THE ELIXIR OF THE SUN:
A RITUAL OF ALCHEMY
By Steven Marshall
An Application of the Formula of the Neophyte Ritual to the Alchemical Symbolism of the Great Work. This Ritual should be studied in conjunction with The Formula of the Magic of Light. (Z.2, The Golden Dawn.)189
Introduction: Setting of the Hall
Pillars and Altar are placed as in Neophyte Ritual. Throne of Adeptus Primus is in the East. Throne of Adeptus Secundus is in the South. Throne of Adeptus Tertius is in the North. Throne of Adeptus Quartus is in the West.
The Officers
All Adepti wear Lesser Rose Cross Lamen suspended from yellow collar except Adeptus Quintus, whose Lamen is suspended from red collar.
Adeptus Primus
First Adept represents the Officer of Air and of Mercury. He wears white robe with yellow tabard and bears the Wand of Mercury.
Adeptus Secundus
Second Adept represents the Officer of Fire and of Sulphur. He wears white robe with red tabard and bears the Wand of Sulphur.
Adeptus Tertius
Third Adept represents the Officer of Water and of Salt. He wears white robe with blue tabard and bears the Wand of Salt.
Adeptus Quartus
Fourth Adept represents the Officer of Earth and the Elixir. He wears white robe with black tabard and bears the Kerykeion or Caduceus.
Adeptus Quintus
Fifth Adept represents the Alchemist. He wears black robe with white tabard and bears the Lotus Wand.
The Opening
Adeptus Quintus gives single knock. 
Adeptus Quintus performs Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram followed by Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram. ALL join in Qabalistic Cross and Analysis of Key Word.190
The Opening is the Opening by Watchtower,191 with Adeptus Primus through Quartus performing the portions corresponding to their Elements. The fifth Element of Spirit (Eth) is invoked by Adeptus Quintus as follows:
Adeptus Quintus comes sunwise to west of Altar and takes up Incense from Centre of Altar.
Adeptus Quintus (elevating Incense): Out of the Four comes the Fifth which is one of the Three.
Adeptus Quintus then uses Incense to mark the three points of the Supernal Triangle192 above the Altar (centered above the Tablet of Union).193
Adeptus Quintus (tracing clockwise Circle above Tablet): There is a fifth in the Middle, another Channel of Light, where the life-bearing Light descends as far as the Material Channels. (Completing Circle:) Hear thou the Voice of Spirit!
Using the Incense, Adeptus Quintus traces within the Circle the Invoking Pentagram of Spirit Active, and then traces within the Pentagram the Sigil of Eth.
Adeptus Quintus (pointing Incense at centre of Pentagram): EXARPE, BITOM.
Using the Incense, Adeptus Quintus traces within the Circle the Invoking Pentagram of Spirit Passive, and then traces within the Pentagram the Sigil of Eth.
Adeptus Quintus (pointing Incense at centre of Pentagram): HECOMA, NANTA.
Adeptus Quintus (Assuming the Sign of the Rending of the Veil). In the Names and Letters of the Mystical Tablet of Union, which binds together the Four Tablets into One under the presidence of Spirit, I invoke ye, ye Divine Forces of the Spirit of Life!
Adeptus Quintus replaces the Incense upon the Altar.
Adeptus Quintus: Ol sonuf vaoresagi, goho Iada Balata. ELEXARPEH, COMANANU, TABITOM. Zodacare, ca, od zodameranu! Odo Cicale Qaa, Piape Piamoel od Vaoan.
I invoke ye, ye Angels of the Celestial Spheres whose dwelling is in the Invisible. Ye are Guardians of the Gates of the Universe; be ye also the Watchers of our Mystic Temple. Keep far removed the Evil. Strengthen and inspire the Initiates so that we may preserve unsullied this Abode of the Mysteries of the Eternal Gods. Let this Place be pure and holy so that we may enter in and become partakers of the Secrets of the Divine Light.
Adeptus Quintus takes Lotus Wand and goes sunwise to the Northeast.
Adeptus Quintus: The Sun, daily returning, is the Dispenser of Light to the Earth. Let us initiate the Rise of Light by thrice completing the Circle of this Place, the Abode of the Invisible Sun.
All present come sunwise to the Northeast and queue up behind Adeptus Quintus. Adeptus Quintus raises Lotus Wand in right hand, and All follow as he leads them in three sunwise Circumambulations of the Hall. Each Adept gives the Sign of Horus194 each time he passes the East.
After passing the East for the third time, ADEPTUS QUINTUS returns to the west of the Altar, and All others return to their places. All give the Sign of Harpokrates.195 All then face East.
Hermetic Adoration
Adeptus Quintus: Holy art Thou, Ruler of the Universe.
All: Holy art Thou, Ruler of the Universe. All give Sign of Horus.
Adeptus Quintus: Holy art Thou, Whom Nature hath not formed.
All: Holy art Thou, Whom Nature hath not formed. All give Sign of Horus.
Adeptus Quintus: Holy art Thou, the Vast and the Mighty One.
All: Holy art Thou, the Vast and the Mighty One. All give Sign of Horus.
Adeptus Quintus: Ruler of the Light and of the Darkness.
All: Ruler of the Light and of the Darkness. All give Sign of Harpokrates.
Adeptus Quintus: Avete, Fratres and Sorores of the Rose of Ruby and the Cross of Gold. We are gathered at this Rite for the express purpose of effecting the transmutation of our chosen Creature of bay laurel, an herb of the Sun, into an Elixir. Therefore we join together in Word and Will to purify and consecrate, to separate and conjoin the three essentials of Salt, Sulphur and Mercury for the making of the Elixir, as we seek the Hidden Gnosis and Substance of the Philosopher’s Stone which Nature both conceals and reveals, and which lies within each of us, within all human beings and within all living things.
Adeptus Quintus: Very Honored Fourth Adept, what is the chief study of the Philosopher?
Adeptus Quartus: It is the investigations of the operations of Nature.
Adeptus Quintus: Whence are all things derived?
Adeptus Quartus: From one and indivisible Nature.
Adeptus Quintus: Into how many regions is Nature separated?
Adeptus Quartus: Into four primary regions.
Adeptus Quintus: And what are they?
Adeptus Quartus: They are the dry, the moist, the warm, the cold, which are the four Elementary qualities, whence all things originate.
Adeptus Quintus: How is Nature differentiated?
Adeptus Quartus: Into male and female.
Adeptus Quintus: And to what therefore is the whole Philosophic combination reduced?
Adeptus Quartus: The development of One into Two, and the reduction of Two into One and nothing further.
Adeptus Quintus: Very Honored Third Adept, what is the object of research among the Philosophers?
Adeptus Tertius: Proficiency in the Art of perfecting what Nature has left imperfect, and the attainment of the treasure of the Philosopher’s Stone.
Adeptus Quintus: What is the Stone?
Adeptus Tertius: The Stone is nothing else than the radical humidity of the Elements, perfectly purified and educed into a sovereign fixation, which causes it to perform such great things for health; the life being resident wholly within it.
Adeptus Quintus: In what does the secret of accomplishing this admirable Work consist?
Adeptus Tertius: In knowing how to educe from potentiality into activity the innate warmth, or fire of Nature, which is enclosed in this radical humidity.
Adeptus Quintus: With what materials can the Philosopher alone accomplish all?
Adeptus Tertius: With the Seed of a given matter. This is the Elixir or Quintessence, more precious by far, and more useful to the Artist than is Nature herself.
Adeptus Quintus: In what does the whole secret of the Seed consist?
Adeptus Tertius: In the knowledge of its proper Earth.
Adeptus Quintus: By what is this Seed engendered?
Adeptus Tertius: By the four Elements, Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, and through the direct intervention of the Imagination of Nature.
Adeptus Quintus: What therefore must be accepted as the subject of our Art of Alchemy?
Adeptus Tertius: The Seed alone, otherwise the Fixed Germ, and not the whole Body, which is turned into Sulphur, the living male, and Mercury, the living female.
Adeptus Quintus: What Operation must be performed?
Adeptus Tertius: They must be joined together so that they form a Seed, after they proceed to the procreation of a Fruit which conforms to their nature.
Adeptus Quintus: What is the part of the Artist in this Operation?
Adeptus Quartus: The Artist must do nothing but separate that which is subtle from that which is gross.
Adeptus Quintus: Very Honored Second Adept, how many Philosophical Fires do you enumerate?
Adeptus Secundus: There are in all three: the Natural, the Unnatural, and the Contranatural.
Adeptus Quintus: What Fire must be made use of in our Work?
Adeptus Secundus: That Fire which is used by Nature.
Adeptus Quintus: What is the potency of this Fire?
Adeptus Secundus: It dissolves everything that is in the world, because it is the principle of all dissolution and corruption.
Adeptus Quintus: What is to be understood by this Fire?
Adeptus Secundus: The interior heat, or specific spirit, which is enclosed in radical humidity, which in other words is the middle substance, the proper Sperm which contains its own Seed.
Adeptus Quintus: What is contained in the centre of the radical moisture?
Adeptus Secundus: It contains and conceals Sulphur, which is covered with a hard rind.
Adeptus Quintus: What must be done to apply it to the Great Work?
Adeptus Secundus: It must be drawn out of its bonds by consummate skill.
Adeptus Quintus: How do you set free the Sulphur from its bonds?
Adeptus Secundus: By putrefaction.
Adeptus Quintus: Greatly Honored First Adept, where must we look for our living Mercury and our true Fire?
Adeptus Primus: In the House of Mercury.
Adeptus Quintus: By what is this Fire nourished?
Adeptus Primus: By the Air.
Adeptus Quintus: What other name have we for this Fire?
Adeptus Primus: Mercury.
Adeptus Quintus: Who is it that can produce this Fire?
Adeptus Primus: It is known to the Wise who can produce and purify it.
Adeptus Quintus: Where is this Fire concealed?
Adeptus Primus: It is concealed in the subject of our Art.
Adeptus Quintus: Is this subject exceedingly precious?
Adeptus Primus: It is vile and originally without native elegance. Fundamentally it is not saleable because it is useful in our Work alone.
Adeptus Quintus: What does our Matter contain?
Adeptus Primus: Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury.
Adeptus Quintus: What Operation is most needful to perform?
Adeptus Primus: The successive extraction of this Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury.
Adeptus Quintus: How is that done?
Adeptus Primus: By sole and perfect sublimation.
Adeptus Quintus: It is true, certain, and without falsehood, that whatever is below is like that which is above; and that which is above is like that which is below, to accomplish the one truly wonderful work. As all things are derived from the One Thing Only, by the Will and by the Word of the One Only One who created it by Mind, so all things owe their existence to this Unity by the order of Nature, and can be perfected by Adaptation to that Mind.
Its Father is the Sun; its Mother the Moon; the Wind carries it in its womb; and its nurse is the Earth. This Thing is the Progenitor of all perfect things in the world. Separate the Earth from the Fire, the subtle from the gross, but carefully and with great judgment and skill.
It ascends from earth to heaven and descends again, new born, to the earth, taking unto itself thereby the power of the Above and the Below. Its power is most perfect when it has again been changed into Earth. By this means shalt thou partake of the splendour of the whole world, and all obscurity shall flee from thee.
This is the strongest of all Powers, the Force of all Forces, for it overcometh all things subtle and can penetrate all that is solid, for thus was the world created, and rare combinations and wonders of many kinds are wrought.
Hence I am called Hermes Trismegistus, having mastered the three parts of the Wisdom of the whole world. What I have to say about the Magnum Opus of the Alchemical Art, the Operation of the Sun, is now ended.
All (vibrating): TRISMEGISTUS. TRISMEGISTUS. TRISMEGISTUS.
The Preparation of the Vessel
Adeptus Quintus: Very honored Fourth Adept, I charge you to conduct the reception of our chosen Creature of Bay Laurel, an herb of the Sun, into the Temple of the Art and to superintend its first purification and consecration upon the Threshold of our Hall.
Adeptus Quartus goes out and brings in the Vessel containing a single leaf of bay laurel. The Vessel is veiled in black. Adeptus Tertius and Adeptus Secundus wait inside the portal to assist in the Reception.
Adeptus Quartus: Unpurified and unconsecrated thou canst not serve in the Great Work.
Adeptus Tertius performs Cross and Triangle Purification with Water.196
Adeptus Tertius: I purify thee with Water.
Adeptus Secundus performs Cross and Triangle Consecration with Fire.197
Adeptus Secundus: I consecrate thee with Fire.
Adeptus Quartus brings Vessel to Adeptus Quintus who holds it over the central Altar.
Adeptus Quartus: Know thou then, Creature of Earth, that Earth is called the Mother of Elements, for She bears the Son in her womb. From Water falling upon the Earth was Adam created, who is also the Little World. For out of the four Elements were created our Father Adam and his children. All generations were contained in Adam; in his Soul, all souls, and in his Body, all bodies.
Adeptus Tertius: For the East and North were given to Adam.
Adeptus Secundus: And the West and South to Eve.
Adeptus Quintus places Vessel on the Triangle on the Altar.
Adeptus Primus: At the Centre, where Adam was buried, the four corners of the World come together; for when God created the Earth, His power ran along in front of it, and the Earth ran after His power from four sides like winds and gentle breezes, and there His power stopped and came to rest. Over the grave where the Cross would stand, there grew a Tree; there too was the Altar of Melchizedek. As the Body was laid upon the ground, the four sides moved away from one another, the Earth opened in the form of a Cross, and Shem and Melchizedek laid the Body inside. And as soon as they had done this, the four sides moved together again and covered the Body of our Father Adam, and the doors of the Earth were sealed. And the same spot was named the Place of the Skull, because the Head of All was laid there, and Golgotha, because it was round, and Gabbatha, because all the nations were gathered in it. And there will be accomplished the Redemption for Adam and Eve and all their children.
Adeptus Quintus makes Projecting Sign toward Vessel.
Adeptus Quintus: Ye are Adam! Vobis datum est noscere Mysteria regni Caelorum et Terrae.198
Adeptus Quintus places Vessel on Symbol of Cross and Triangle.
Adeptus Quintus: Let every bar of the Universe be flung open to us; and let all Nature receive the sound of our Hymn.
Adeptus Quartus (standing): Be thou opened, O Earth, and ye trees, wave not your boughs; we are about to sing the praises of the Greatness Who is both the All and the One.
Adeptus Primus (standing): Be ye opened, ye heavens, and ye winds, be still; let the immortal Sphere of Heaven receive my utterance. For we are about to sing the praise of the Greatness Who created all things, Who fixed the Earth, and hung Heaven above.
Adeptus Tertius (standing): Who made the sweet water flow from Ocean into lands wherein people dwell, that it might serve for the sustenance of all mankind.
Adeptus Secundus (standing): And gave command that the Fire should come forth, to be used by Gods and men and women in all their works.
Adeptus Quintus: Let us all with one accord give praise to the Greatness, Who is seated high upon the Heavens, Creator of all that is.
Adeptus Quintus: O Great Ruler, That is the Eye of our Minds, accept the praise sung by our Powers. Powers that are within us, praise ye the One and the All; sing ye in concord with our will, all ye Powers that are within us.
Adeptus Quintus (with Invoking Sign): Now let us invoke the Forces of Nature.
All: Dearest Mother Nature, Who, next to the Angels, art the most perfect of God’s creatures, I thank Thee for Thy kindly instruction. I acknowledge and confess that Thou art the Mother and Empress of the Great World, made for the Little World of our minds. Thou movest the Bodies above, and transmutest the Elements below. At the bidding of Thy Lord Thou dost accomplish both small things and great, and renewest by ceaseless decay and generation the face of the Earth and of the Heavens. Under Thy hands God hath put all things.
Now, whether I lie or stand or walk, I can think of nothing but Thy great Mystery, Thou hast rightly said that it is not for mortals to know the Mystery of Thy Working: how then can I be guided to this knowledge, unless Thou wilt take me by the hand? Therefore I take my refuge with Thee, and instantly beseech Thee to advise and to tell me how to set about this difficult task. On my knees I implore Thee to show me the way by which I can penetrate into the lower parts of the Earth, and by what subtle process I am to obtain the perfect Mercury of the Philosophers.
O mightiest Nature of Natures, Who containest and separatest the midmost of the Natures, Who comest with the light and art born with the light, Who hast given birth to the misty darkness, Who art the Mother of All Beings! Thou hast wisely led me in Thy way. Unto Thee I render the most heartfelt thanks, for Thou hast delivered me from mine own ignorance. From the bottom of my heart, I once more render unto Thee the debt of unspeakable gratitude, for that Thou hast deigned to visit me, and to bestow upon me so precious an inheritance. In token of my gratitude, let it be my ceaseless aim to attain to this most glorious Tincture, feeling assured that with the help of the thrice great and good God, I shall succeed.
So help me the Ruler of the Universe and my own Higher Soul.
Adeptus Quintus (Elevating Vessel):Arise herein to action, O ye Forces of the Light Divine!
All (vibrating): IAO. IAO. IAO.
Adeptus Quintus places Vessel back on the White Triangle on the Altar. Then Adeptus Quintus circumambulates sunwise to the East and faces West from between the Pillars.
Adeptus Quintus: The Voice of the Alchemist said unto me (assuming Sign of Horus) Let me enter the Path of Darkness and, peradventure, there shall I find the Light. I am the only being in an Abyss of Darkness; from an Abyss of Darkness came I forth ere my birth, from the Silence of a Primal Sleep.
And the Voice of Ages answered unto my Soul (assuming Sign of Harpokrates:) “I am He who formulates in Darkness; the Light shineth in Darkness, yet the Darkness comprehendeth it not.
The Separation
Adeptus Quintus goes sunwise to the west of the Altar and faces East. All visualize the Astral appearance of the thickest possible darkness surrounding the Vessel.
Adeptus Quintus: (elevating the Vessel). Except ye be born of Water and the Spirit, ye cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
All (vibrating): SEPARATIO. SEPARATIO. SEPARATIO.
Adeptus Quintus places Vessel back on the White Triangle on the Altar.
The Mercury
Adeptus Quintus: Let us invoke the Mighty Spirit of the Aether.
Greetings, entire edifice of the Spirit of the Air; greetings, Spirit that penetratest from Heaven to Earth, and from Earth, which abideth in the midst of the Universe, to the uttermost bounds of the Abyss; greetings, Spirit that penetratest into me, and shakest me, and departest from me in goodness according to God’s will; greetings, beginning and end of irremovable Nature; greetings, thou who revolvest the Elements which untiringly render service; greetings, brightly shining Sun, whose radiance ministereth to the world; greetings, Moon shining by night with disc of fickle brilliance; greetings, all ye Spirits of the Daemons of Air; greetings, ye for whom the greeting is offered in praise, Brothers and Sisters, devout men and women!
O great, greatest, incomprehensible Fabric of the World, formed in a circle! Heavenly One, dwelling in the Heavens, Aetherial Spirit, dwelling in the Aether, having the form of Water, of Earth, of Fire, of Wind, of Light, of Darkness, star-glittering, damp, fiery-cold Spirit! I praise Thee, God of Gods, Who hast fashioned the World, Who hast established the depths upon the invisible support of their firm foundation, Who hast separated Heaven and Earth, and hast encompassed the Heavens with golden, eternal wings, and founded the Earth upon eternal bases, Who hast hung the Aether high above the Earth, Who hast scattered the Air with the self-moving wind, Who hast laid the Waters round about, Who callest forth the tempests, the thunder, the lightning, the rain: Destroyer, Begetter of All Living Things, God of the Aeons, great art Thou, Lord, God, Ruler of All!
Adeptus Quintus: But where is the golden Mercury, this radical moisture, which is dissolved in Sulphur and Salt?
Adeptus Primus: Ah, it is incarcerated and held so fast that even Nature cannot release it from its prison, unless the Master Art open the way. They who know the secret of the solution are acquainted with the arcanum of the Art.
Adeptus Quintus: Unless by resolving it into its Elements you extract from the Body its marrow, and make it an impalpable Spirit, you labour in vain. Therefore, arise, thou who wert once brought low, and speak, thou who wert in silence.
Adeptus Primus picks up Phial of Alcohol.
Adeptus Primus: (elevating Phial). I am the Mercury of the Philosophers.
All (vibrating): MERCURIUS. MERCURIUS. MERCURIUS.
Adeptus Primus: Therefore will I rise and go into the city, seeking in the streets and the broad ways a chaste virgin to espouse, comely in face, more comely in body; most comely in her garments, that she may roll back the stone from the Door of my Sepulchre and give me wings like a dove, and I will fly with her to Heaven and then say: I live forever, and will rest in her, for the Queen stood on my right hand in gilded clothing, surrounded with various treasures. O Queen of the Highest, arise, make haste, my love, my spouse; speak, beloved, to thy lover, who and of what kind and how great thou art.
Adeptus Primus hands Phial of Alcohol to Adeptus Quintus.
Adeptus Quintus: Let the Mystic Circumambulation begin in the Path of Darkness.
Adeptus Quintus carries the Phial of Alcohol sunwise around the Circle, passes the East once and is then barred by Adeptus Quartus in the Southwest. Adeptus Primus and Adeptus Quartus knock at each passing of the Phial.
Adeptus Quartus: Unpurified and unconsecrated thou canst not serve in the Great Work.
Adeptus Tertius performs Cross and Triangle Purification with Water.
Adeptus Tertius: I purify thee with Water.
Adeptus Secundus performs Cross and Triangle Consecration with Fire.
Adeptus Secundus: I consecrate thee with Fire.
Adeptus Quintus takes Phial of Alcohol sunwise around the Circle to the East, salutes East with Signs, and elevates the Phial to the East.
Adeptus Quintus: I have called the Water Spirit, and it is in truth Spirit.
All: Water that is the quickening Spirit, thou art truly Mercurius.
Adeptus Quintus returns to west of Altar and faces East.
Sulphur
Adeptus Quintus: Our Sulphur, as the so-called Balsam, drips from the Sun and produces lemons, oranges, wine, and in the mineral kingdom, gold. Within this seed is concealed essential Sulphur, which is covered with a hard rind. It must be drawn out of its bonds by consummate skill through putrefaction. Then it will receive the powers of the highest and the lowest, and with its Force it penetrates solid things, it overcomes all matter and all precious stones.
Adeptus Secundus picks up Bottle of essential Oil.
Adeptus Secundus: (elevating the Bottle of Oil) Thou art the Sulphur of the Sages.
All (vibrating): VITRIOL. VITRIOL. VITRIOL.
Adeptus Secundus: Sulphur thou art the virtue of the World and, though Nature’s second born, yet the oldest of all things. Thou canst perform a thousand things, and art in the heart of all. Thou bringest forth the flowers in herbs and trees, corrupt and perfect air; in short, thou producest all the odours and paintest all the colours in the World. As the fruitful vine thou hast brought forth a pleasant odour, and thy flowers are the fruit and honour and riches. Thou art the sweet smell of ointments giving an odour above all aromatic spices, and like unto cinnamon and balsam and chosen myrrh.
Adeptus Primus hands Bottle of Oil to Adeptus Quintus. Adeptus Quintus carries the Bottle of essential Oil sunwise around the Circle, passes the East once, and is then barred by Adeptus Primus in the Northeast. Adeptus Primus and Adeptus Quartus knock at each passing of the Bottle.
Adeptus Primus: Unpurified and unconsecrated, thou canst not serve in the Great Work.
Adeptus Tertius performs Cross and Triangle Purification with Water.
Adeptus Tertius: I purify thee with Water.
Adeptus Secundus performs Cross and Triangle Consecration with Fire.
Adeptus Secundus: I consecrate thee with Fire.
Adeptus Quintus takes Bottle of essential Oil sunwise around the Circle to the East, salutes East with Signs, and elevates the Bottle to the East.
Adeptus Quintus: The Oil that takes up the colour, that is the radiance of the Sun, is itself Sulphur.
All: Balm that is the tingeing Sulphur, thou art truly Vitriol.
Adeptus Quintus returns to west of Altar and faces East.
Salt
Adeptus Quintus: Despise not the Ash, for it is the Diadem of the Heart, and the Ash of Things That Endure. None can understand this Art who does not know the Salt and its preparation. For the Spirit cannot be joined to impure Bodies.
Adeptus Tertius picks up the Dish of Ash.
Adeptus Tertius: This is the Salt of the Wise.
All (vibrating): SAPIENTIA. SAPIENTIA. SAPIENTIA.
Adeptus Tertius: O Water of bitter taste, that preservest the Elements! O nature of propinquity, that dissolvest Nature! O best of natures, which overcomest Nature Herself! Thou art crowned with light and art born, and the Quintessence ariseth with thee. This Water is like none on Earth, with the exception of that fount in Judea which is named the Fount of Blessedness. But that Spring is in a place so secret that only a few know of its gushing, and they know not the way to Judea where it might be found. Therefore the Philosopher cries out: “O Water of harsh and bitter taste!” For it is hard and difficult for anyone to find that Spring.
And this Dove is the pure, chaste, wise and rich Queen of Sheba. She is more beautiful than the Sun and above all the order of the Stars. Being compared with the light, she is found before it. She is more precious than rubies, and all the riches of the Earth are not to be compared to her. Neither can she be compared to any precious stone, because all gold in respect of her is as a little sand, and silver shall be counted as clay before her. She is the bed of her beloved, as she would wound his heart with one of her eyes and with one hair of her neck.
Adeptus Tertius hands Dish of Ash to Adeptus Quintus.
Adeptus Quintus: For who is it that bursts forth like the Dawn, beautiful like the Moon, mighty like the Sun, in whom there appears no blemish? His fervour is kindled and the Flame of the Lord; Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. Therefore, we will not forsake her; she is our sister, though she be small, and have no breasts. We will take her back to the house of her Mother, into the transparent Palace where she was before, that by sucking the breasts of her Mother, she may become great like the Tower of David, strengthened with battlements on which hang a thousand shields and all the weapons of the strong.
Adeptus Quintus carries the Dish of Ash sunwise around the Circle, passes the East once and is then barred by Adeptus Quartus in the Southwest. Adeptus Primus and Adeptus Quartus knock at each passing of the Dish.
Adeptus Quartus: Unpurified and unconsecrated, thou canst not serve in the Great Work.
Adeptus Tertius performs Cross and Triangle Purification with Water.
Adeptus Tertius: I purify thee with Water.
Adeptus Secundus performs Cross and Triangle Consecration with Fire.
Adeptus Secundus: I consecrate thee with Fire.
Adeptus Quintus takes Dish of Ash sunwise around the Circle to the East, salutes the East with Signs, and elevates the Dish to the East.
Adeptus Quintus: And the Light was made Salt, a Body of Salt, the Salt of Wisdom.
All: Body that is the fixing Salt, thou art truly Sapientia.
Adeptus Quintus returns and places Dish back on the Altar.
The Conjunction
Adeptus Tertius (Ash/Salt), Adeptus Secundus (Oil/Sulphur), and Adeptus Primus (AIcohol/Mercury) take up their assigned Principles and return to their Stations.
Adeptus Secundus: (elevating Oil). Thus the Fire began to work upon the Air and brought forth Sulphur.
Adeptus Primus: (elevating Alcohol). Then the Air began to work upon the Water and brought forth Mercury.
Adeptus Tertius: (elevating Ash). The Water began to work upon the Earth and brought forth Salt.
Adeptus Quartus: But the Earth, having nothing to work upon, brought forth nothing, so the whole remains within her. Therefore only three Principles are brought forth, and the Earth becomes the nurse and the mother of them all.
Adeptus Quintus: But then, ye Sons and Daughters of the Doctrine, that thing needs the Fire, until the Spirit of that Body is transformed and left to stand through the nights, and turns to dust like a man in his grave. After this has happened, God will give it back its Soul and Spirit, and, the infirmity being removed, that thing will be stronger and better after its destruction, even as we become stronger and younger after the resurrection than we were in the World.
Adeptus Primus: In this Mercury is enclosed essential Sulphur, which the Fire cannot touch.
Adeptus Quintus lifts veil slightly and removes stopper from the Vessel. Adeptus Primus pours Alcohol into the Vessel. Adeptus Quintus reseals and covers Vessel.
Adeptus Secundus: A Spirit is never joined to a Body but by the interposition of a Soul. For the property of our Mercury is to be coagulated by its Sulphur. The Living Silver dissolves the adjoined pure Sulphur.
Adeptus Quintus lifts veil slightly and removes stopper from the Vessel. Adeptus Secundus pours Oil into the Vessel. Adeptus Quintus reseals and covers Vessel.
Adeptus Tertius: First comes the Ash, then the Salt, and from the Salt by diverse Operations the Mercury of the Philosophers.
Adeptus Quintus: The living fruit we must seek on the Tree; for only there can it grow. This Tree we must transplant, without gathering its fruit, into a better and richer soil, and to a sunnier spot. Then its fruit will receive more nourishment in a single day than it was wont to receive in a hundred years.
Adeptus Tertius: Draw nigh, O Body, to this Fountain, that with thy Mind thou mayest drink to satiety and hereafter thirst no more after vanities. O wondrous efficacy of this fount, which makes one of two, and peace between enemies! The fount of love can make Mind out of Spirit and Soul, but this maketh one being of Mind and Body. We thank Thee, O Father, that Thou hast deigned to make Thy sons and daughters partakers of Thine inexhaustible fount of virtues.
Adeptus Quintus lifts veil slightly and removes stopper from the Vessel. Adeptus Tertius adds Ash into the Vessel. Adeptus Quintus reseals and covers Vessel.
Adeptus Quintus: Body, Soul, and Spirit make up one thing, which has all in itself, and to which nothing is added. Thou wilt never make from the others the One that thou seekest, except there first be made one thing of thyself.
All: (vibrating). CONJUNCTIO. CONJUNCTIO. CONJUNCTIO.
Adeptus Primus goes sunwise to the East, salutes the East, and proceeds down between the Pillars.
Adeptus Primus: I come in the Power of the Light.
I come in the Light of Wisdom.
I come in the Mercy of the Light.
The Light hath healing in its wings.
Adeptus Primus Adeptus Secundus and Adeptus Tertius form Pyramid with their Implements over the Vessel on the Altar.
Adeptus Tertius: Child of Earth, we call thee to the Living Beauty.
Adeptus Secundus: Child of Earth, we call thee to the Living Light.
Adeptus Primus: Child of Earth, we call thee to the Living Spirit.
Adeptus Quintus: Long hast thou dwelt in darkness; quit the night and seek the day! (Removes black veil from the Vessel.)
Adeptus Quintus: I formulate in thee the invoked Forces of the Light.
Adeptus Primus: Khabs—
Adeptus Secundus: Am—
Adeptus Tertius: Pekht.
Adeptus Tertius: Konx—
Adeptus Secundus: Om—
Adeptus Primus: Pax.
Adeptus Tertius: Light—
Adeptus Primus: In—
Adeptus Secundus: Extension.
All (vibrating): IAO. IAO. IAO.
Adeptus Primus, Adeptus Secundus, and Adeptus Tertius lower their Implements.
Adeptus Quintus: For while the Hero, like a joyful giant, rises in the East and hastens to his sinking in the West, that he may forever return out of the East, he sets in motion these Circulations, depositing in the shining substance of the Quicksilver, as in a Mirror, Forms wherein by human diligence the Gold may be sought, cleansed from impurities, tested by Fire and Water, and put to use pleasing to God the Creator. Therefore, let the Mystic Circumambulation take place in the Path of Light.
All circumambulate with the Sun thrice.
Adeptus Quintus carries the Vessel to between the Pillars for the final Purification and Consecration.
Adeptus Tertius performs Cross and Triangle Purification with Water.
Adeptus Tertius: Child of Adam, I test thee with Water.
Adeptus Secundus performs Cross and Triangle Consecration with Fire.
Adeptus Secundus: Child of Adam, I test thee with Fire.
Adeptus Quintus elevates Vessel toward the East.
Adeptus Quintus: Who ever possesses the Salt that melts and the Oil that cannot be burned, may praise God.
Adeptus Quintus returns Vessel to Altar.
Adeptus Quintus: Holy art Thou, Creator of All Things.
All: Holy art Thou, Whose Will is performed and accomplished by Thine own powers.
Adeptus Quintus: Holy art Thou, That desires to be known, and is known by Thine own.
All: Holy art Thou, That by Thy Word hast established all things.
Adeptus Quintus: Holy art Thou, of Whom all Nature is the Image.
All: Holy art Thou, That art stronger than all power.
Adeptus Quintus: Holy art Thou, That art stronger than all excellency.
All: Holy art Thou, That art better than all praise.
Adeptus Quintus: Accept these our reasonable sacrifices from pure souls and hearts, for aye stretched out unto Thee, O Thou unutterable, unspeakable, Whose Name nought but the Silence can express.
Give ear to us who pray, that we may never err from this Gnosis of Thee; and fill us with Thy power and with this Grace of Thine, that we may give the Light to all that are in ignorance, and our Fratres and Sorores, and Thy sons and daughters.
For this cause we believe and we bear witness: we go into Life and the Light. Blessed art Thou, O Greatness. Thine offspring would be holy as Thou art holy, even as Thou hast given them all power to be. Amen.
All: Amen.
Adeptus Quintus: Let us invoke the Forces of the Sun that, with our Elixir so charged, the Operation of the Sun may be complete and our Elixir be granted the power of transmutation and healing.
Adeptus Primus, Secundus, Tertius, and Quartus perform the Lesser Invoking Hexagram Ritual of Sol, each taking the Quarter corresponding to his Element: Adeptus Secundus in the East, Adeptus Quartus in the South, Adeptus Primus in the West and Adeptus Tertius in the North. Adeptus Quintus synchronizes the Work of the Adepti in the Quarters by announcing each of the six Subhexagrams in turn.
Adeptus Quintus (after the final Hexagram has been traced): The Divine Name is—
All (vibrating): ARARITA.
Across the Altar, facing the direction of the Heavens in which Sol is located, Adeptus Quintus traces a Circle and within it traces the Supreme Invoking Hexagram of Sol.
All (vibrating): YOD HEH VAV HEH ELOAH V’DAATH. ARARITA. RESH.
All join in Analysis of Key Word.
Adeptus Quintus: O Thou Who art from everlasting, Thou Who hast created all things, and doth clothe Thyself with the Forces of Nature as with a garment, by Thy Holy and Divine Name YHVH ELOAH V’DAATH, I entreat Thee to cause Thy Wonderful Archangel MIKHAEL to command unto me Thine Angels of the TARSHISHIM, the Radiant Ones of Shemesh, that the Archangel of the Sun, MIKHAEL, may cause his Intelligence, NAKHIEL, to make powerful this Elixir for the healing of all infirmities, whether they be of Body, Soul, or Spirit, and to imbue this Elixir with the power to transmute on the Astral all that is leaden, coarse, and impure into the perfect Gold of the Philosophers, a pure and radiant Dwelling for the Glory of the Shekhinah.
All (vibrating): SHEKHINAH.
Adeptus Quintus: O Holy Gnosis, by thee are we illumined, and through thee do we sing praise to the incorporeal Light. We rejoice in joy of mind; rejoice with us, all ye Powers.
Adeptus Primus: O Good that is in us, praise the Good; O Life and Light, from You comes the song of praise, and to You does it go forth.
Adeptus Secundus: We give thanks to Thee, O God. Thus crying, the Powers that are in me accomplish Thy will; praising the All, they fulfill Thy purpose.
Adeptus Tertius: It is Thy Word that through us sings Thy praise; for by Thee, O Mind, is our speech shepherded.
Adeptus Quartus: Through us accept from all an offering of speech; for the All is from Thee, and to Thee returns the All.
Adeptus Quintus: O Light, illumine Thou the mind that is in us; O Life, keep our souls alive. Thy people cry thus to Thee of the things that Thou hast made; but we have got from Thine eternity the praises which we utter.
All vibrate TRISMEGISTUS and ISIS while Adeptus Quintus divides the Elixir among six dropper bottles, puts the empty Vessel inside the Altar, and places a Chalice of Liqueur upon the Cross and Triangle on the Altar.
Adeptus Quintus: O emulous Sons of Divine Hermes and Daughters of Isis, to whom the Art makes Nature visible without any veil, you, you alone, know how the eternal Hand fashioned the Earth and Heaven out of shapeless Chaos. Your own Great Work shows you that God made Everything in the same manner as the Physical Elixir is produced. It is the Living Thing which no more dies, but when used gives eternal increase.
Adeptus Quintus places six drops of the Elixir into the Chalice of Liqueur, and elevates the Chalice.
All (vibrating): TRANSMUTATIO. TRANSMUTATIO. TRANSMUTATIO.
Adeptus Quintus: Now Soul and Spirit have come together as Mind, and Mind and Body have become a Unity.
Adeptus Quintus (circumambulating): Now that I see in Mind, I see myself to be the All. I am in Heaven and in Earth, in Water and in Air; I am in beasts and plants; I am a babe in the womb, and one that is not yet conceived, and one that has been born anew; I am present everywhere.
Adeptus Quintus: returns to west of Altar and places the Chalice between the Cross and Triangle.
Adeptus Primus: We have seen that which we seek.
Adeptus Secundus: We have found rest according to Thy Purpose.
Adeptus Tertius: By Thy Will we are born again.
All: make Sign of Osiris Slain followed by Sign of Osiris Risen.
Adeptus Quintus: O Thou First Author of the Work by which the Rebirth has been wrought in us, to Thee, O God, do we bring offerings of speech. O God, Thou art our Parent; O Ruler, Thou art Mind. From us accept praises such as Thou willest; for by Thy Will it is that all is accomplished in us, by Thy Word, Amen.
All: Amen.
Closing
When all are ready, Adeptus Quintus gives single knock.
The closing is the Closing by Watchtower with the First Through Fifth Adepts performing the portion corresponding to their Element.
Adeptus Quintus: Depart ye all in peace unto your appointed Abodes. May the blessings of Yeheshuah Yehovashah be with you now and forevermore. Be there peace between us always, and be ye ready to come when ye are called.
Adeptus Quintus (tracing Circled Cross in Air towards the East): YEHESHUAH YEHOVASHAH.
Adeptus Quintus: The Sun, daily setting, is the Bringer of Repose to the Earth. Let us devolve the Whorl by thrice completing the Circle of this place, the Abode of the Invisible Sun.
All circumambulate witherwise three times, and end with the Sign of Harpokrates.
Adeptus Quintus: Not unto us, not unto us, but to Thy Name be the glory, Who hast allowed us to enter thus far into the Arcanum of Thy Sacred Art. Amen.
All: Amen.
The Hermetic Repast
Adeptus Quintus: Nothing now remains but to partake together in silence of the wondrous Elixir, combining the qualities of the four Elements, that we might unite in ourselves the inner and the outer, the above and the below into a single one, and make the two one. For as Hermes, our Father of Philosophy, hath said: “It is indeed needed that at the End of this World, Heaven and Earth should meet and come home.”
All except Adeptus Quintus are seated. Adeptus Quintus puts down Lotus Wand, comes to the East, salutes and stands before the Throne of the East. Adeptus Quintus assumes Sign of Osiris Slain. When ready, he assumes Sign of Osiris Risen and descends between the Pillars to the east of the Altar, facing the West.
Adeptus Quintus: For Osiris Onnophris, Who is found perfect before the Gods, hath said: (Spread arms in sign of Osiris Slain) These are the Elements of My Body, perfected through suffering, glorified by trial.
Adeptus Quintus (Making Cross over Rose): For the scent of the dying Rose is as the suppressed sigh of My suffering.
Adeptus Quintus (making Cross over Fire): And the flame-red Fire is as the energy of Mine undaunted Will.
Adeptus Quintus (making Cross over Wine): And the Cup of Water is the pouring out of the blood of My heart, sacrificed unto regeneration, unto the newer life.
Adeptus Quintus (making Cross over Paten): And the Bread and the Salt are as the foundations of My Body, which I destroy (moving from Sign of Osiris Slain to Sign of Osiris Risen) in order that they may be renewed.
Adeptus Quintus (tracing Calvary Cross over the Chalice of Elixir): For the Elixir is as the sacred Essence of My Life which (making Circle of Rose Cross) encompasses all and (spreading arms in Sign of Osiris Slain) penetrates all, that they may (moving to Sign of Osiris Risen) become One with Me.
Adeptus Quintus (maintaining Sign of Osiris Risen): For I am Osiris Triumphant,
even Osiris Onnophris, the Justified.
I am He who is clothed with the Body of flesh,
Yet in Whom is the Spirit of the Great Gods.
I am the Lord of Life, Triumphant over Death.
And they who partake with Me shall arise with Me.
I am the Manifestor in Matter of Those Whose Abode is the Invisible. I am purified. (Lower arms.) I stand upon the Universe.
(Circle over Four Elements) I am its Reconciler with the Eternal Gods.
(Sign of Osiris Slain) And without Me,
(Sign of Osiris Risen) the Universe is not.
Adeptus Quintus goes sunwise about the Altar to the west of Altar facing the East. Adeptus Quintus gives Sign of the Enterer, but not the Sign of Silence.
Adeptus Quintus (elevating Chalice of Elixir): Therefore, I invite you to drink with me this Quintessence, the Living Water, the consecrated Emblem of Elemental Spirit.
Adeptus Quintus traces Sign of Cross with the Chalice, then drinks.
Adeptus Quintus: After so many wounds inflicted on humankind, here, by God’s counsel and the help of the Art, flow I, a healing Medicine. Let them drink me who can; let them wash who will; let them trouble me who dare. Drink, Brothers and Sisters, and live.
Adeptus Quintus circumambulates sunwise to the East, then returns between the Pillars to the east of the Altar and serves Adeptus Primus, Adeptus Secundus, Adeptus Tertius and Adeptus Quartus in turn. Adeptus Quartus drinks all that remains in Chalice.
Adeptus Quartus (inverting empty Chalice): It is finished!
Adeptus Quintus: Tetestai!
All return to Stations as at the Opening and face East.
Adeptus Quintus: We thank Thee, O Thou Most High, with heart and soul wholly uplifted to Thee; for it is by Thy grace alone that we have attained to the Light, and come to know Thee. We thank Thee, O Thou Whose Name none can tell, but Whom we honour by the appellation “God” because Thou alone art Master, and bless by the apellation “Father” because Thou hast shown in acts toward all people and in all things loving-kindness and affection such as a father feels, nay, yet sweeter than a father’s, as of a kindly nurse; for Thou hast bestowed on us Nous, and Logos, and Gnosis: Mind, that we may apprehend Thee; Speech, that we may call upon Thee; and Knowledge, that having come to know Thee, we may be filled with gladness. We are glad because Thou hast revealed Thyself to us in all Thy being; we are glad because, while we are yet in the body, Thou hast deigned to make us Gods by the gift of Thine own eternal life.
We can thank Thee only by learning to know Thy greatness. We have learnt to know Thee, O Thou most brightly shining Light of the World of Mind. We have learnt to know Thee, O Thou true Life of Life. We have learnt to know Thee, O Thou all-prolific Womb, made pregnant by the Father’s begetting. We have learnt to know thee, O Thou eternal constancy of that which stands unmoved, yet makes the Universe revolve. With such words of praise do we adore Thee, Who alone art good; and let us crave from Thy goodness no boon save this: be it Thy Will that we be kept still knowing and loving thee, and that we may never fall away from our blessed life in thee. Amen.
All: Amen.
Adeptus Quintus turns again to face West.
Adeptus Primus (knocks): Khabs—
Adeptus Secundus (knocks): Am—
Adeptus Tertius (knocks): Pekht.
Adeptus Tertius (knocks): Konx—
Adeptus Secundus (knocks): Om—
Adeptus Primus (knocks): Pax.
Adeptus Tertius (knocks): Light—
Adeptus Primus (knocks): In—
Adeptus Secundus (knocks): Extension.
All give Sign of Enterer and Sign of Silence towards the Altar.
Adeptus Quintus goes sunwise to east of Altar facing West.
Adeptus Quintus raises both hands in the Sign of the Shekhinah.199
Adeptus Quintus: May the Sacramental Mystery of which we have partaken sustain and nurture us in our Quest for the Quintessence, the Stone of the Philosophers, True Wisdom, Perfect Happiness, the Summum Bonum.
Adeptus Quintus lowers hands, takes up Lotus Wand, and gives one final knock.
____________
Steven Marshall has been fascinated with everything occult and esoteric since a very early age and has explored many avenues of the occult path ever since. He studied with the AMORC and the BOTA for several years from the mid-70s through the mid-80s. He attended courses in Alchemy, Qabala, and Astrology with the Paracelsus Research Society in 1975 and 1976 under the direction of Frater Albertus. A Baccalaureate degree in Psychology and a background in Jungian studies have given him a distinctly psychological, as well as, mystical approach to the occult sciences. In 1984, after twelve years of study, meditation, and writing, he collaborated with an artist, Emmett Brennan, in the design, production, and publication of a deck of the Major Arcana, The Tarot of Initiation. Through his long interest in the Western Esoteric Tradition, in the mid-1980s, he began practicing the Golden Dawn system of magic, which he continues to practice to this day. In his occult career, he has been published in several journals, including the Golden Dawn Journal; Vol. I and Vol. II, and Essentia, a Journal of the Paracelsus Research Society. He was recently recognized for his thirty-five years of service in teaching Medical Laboratory Technology for a local community college, and for the past twenty-five years has continued in service to the sacramental Gnostic tradition as a member of the clergy in the Ecclesia Gnostica and the rector of the Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church.
189. Regardie. The Golden Dawn, (St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2002) 376–400.
190. These rituals can be found in our book: Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition (St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1998), 82–84, 689–92.
191. Ibid., 692–96.
192. An upright triangle, starting with the top point and proceeding sunwise.
193. An illustration of the Tablet of Union can be found in our book on Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition, 616.
194. Also known as the “Projection Sign” of the Neophyte.
195. The “Sign of Silence.”
196. The Cross is traced in two lines as follows: top to bottom, left to right. The inverted or downward-pointing Water triangle is traced starting with the bottom point, proceeding sunwise.
197. The cross is traced as before. The upright Fire triangle is traced starting with the top point, proceeding sunwise.
198. Vobis datum est noscere Mysteria regni caelorum et Terrae: “For it is given to you to know the Mysteries of the realms of the Heavens and the Earth.”—AFS
199. Both hands raised side by side, palms out, thumbs together, so as to suggest the form of a Dove.—ECP