gur of Nature.²

This Gur, or pre-adamic earth the base material from which the Kingdoms of Nature (i.e., the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal) are created.³

Now, the enterprising student who has attended the classes of Alchemical Instruction at the former Paracelsus Research Society (now, the Paracelsus College, Utah Institute of Parachemistry) and desires to reproduce this experiment encounters difficulty when comparing the technique as given in the Golden Chain Homer with the oral instructions delivered at the former Paracelsus Research Society. Specifically, students have been orally instructed to collect rain water during a violent electrical thunderstorm, but to do so in such a manner that the water so collected does not come into contact with a building, or the ground, in order to preserve the water's electrical charge. Yet, the Golden Chain of Homer instructs that the water be filtered to remove the dirt which intermixed with it from the roofs of houses. However, by applying the analytical technique, we shall see that the modern oral instructions have their basis in modern day considerations, and as such, are correct. Hence, using our analytical technique we approach the problem in following manner: We know from the title page of the present edition that the Golden Chain of Homer was first published in Frankfurt and Leipzig in 1723. If we consider the structure of the dwellings of that period, we find they were composed of wood, brick, clay and straw, all of which are excellent insulating materials. In addition, we know that electricity was not yet harnessed, and therefore no electrical wiring existed in the dwellings. Hence, water collected from such structures retained its electrical charge, and was suitable for this experiment; in that time period.

Today, however, modern construction techniques not only employ electrical wiring for buildings, but grounded electrical connections which earth electrical charges. Rainpipes also are found possessing the same grounding principle, thus directing even minute electrical charges to ground. As a consequence, rainwater collected from buildings in this present day would lack the critical electrical charge component. It is therefore of fundamental importance that rainwater collected for the experiment of the generation of the 3 Kingdoms through Gur production be collected in vessels completely insulated from any ground connection so as to enable the water to retain its electrical charge.

Our second point of consideration is the purity of the atmosphere at the time when the water is collected, since the air should be as clean and clear as possible.⁴ Once again we must analyze the prevailing circumstances of the time in order to comply with the principles involved. If we consider the date of 1723, the date of the first publication of the Golden Chain of Homer, we find a world largely free of atmospheric contamination. In contrast, our own age is just the opposite: high levels of pollution in our environment have given rise to corresponding protection agencies aimed at rectifying these conditions. In relation to this, we have to consider the phenomena of acid rain. This is a form of atmospheric pollution resulting from high sulphur burning coal. Specifically, it contaminates rainwater during precipitation, such that the rainwater subsequently received is impure. Therefore, a sample of the collected rainwater should first be filtered and then distilled. If a murky, reddish brown substance remains in the distillation flask, the presence of acid rain can be suspected, requiring all the rainwater to be distilled prior to putrefaction. In this way, a contaminant free Gur can be assured.

Finally, we have to consider the phenomenon of lightning in order to understand more fully its role in the process. We know that lightning is an electrostatic phenomenon consisting of electrical discharge between adjacent clouds or between clouds and ground.⁵ And while the physics of lightning and its effects on rainwater are complex, the general consensus of alchemical theory on the subject requires its effects in order to produce a Gur which can be used to generate the 3 Kingdoms. Thus, if acid rain is detected requiring distillation prior to putrefaction, then high speed water distillers are called for which, due to their metallic construction and grounded electrical features, will negate the electrical charge. When such is found to be the case, or if it is desired to increase the electrical component of the water, then the phenomenon of lightning must be simulated. Such simulation can be achieved through the use of a Van de Graaff generator. This is an electrostatic device which produces high voltage electrical power through the interaction of electric fields, and is easily adaptable to electrifying water.

Experimental procedure

I. Component preparation

Using our analysis thus far we have seen that it is necessary that the rainwater used for the generation of the 3 Kingdoms be collected directly from the sky. Further, due to atmospheric pollution, acid which can exist in the collected rainwater must be removed through distillation in order to achieve a contaminant-free Gur. Finally, when modern high speed water distillation techniques are used, negation of the water's electrical charge component can result. However, through electrostatic electrification as produced by a Van de Graaff, the charge can be replaced. In order to comply with this criteria, the following methods and procedures were used:

A. Water Collection - Polyethylene sheeting available from most department and hardware stores can be used to construct a receiving vessel. The author used a section 12'x 100'(feet) suspended between wooden slats to construct a 1200-square-foot receptacle. During a violent electrical thunderstorm lasting only 45 minutes, 125 gallons of rainwater was collected.

B. Purification - The rainwater was checked for acid contamination by distilling a 500 ml. sample in a conventional distillation train. While the distillate was clear, the residue remaining in the distillation flask was murky, and reddish in color. Subsequent analysis by chromatographic techniques showed the presence of nitrates, sulphates, and a mixture of generally acidic components, thus establishing the presence of acid rain. Quantitative analysis showed concentrations as high as 0.05 grams per liter, a relatively high concentration which would adversely affect the purity of the Gur. Hence, the entire 125 gallons of rainwater were distilled using a high-speed steam distiller, which produced 11 gallons of distilled water per 24 hour period. In less than 12 days, the entire quantity of water was distilled, thereby eliminating the prohibitively long and tedious process encountered with conventional distillation trains.

C. Electrification - As previously mentioned, the use of typical highspeed steam distillers can result in the negation of the electrical charge component of the water. The charge can be reintroduced through electrostatic electrification as produced by a Van de Graaff (in the absence of acid rain where prior distillation is not required, this technique can be used to strengthen the water's existing charge). The author used a 500,000 volt at 50 microampere unit to electrify the water over a 12-hour period. This was accomplished by connecting a platinum electrode from the charged sphere of the Van de Graaff generator directly to the water. In this way, a concentrated simulation of lightning phenomena results in a highly charged water medium. Such Van de Graaff generators can be purchased in kit form from scientific supply houses for $100 to $200.

D. Gur production 123 gallons of the distilled, and electrified rainwater was placed in 10 plastic food grade containers, each with a capacity of 15 gallons. Two controls were also established, as follows:

Control 1 - 10 gallons of rainwater collected from the roof of a house. This was filtered, but not electrified.

Control 2 - 10 gallons of rainwater collected from the roof. It was filtered and electrified as previously described.

All containers were covered with a finely porous percale material and set aside in a dark place at 75-80^oF. for 90 days in order to putrefy.

At the end of 90 days, the containers were opened and the results analyzed. The 10 containers which had been distilled and electrified showed a 28% per container higher yield of Gur when compared to Control 2, and a 41% higher yield per container when compared to Control 1. In addition the Gur obtained through distilla ion and electrification had a much deeper reddish color to it, as well as a highly repetitive matrix structure. The Gur from Controls 1 & 2 lacked these properties.

Finally the Gur obtained from Controls 1 & 2 showed the presence of acidic components when analyzed by chromatographic techniques, thus establishing the carry through of the acids to the Gur formation.

Conclusion
It has been shown that through distillation, acidic components present in rainwater should be eliminated prior to putrefaction in order to obtain a pure Gur. Further, electrostatic electrification of this distilled rainwater prior to putrefaction not only results in a higher yield of Gur, but in a highly ordered structural arrangement of the substance.

It is up to the enterprising expermentalist to establish the relevancy of these techniques in his own generation of the 3 Kingdoms.

References

1. B. Urbigerus, Circulatum Urbigerus, 1690, Para Publishing Co., Salt Lake City, Utah, 1973, pp. 36-37.
2. H. Nintzel, Compiler, The Golden Chain of Homer: Restoration of Alchemical Manuscripts Society, Richardson, Texas, 1978, pp.35-36.
3. Paracelsus Research Society, Parachemy, Vol V, No. 2 p.429; 1977.
4. Ibid.
5. "Lightning" Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th. ed., Vol. X, pp. 966-968.

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A HighTemperature Kiln Using Propane Gas

or A Yellow Golden Glass without Borax

Ditmar Dan Dullies

There are many ways in which antimony may be vitrified. Basil Valentine advises the best way of preparing glass of antimony is without addition of any fluxing agents. This glass is endowed with the greatest virtue and power which it manifests after its further preparation.

To attain a yellow glass of antimony trioxide (Sb₂0₃) without the addition of any fluxing agent (e.g., borax), a higher temperature is required than if antimony fume is used.

The problem nowadays exists in finding a heat source that is inexpensive, yet delivers a temperature high enough (1200-1500^oC) to come up with the desired results.

Many experiments with different gas burners and electric kilns were carried out to make a yellow glass from antimony trioxide, but the level of maturity attained was always unsatisfactory (biscuity appearance).

Finally, a used pottery kiln made from asbestos cement was converted (see diagram) by drilling two 6 cm. holes (inlet for gas burner) and a 6 cm. outlet hole on the opposite side. The gas torch (5 cm. diameter) was operated with propane gas. In the beginning of the experiments the antimony trioxide turned into regulus within 20 minutes. It seemed that insufficient oxygen reached the furnace chamber. Better results were obtained by placing the gas torch 5 cm. outside the inlet hole (more oxygen was drawn into the furnace), but best results were achieved by leaving the furnace door open: a golden yellow glass was attained within 30 minutes.

By using Morgan refractory fireclay crucibles it is possible that moisture is trapped in the porous material. To prevent cracking it is very important to preheat the fireclay crucible gradually to a red heat before filling it with the material per se.

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Inquiry

INQUIRY welcomes your questions, particularly those pertaining to parachemical research, and will direct them to Frater Albertus (Dr. Albert Riedel) for his comment on the subject that is of particular interest to you.

Q. Is each soul created to develop specific talents - such as one being artistically inclined through most lives, or do we express a multitude of talents to become more complete? In other words, as part of the One Universal Soul, does each soul from the beginning express a particular individuality by way of talents or purpose?

A. The evolvement of a soul, as a segment of the Allsoul, Oversoul, The Only One, etc., is in itself of perfect origin, similar to a child who of, let us say, perfect parents is in itself perfect. The physical aspect under proper circumstances may develop to perfect maturity. The soul or consciousness will have to evolve, however, like that of a child until it has reached a similar level to its progenitors, or even beyond. This is also why man is called a child of God. Various talents up to genius are attributes of soul evolvements in given spheres at given times, such as incarnations, until a state of perfection is reached again within the sphere of one's prevailing state of being. Artistic, scientific and other conscious attributes are but an outcome of such development and evolution. It can hardly be conceived that an evolving soul has a predestined outline to be forever an artist or scientist as this would make an improperly evolving soul. All facets of evolution have to be considered in soul evolvement.

Q. If the solar chart represents the evolving persona, how can one determine the true "soul" chart, which would represent our particular birth as a soul from the One Soul?

A. A solar chart pertains to our solar system as the name indicates. Soul is antedating our limited astrological concept and therefore cannot give us a particular true solar birth chart.

Q. Since the axiom "as above so below" applies, what is the significance to voluntary sterilization as far as a mental correspondence?

A. Voluntary sterilization is a strictly physical process that can and does have mental repercussions according to one's thought pattern. Where in this case "as above so below" enters in is not clear.

Q. Please comment about cloning as far as the parachemical process is concerned. What of the soul in this process?

A. Cloning refers to cellular structures in conformity with the laws of heredity. A soul cannot be cloned as there is no duplicate of a soul to be had, structurally or otherwise.

Q. When we have a physical ailment can we also assume that it has its origin mentally? In other words, a kidney problem indicating a disturbance in physical elimination would have its origin in problems with mental elimination, or a heart disorder could have its root in the corresponding mental imbalance - the love of nature, etc?

A. Yes. One can assume that physical ailments have a counter effect on the mentality just as the mental anguish shows its physical effects. As to which has the priority one can query: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This does not alter the fact that both the chicken and the egg are with us.

Q. There is a great deal of talk among those health oriented persons regarding the detrimental effects of white sugar. Would you please comment on this from your point of view as a Parachemist?

A. White sugar as a pure carbohydrate has as much a place in health as other sugars of which there are many forms such as sucrose, dextrose, maltose, etc. I have seen health oriented people violently opposed to the use of white sugar and other refined products, producing inside and outside their bodies abnormalities that were otherwise attributed to the use of white sugar. Unfortunately, too many people are throwing everything into one pot and have not yet learned to separate where it becomes necessary. Just remember the unscientific old time saying: "One man's food may become another man's poison."

Q. You have indicated in your classes that we can get the vitamins we need from food, and that what we are really trying to get out of the food is the spirit. However, specific vitamins are known to perform specific functions in the body and doses of them are helpful in cases of deficiency. Most of us do not get what is needed from our diets, so in this case wouldn't vitamin supplements be helpful?

A. Any vital substance (vitamin) a body is deficient in needs to be corrected. The manner of correction is also of importance. So-called vitamin supplements are to be found in different and additional food stuff than those which are insufficient in the daily needed vital requirements. It is safe to say that there are some vitamin supplements that do anything but supply vital energetic substances, aside from being stimulants.

Q. At present there is much investigation of the planet Saturn. We are finding out about the physical properties, taking new photographs, and have even learned about the various moons. Why is this happening now, and what is the esoteric implication?

A. Saturn has been in the heavens for no one knows how long. The esoteric implications are the same now as they have been according to the recipient's attunement. Why is this happening now? Because no one did it to our knowledge before, as it is done now, sending mechanical instruments millions of miles into space to record the data presently available.

Q. Can the salt of tartar absorb and accumulate the energy found in spirit of wine by the proper manipulations?

A. Not only in the spirit of wine but also from the air.

Q. Can this energy absorbed by the salt of tartar be transferred to heighten energy of herbal tinctures? How?

A. By immersing an herb into liquified salt of tartar (potassium carbonate) when the moisture has been absorbed directly from the air.

Q. Can this energy be transferred to fresh highly rectified spirit of wine to increase its potential as a menstruum?

A. Yes, by pouring the absolute alcohol over such liquified salt of tartar. The alcohol will become a tincture as it extracts the essence of the tartar. By rectification an energized menstruum may be obtained.

Q. Would this process be similar to that of Kerkringus' menstruum?

A. By analogy, yes.

Q. Since vegetation is a restructuring of the earth directed by a seed in a particular way, is the same also true in the animal kingdom? Is mankind justly called the salt of the earth?

A. All terrestrial restructuring takes place by seed. This includes all three kingdoms of nature. If by salt, the alchemistical interpretation, body is used, then mankind collectively can be called the body or salt of the earth as an analogy.

Q. Would you explain the medicinal natures of a fixed and unfixed tincture?

A. A fixed tincture is used in chronic (fixed) diseases whereas an unfixed tincture is used in ailments which are not chronic. Basilius Valentinus in his Triumphal Chariot of Antimony gives explicit information regarding the preparation and admin istration of the fixed and unfixed tinctures of antimony that are appli cable also in the plant and animal kingdoms.

Q. Is there any chemical analysis being carried on today in regard to the medicinal value of antimony?

A. Dr. David Schein, M.D., Ph.D., of the Paracelsus College has undertaken such analysis in his published work on antimony. His work, published in the German language, has been translated into English and will be published soon.

Q. There is speculation that children are more conscious at an early age because they are more recently here and therefore more receptive to either influences from the other side or also from a higher level. Is this true? Could there also be a physical reason for this in that a young body would not be as polluted and therefore more able to receive the fullness of the spirit?

A. This could be because a child is more receptive to impressions because of its limited ability to relate thern to present occurences by way of reasoning. The latter part of the question is doubtful as a child may inherit a polluted body because of the parents intake of pollutants transferred through the blood of the another to the body of the child.

Q. Please explain about the original 144 as listed in the early Alchemical Laboratory Bulletins. Does this still apply and will this number represent the core of Tristar? Of the original names what of those who have dropped out or have passed over - are they replaced? What of others who have entered since that original printing?

A. The 144 names given were, the core or nucleus when the then PRS appeared in the open. Some of them were called. Out of those some were chosen and from the chosen, some were set aside to become conscious assistants. There will be a constant evolution going on among those whose names are now on the unpublished list of individual names to eventually fill that number.

When the Tristar Foundation is operating eventually in its full capacity, the administrative staff then will consist of the 144 gathered out the world to be just such a nucleus that in turn can be split like an atom to regenerate itself by bringing forth another 144 where "the beacon of light uplifted" will shine forth on other continents.

Q. What is the significance of number 144?

A. As to the number 144 it totals nine. Nine is the end of all numerical integers. No higher number is available. Out of the One come all other numerical values, which show by the four elemental qualities, the dual polarity, in this case, as matter and antimatter - the visible revealing the invisible.

The first one plus four gives the quintessence inherent within the four but not one of the four, as the intangible reveals by its four cardinal virtues on the exterior, the sum total of achievement.

Q. What about the students who been coming to the Paracelsus College Research Society year after but still do not get directly involved. Are they conscious assistants?

A. This depends upon a student's conscious attitude. In practically all cases a preparatory contact is necessary so one may be prepared when this conscious awakening takes place to become directly involved. There are cases known at present where ten or more years were needed by some to become conscious of the essentials in this work. Others did so at an earlier time interval while others even after decades have yet come to such a realization. There is more to all of this than appears just on the surface to the casual or sensation-hungry inquirer.

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Know the Old to Understand the New

Gold Chemistry Today

R. J. Puddephatt

Why is there so much said about gold in these days when other issues are of an even more pressing nature? Why gold? Why not platinum and other rare metals and minerals? One has to go way back in history to find its origin and may be confronted with a surprise because, besides the endurance, lustre and comparative rarity of gold, its real value was bestowed upon its inherent virtues. What would these be? It is an old established alchemistical concept that gold contains the perfect essence formerly as potable gold. That means gold in a liquid form. This in itself is no chemical problem as gold can be brought into a solution. Such solutions, however, are brought about by corrosive acids and therefore are not potable. Since those who claimed formerly to know how to extract an essence from gold in form of a tincture that was drinkable without any of the poisonous gold salts in solution, question remains as to what kind of will accomplish such a feat.

It is a well-known fact that salts of gold are administered to patients. These are, however, poisonous salts and are in the form of gold chlorides in minute doses.

The last few decades have shown an astounding interest in gold as a medicinal agent. Since the salts of gold are known, one may question, and rightfully so: What other alternatives are there that could give more information about the medicinal values of gold! It is here that one has to know the old to understand the new. When the following investigations are studied it will not be difficult to find that the real quest has not found its answer in present research and has most likely its answer in alchemical knowledge of those initiated into the secrets of nature that may require a turnabout into the past to appreciate the new.
-Frater Albertus

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