The omitted ingredient in the Alchemical formulae left so obscure and obtuse becomes crystallized upon inspection of the Yogic material it is the preparation of the flesh and blood of the living Alchemist performing the procedure. India provides a missing link alluded to but never explicitly explained in the European Alchemical texts, which provides the key to unlocking the true goal of the Magnum Opus. To see all the intricate coils of Alchemy’s serpentine union with humanity, we must include the practices of the East. It can be said that each culture, era and individual Alchemy has passed through expresses a different aspect of its teachings and potentiality, so to omit any one amalgamation of it would only provide a disservice. The Alchemy of India, so often overlooked by Westerners, provides a vital decryption of the global Alchemical cipher.
Neither Indian nor Islamic alchemy has ever been collected, and scholars are thus dependent for their knowledge of the subject on occasional allusions in works of natural philosophy and medicine, plus a few specifically alchemical works.Note: This article originally appeared in the Alchemy Journal, a vital resource provided by the International Alchemy Guild in collaboration with Salamander & Sons Press. Chinese alchemy is largely recorded in about 100 “books” that are part of the Taoist canon. A single manuscript of some 80,000 words is the principal source for the history of Greek alchemy. Evidence from ancient Middle America (Aztecs, Mayans) is still almost nonexistent evidence from India is tenuous and from ancient China, Greece, and Islamic lands is only relatively more plentiful. It is notable, however, that the evidence is not equally substantial in all times and places.
That both astrology and alchemy may be regarded as fundamental aspects of thought is indicated by their apparent universality. Moreover, both have always been pursued in the belief that the processes human beings witness in heaven and on earth manifest the will of the Creator and, if correctly understood, will yield the key to the Creator’s intentions. But the distinction is far from absolute, since both are interested in the influence of the stars on terrestrial events. Astrology is concerned with man’s relationship to “the stars” (including the members of the solar system) alchemy, with terrestrial nature. The first of these objectives may be called scientific, the second technological. Both represent attempts to discover the relationship of man to the cosmos and to exploit that relationship to his benefit.
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