Touchstone
by Arrow
The Magus
Mercury:
My body, as you must know, can become one drop
out of a thousand drops, and though I am always one, you can
divide my body as often as you like. But my spirit, or heart,
always produces many thousands of parts out of one part.
'A
Dialogue between Mercury, the Alchemist, and Nature'
Sendivogius
~~~~~~~
With
one Word of His, this vast creation
blossomed into being,
And a thousand streams of life sprang
into existence.
'The
Jap Ji'
Stanza VII
Sikh scripture
~~~
"As
a man thinketh......."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The orientals
have many terms for that which may be called the Celestial Stream
of Light and Sound. These include Udgit, Naad, Akash-bani, Shabd,
and Naam, among the Hindi. Then there are Bang-i-Ilah, Kalam-i-Qadim,
Nida-i-Asmani, and Saut-i-Sarmad, among the terms used by the Sufi.
These terms describe the underlying current of all of Creation; that
which bears within it the seed of everything that exists, both seen
and unseen. Their choice of terms tend to be much more descriptive
than those two that are used in the west; the Word, and Logos (Reason).
Those unfortunate choices of terms have often led to the fundamentalization
of the awesome, holy nature of this Stream. In the west it is therefore
commonly seen as simply meaning scripture, and the blind then lead
the blind. In truth it is everything at once, multiplicity in unity,
and unity as multiplicity, as Mercury states in the opening quote
for this treatment of The Magus and, being many things and one thing
all at the same time, Mercury is equally as hard to define. It is
also this that gives rise to the apparent duplicity of Mercury, the
God of teachers and writers, as well as liars and thieves. For it
may become anything that is present within the complexity of it's
own nature.
As Mercury
is the primary vehicle of alchemy, so is this Stream the primary force
of magick. Within the force of the Celestial Stream all things exist
in potential, and this is what the magician taps into, becomes one
with, in the persuit of co-creation. It's nature is a pure substance
akin to thought (mind), and it's vibration of Light and Sound is the
enlivening force which feeds creation. All magick is wrought through
this, as well as other true properties of nature, it's laws, forces,
and principles.
Nothing may
be truly accomplished with the art of magick if the mage is not open
to, and in allignment with this force. In other words, openly receives
and then resonates with the force, like a finely tuned instrument.
The Stream in and of itself is chaotic, albiet to the alchemists this
was veiwed as an sort of organized chaos. The mage seeks to selectively
establish an internal order out of this chaos, then externalize it.
Everything
in nature vibrates, each thing having it's own set of frequencies
that define it within the nature of the Stream. Humankind has a great
influx of this force, which leads to our chaotic ways that are so
often the bane of civilization. Due to that the human mind is capable
of that same duplicity for which Mercury is known, unfortunate as
that may seem but, therein also lies our great potential. It is when
one learns to attune oneself, to strike resonant chords with one's
intent that harmonize with elements within the Stream, that the doors
of magick are opened, and the forces that be give one rise to greater
heights.
To tame the
dragon of chaos is a great and noble quest that can bring many rewards
to those that undertake and accomplish the work. Yet, work it truly
is, and alchemists and mages both will warn you that at times the
dragon wins the game, as evidenced by failures that have even led
to madness. The path through the dragon's lair is best illuminated
by the heart.
It does us well to remember that the term Magician implies a mage
in action. The nature of this trump is one of constant action, like
the Celestial Stream, or winged Mercury that is this Archetype's motivation.
It is the force that fills the void that tsim-tsum opens, and there
it dances with The Fool in a continuous reciprocal action.
Like flip-sides of a coin these two trump's paths extend down from
the Crown of the qabalistic tree of life to create the roof of the
supernal triangle. The Fool has been called the Crown of Wisdom. The
Magician has been called the Crown of Understanding. Neither is fulfilled
without the other. Without their interacting cycle of creation the
house would be without a complete roof, the Crown without a body,
for nothing else would issue forth into form. This marks the first
aspect of the Divine that is knowable within the limits of the human
mind. In the words of the proverb: "by wisdom is a house built,
and by understanding is it established."
The Fool represents
the seat of the imagination, The Magician represents the seat of the
intellect, and the two delight in their endless dance. It is this
dance that the mage knowingly participates in as the basis of magick;
to be open like The Fool, yet active like The Magician; to first recieve,
then project, to resonate with determined intent. But, the recieving
is endless, as is the projecting and resonating. That is true for
all of us, regardless of our self-attunement, or intent. Focus is
the key that bridles chaos, that opens the door to the Eternal for
the mage.
Many mystics through the centuries have set about trying to describe
what the quality of this Word is like when the channels have been
opened to become purely receptive to it. All of their works must,
of course, fall short of their overall experience of the Celestial
Stream. It is simply too vast in it's nature, and too passionate of
an experience to be able to be fully expressed in words. Yet, all
of those whom have written about it share one central theme in their
description, that of awe and bliss. Here is an example of that, as
described by Hazrat Inyat Khan:
"Those
who are able to hear it and meditate on it are
relieved from all worries, anxieties, sorrows, fears
and diseases, and the soul is freed from the captivity
of the senses and the physical body, and becomes part
of the All-prevading Conciousness."
'The
Mysticism of Sound'
Does that
not sound incredibly similar to the experience of the Elixir of the
alchemists, their Holy Grail, their Lapis?
The mystic, the true alchemist, and the mage all persue the object
of their intent in the same manner, with a deeply devoted discipline.
That devotion maintains their resonance towards their goal. That devotion
is love, like that of the devotion of a lover towards the beloved.
If you are to gain the Stone then you, too, must attune yourself to
the work, attune yourself to the Stream.
Strike
your chord!
~~~
Willfully sing back to the Divine!
~~~
Let that chord that bears your intent be a song of Love.
