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praxis

Alchemical Work

The transformation of base substance — outer matter or the inner soul — into a purified, perfected, or 'gold' state; the magnum opus as both laboratory practice and spiritual allegory.

355 passages · 14 traditions
western_esoteric: 146 passageswestern_esoteric146renaissance_hermeticism: 82 passagesrenaissance_hermeticism82christian_mysticism: 80 passageschristian_mysticism80sufism: 14 passagessufism14gnosticism: 7 passagesgnosticism7neoplatonism: 7 passagesneoplatonism7hermeticism: 4 passageshermeticism4egyptian: 3 passagesegyptian3greek_mystery: 3 passagesgreek_mystery3theosophy: 3 passagestheosophy3celtic: 2 passagesceltic2taoism: 2 passagestaoism2hinduism: 1 passagehinduism1native_american: 1 passagenative_american1
western_esoteric146
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) | Page 6 (part 1)
PART I THE LITERATURE OF CEREMONIAL MAGIC Click to view THE SERPENT OF THE GARDEN OF THE HESPERIDES. From a Greek Vase Painting. CHAPTER I The antiquity of Magical Rituals § 1. The Importance of Ceremonial Magic THE ordinary fields of ps…”
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) | Page 7 (part 1)
§ 2. The Distinction between White and Black Magic Having considered the possible standpoints from which the Rituals may be regarded, we come now to the distinctions that are made between them, and, first and foremost, to that which has be…”
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) | Page 8 (part 2)
Hochmaël ), and thereafter wrote seven volumes of Magical Art, "giving the kernel to us and the shells to others." From these books he seems afterwards to have extracted ninety-three chapters, containing a summary of the whole subject, and…”
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) | Page 9 (part 3)
The missing books are those of Microcosmical Magic, or Spiritual Wisdom; Olympic Magic, that is, the evocation of the Spirits of Olympus; Hesiodiacal and Homeric Magic, being the operations of Caco-daimones ; Roman or Sibylline Magic, conce…”
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) | Page 9 (part 4)
The sources of occult wisdom, it proceeds, are, firstly, in God; secondly, in spiritual essences--that is to say, the Angelical Hierarchy; thirdly, in corporeal creatures, the reference being probably to the signatura rerum of Paracelsus; f…”
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) | Page 9 (part 5)
Click to view THE CHARACTER OF HAGITH The government of Venereal concerns is entrusted to HAGITH, and the person possessing his character is adorned with all beauty. He converts copper into gold in a moment and gold instantaneously into co…”
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) | Page 20 (part 1)
§ 7. The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage The existence of this text had been known to students for a considerable period before it was made available in an English translation by the editor of the Key of Solomon . The amateurs of occul…”
The Book of Ceremonial Magic (A.E. Waite) | Page 49 (part 3)
Amen . When shaping this knife recite the Psalm Deus, judicium tuum Regi da . Then write these words upon the Rod: AGLA, ADONAY, ELOE, may the work of this wooden Knife be accomplished by you! Say also over it: CARA, CHERNA, SITO, CIRNA.…”
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renaissance_hermeticism82
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter III — Of the Four Elements, Their Qualities, and Mutual Mixtions | Chapter III, Section 1
CHAPTER III. Of the Four Elements, Their Qualities, and Mutual Mixtions . There are four Elements, and original grounds of all corporeal things—Fire, Earth, Water, Air—of which all elemented inferior bodies are compounded; not by way of hea…”
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter IV — Of a Three-Fold Consideration of the Elements | Chapter IV, Section 1
CHAPTER IV. Of a Three-Fold Consideration of the Elements . There are, then, as we have said, four Elements, without the perfect knowledge whereof we can effect nothing in Magic. Now each of them is three-fold, that so the number of four ma…”
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter V — Of the Wonderful Natures of Fire and Earth | Chapter V, Section 1b
Hence it was that the first and most wise institutors of religions and ceremonies ordained that prayers, singings and all manner of divine worships whatsoever should not be performed without lighted candles or torches (hence, also, was that…”
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter IX — Of the Virtues of Things Natural, Depending Immediately upon Elements | Chapter IX, Section 1
CHAPTER IX. Of the Virtues of Things Natural, Depending Immediately upon Elements . Of the natural virtues of things, some are Elementary, as to heat, to cool, to moisten, to dry; and they are called operations, or first qualities; and the…”
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XIV — Of the Spirit of the World, What It Is, and How by Way of Medium It Unites Occult Virtues to Their Subjects | Chapter XIV, Section 1a
CHAPTER XIV. Of the Spirit of the World, What It Is, and How by Way of Medium It Unites Occult Virtues to Their Subjects . Democritus and Orpheus, and many Pythagoreans, having most diligently searched into the virtues of celestial things…”
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XIV — Of the Spirit of the World, What It Is, and How by Way of Medium It Unites Occult Virtues to Their Subjects | Chapter XIV, Section 1b
And we know how to do that, and have seen it done; but we could make no more Gold than the weight of that was out of which we extracted the Spirit; for seeing that [ gold ] is an extense form, and not intense, it cannot beyond its own bound…”
Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XXXVI — Of the Union of Mixed Things, and the Introduction of a More Noble Form and the Senses of Life | Chapter XXXVI, Section 1
CHAPTER XXXVI. Of the Union of Mixed Things, and the Introduction of a More Noble Form and the Senses of Life . Moreover , we must know, that by how much the more noble the form of anything is, by so much the more prone and apt it is to rec…”
The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori) | INTRODUCTION-l
There he passed the first day of that imprisonment which was to last for eight years. The next day he went over the lagoon in a gondola, in the company of his jailors, who took him to the prison of the Holy Office, and left him there. Lev…”
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christian_mysticism80
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 2 (part 5)
The will beholding itself in the mirror of wisdom causes its own image to appear within the groundlessness, and thus it creates a foundation in its own imagination." ( Menschwerdung , ii. 1.) "Wisdom, the eternal virgin, the playmate of Go…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 2 (part 6)
2.) "If there is to be a light, there must be a fire. The fire produces the light, and the light renders the fire manifest; it receives the nature of the fire within itself and resides in the fire." ( Mysterium , xl. 2.) "Joy enters the s…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 2 (part 7)
The light of God has also the quality of the fire, but in it the wrath is changed into love; hate and bitter pain into mild beneficence and sweet desire or satisfaction." ( Menschwerdung , i. 5–16.) "The fountain of love is a clasping and…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 3 (part 1)
p. 71 CHAPTER III. THE SEVEN PROPERTIES OR QUALITIES OF ETERNAL NATURE. 1 I. ♄ ☾ II. ☿ ♃ III. ♂ ♀ IV. ☉ V. ♀ ♂ VI. ♃ ☿ VII. ☾ ♄ When the Eternal One, in its aspect as a Trinity and with reference to divine wisdom, reveals itself o…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 3 (part 4)
The will cannot attain this light, and the more it desires for freedom the greater will be the attraction caused by the desire." ( Six Theosophical Points , i, 38.) "There must be au opposition, for the will desires not to be dark, and this…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 3 (part 5)
The first of these three states, being a beginning of all power and strength, originates from the quality of the Father; the second, being the source of all activity and differentiation, comes from the quality of the Son; and the third, bei…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 3 (part 6)
49.) Thus the light conquers the darkness, but does not destroy it; it merely becomes victorious over it and consumes it in a manner comparable to that of the assimilation of food by the organism which conquers and consumes that food by mea…”
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 3 (part 7)
171.) When the power of the light becomes revealed it manifests its activity first of all in the Fifth Quality , which is evolved by means of the preceding four as sweet love, or a luminous water-spirit. "The first three principles are mer…”
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sufism14
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | PROLOGUE-b
Knowest thou why thy mirror reflects not? Because the rust has not been scoured from its face. If it were purified from all rust and defilement, It would reflect the shining of the SUN Of GOD.6 O friends, ye have now heard this tale, Whic…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY II
The Oilman and his Parrot. An oilman possessed a parrot which used to amuse him with its agreeable prattle, and to watch his shop when he went out. One day, when the parrot was alone in the shop, a cat upset one of the oil-jars. When the oi…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY VI-b
They possess freewill and compulsion besides, 4 As in oyster-shells raindrops are pearls. Outside the shell they are raindrops, great and small; Inside they are precious pearls, big and little. These men also resemble the musk deer's bag;…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY VII-a
The Merchant and his Clever Parrot. There was a certain merchant who kept a parrot in a cage. Being about to travel to Hindustan on business, he asked the parrot if he had any message to send to his kinsmen in that country, and the parrot…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY IX-d
I knew of myself what ye thought, But I desired that ye should speak it; As this boasting of yours is very improper, So shall my mercy be shown to prevail over my wrath: O angels, in order to show forth that prevailing, I inspired that pret…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY IX-e
The useless thorn desires the autumn, That autumn may associate itself with the garden; And hide the rose's beauty and the thorn's shame, That men may not see the bloom of the one and the other's shame, That common stone and pure ruby may a…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY X-a
The Man who was Tattooed. It was the custom of the men of Qazwin to have various devices tattooed upon their bodies. A certain coward went to the artist to have such a device tattooed on his back, and desired that it might be the figure o…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY X-b
The courtier who attends in the presence of the king Is served better than the stranger outside the gate. The difference between them is beyond calculation; One sees the light, the other on]y the veil. Strive to obtain entrance within, If…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY XI
The Lion who Hunted with the Wolf and the Fox. A lion took a wolf and a fox with him on a hunting excursion, and succeeded in catching a wild ox, an ibex, and a hare. He then directed the wolf to divide the prey. The wolf proposed to award…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY XII
Joseph a‚Žd the Mirror. An old friend came to pay his respects to Joseph, and, after some remarks upon the bad behaviour of his brethren, Joseph asked him what present he had brought to show his respect. The friend replied that he had long…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY XIII
The Prophet's Scribe. The Prophet had a scribe who used to write down the texts that fell from his lips. At last this scribe became so conceited that he imagined all this heavenly wisdom proceeded from his own wit, and not from the Prophet.…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY XIV
The Chinese and the Greek Artists. The Chinese and the Greeks disputed before the Sultan which of them were the better painters; and, in order to settle the dispute, the Sultan allotted to each a house to be painted by them. The Chinese pro…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY XV-b
When you are cured of your sickness, O invalid, Then leave out the vinegar and eat pure honey. When the heart is garnished and swept clear of lust, Therein 'The God of Mercy sitteth on His throne.' 5 Then God rules the heart immediately, W…”
The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi) | STORY XVI-a
'Ali's Forbearance. 'Ali, the "Lion of God," was once engaged in conflict with a Magian chief, and in the midst of the struggle the Magian spat in his face. 'Ali, instead of taking vengeance on him, at once dropped his sword, to the Magia…”
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gnosticism7
Gospel of Philip | Section 1c
And Jesus said, “Whoever will not eat my flesh and drink my blood has no life within him.” What does he mean? His flesh is the word and blood the holy spirit. Who has received these has food and drink and clothing. I condemn those who sa…”
Gospel of Philip | Section 1d
When the child is grown, however, then the father turns over all he possesses. THE LOST Those who have gone astray are those born of the spirit. And they are usually lost because of the spirit. So from one single breath of spirit the fir…”
Gospel of Philip | Section 1k
If you become light, light will share you. If you are of those from above, one of those from above will rest in you. If you become a horse or a donkey or bull or dog or sheep or another animal that is wild or tame, then neither a person n…”
Gospel of Thomas | Logion 2
Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All."…”
Gospel of Thomas | Logion 22
Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, "These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom." They said to him, "Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom?" Jesus said to them, "When you make the two one…”
Gospel of Thomas | Logion 114
Simon Peter said to him, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make h…”
Pistis Sophia | Document FIRST-o
It happened therefore while the Rulers of the Aeons, with those of the Destiny, with those of the Sphere are abiding, doing this kind (of thing) [36 ] turning them round, eating the purgation of their matter, having not been allowed to make…”
neoplatonism7
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter XI
It appears to me, also, that the present question errs in another respect. For it is ignorant that the offering of sacrifices through fire has the power of consuming and destroying the matter of them in a greater degree; that it assimilates…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII-n
As, therefore, it is possible for the tyrannic life, when suddenly changed, to become aristocratic, through employing strenuous promptitude and a divine allotment, but the gradual ascent is from a tyrannic to a democratic, and from this to…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII-w
Cathartic virtue, therefore, alone must be called the salvation of souls; since this cuts off, and vehemently obliterates, material natures, and the passions which adhere to us from generation; separates the soul and leads it to intellect;…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII-ai
with evil dæmons], which are hurled forth before the Gods, but on entering the interior parts of the temple, unmoved, and guarded by the mystic rites, they genuinely receive in their bosom divine illumination, and divested of their garments…”
Iamblichus: On the Mysteries | Chapter VIII-ap
Η γοητεια δε εστι τεχνη τις περι τους ενυλους και χθονιους δαιμονας φαντασιοσκοπουσα τοις εποπταις τα τουτων ειδωλα. και τους μεν ωσπερ εξ αδου αναγουσα, τους δε υψοθεν καταγουσα, και τουτους κακωτικους. και ειδωλα αττα υφιστησι φαντασματ…”
Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 67
Section 6 6. For, as the ancient teaching was, moral-discipline and courage and every virtue, not even excepting Wisdom itself, all is purification. Hence the Mysteries with good reason adumbrate the immersion of the unpurified in filth, ev…”
Select Works of Plotinus | Select Works, Section 97
Section 7 7. We can scarcely do better, in fine, than follow Plato. Thus: In the universe as a whole there must necessarily be such a degree of solidity, that is to say, of resistance, as will ensure that the earth, set in the centre, be a…”
hermeticism4
Corpus Hermeticum 3: The Sacred Sermon | Section 1
The Sacred Sermon 1. The Glory of all things is God, Godhead and Godly Nature. Source of the things that are is God, who is both Mind and Nature - yea Matter, the Wisdom that reveals all things. Source [too] is Godhead - yea Nature, Energy,…”
Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount | Section 1b
For It doth will to be, and It is both Itself and most of all by reason of Itself. Indeed, all other things beside are just bacause of It; for the distinctive feature of the Good is "that it should be known". Such is the Good, O Tat. Tat…”
Corpus Hermeticum 12: The Prayer | Section 1d
Now it is units that give birth to number and increase it, and, being decomposed, are taken back again into themselves. Matter is one; and this whole Cosmos - the mighty God and image of the mightier One, both with Him unified, and the con…”
Corpus Hermeticum 14: The Discourse of Hermes to Ammon | Section 1b
Now if the Maker is naught else but That which makes, Alone, Simple, Uncompound, it needs must do this [making] to Itself,—to Which its Maker’s making is “its being made.” 2 And as to all that’s being made,—it cannot be p. 261 [paragraph c…”
egyptian3
The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Chapter 5 (part 3)
When Isis heard of this she went to Byblos, and, gaining admittance to the palace through the report of the royal maidens, she was made nurse to one of the king's sons, Instead of nursing the child in the ordinary way, Isis gave him her fin…”
The Egyptian Heaven and Hell | Chapter 8 (part 3)
AFU-RA), twelve goddesses, who open the gates in the earth, twelve goddesses, who guide the god, and nine gods, "who praise Ra" (vol. i., pp. 9-11). So soon as AFU-RA has entered this DIVISION (ARRIT) he calls upon the gods to let him pr…”
The Egyptian Heaven and Hell | Chapter 30 (part 1)
TWELFTH DIVISION OF THE TUAT. II. EASTERN VESTIBULE OF THE TUAT ACCORDING TO THE BOOK OF GATES. The last section of the BOOK OF GATES contains representations of the Gate TESERT-BAIU, with its two doors (vol. ii., pp. 302, 303), which…”
greek_mystery3
Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXIV. PROTEUS
XXIV. TO PROTEUS * . The FUMIGATION from STORAX. PROTEUS I call, whom Fate decrees, to keep The keys which lock the chambers of the deep; First-born, by whose illustrious pow'r alone All Nature's principles are clearly shewn: Matter to chan…”
Orphic Hymns | Hymn XXXVIII. CORYBAS * The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE
XXXVIII. TO CORYBAS * The FUMIGATION from FRANKINCENSE. THE mighty ruler of this earthly ball, For ever flowing, to these rites I call; p. 170 Martial and blest, unseen by mortal sight, Preventing fears, and pleas'd with gloomy night: Hence…”
The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 13 (part 76)
Ἐκ δὲ Τυφωέος ἔστ᾽ ἀνέμων μένος ὑγρὸν ἀέντων, νόσφι Νότου Βορέωτε καὶ ἀργέστεω Ζεφύροιο· 870 οἵ γε μὲν ἐκ θεόφιν γενεή, θνητοῖς μέγ᾽ ὄνειαρ· Οἱ δ᾽ ἄλλοι μαψαῦραι ἐπιπνείουσι θάλασσαν· αἳ δή τοι πίπτουσαι ἐς ἠεροειδέα πόντον, πῆμα μέγα θνητο…”
theosophy3
The Secret Doctrine | Page 26 (part 3)
So has Sefekh Abu who builds the house on high, as Wisdom (Sophia) built hers with seven pillars. . . The primary Kronotypes were seven, and thus the beginning of time in heaven is based on the number and the name of seven, on account of…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 56 (part 3)
2, Page]] 113 THE SECRET WORK OF CHIRAM. active emanations from the three higher principles in man, namely, "Spirit, Soul, and Mind," or Atma, Buddhi, and Manas. It is the spiritual and also the material human basis. Rudimentary man, hav…”
The Secret Doctrine | Page 82 (part 1)
The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky -- Vol. 2 [[Vol. 2, Page]] 519 THE "FATHER OF MORTALS." § XX. PROMETHEUS, THE TITAN. H IS O RIGIN IN A NCIENT I NDIA. I N our modern day there does not exist the slightest doubt in the minds of…”
celtic2
The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESIN-a
In times past there lived in Penllyn a man of gentle lineage, named Tegid Voel, and his dwelling was in the midst of the lake Tegid, and his wife was called Caridwen. And there was born to him of his wife a son named Morvran ab Tegid, and…”
The Mabinogion | Tale TALIESIN-c
Elphin of notable qualities, Be not displeased at thy misfortune; Although reclined thus weak in my bag, There lies a virtue in my tongue. While I continue thy protector Thou hast not much to fear; Remembering the names of the Trinity, Non…”
taoism2
Tao Te Ching | Chapter 22
The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and…”
The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book VI (part 5)
Dze-sze 1 , Dze-yü 1 , Dze-1î 1 , and Dze-lâi 1 , these four men, were talking together, when some one said, 'Who can suppose the head to be made from nothing, the spine from life, and the rump-bone from death? Who knows how death and birt…”
hinduism1
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book IV | Sutra 23
The psychic nature, taking on the colour of the Seer and of things seen, leads to the perception of all objects. In the unregenerate man, the psychic nature is saturated with images of material things, of things seen, or heard, or tasted, o…”
native_american1
Myths of the Cherokee | Myth 62b
Under the blanket on the seat were long, sharp thorns of the honey locust, with the points all sticking up, but when the boy sat down they did not hurt him, and then Thunder knew that it was his son. He asked the boy why he had come. “I h…”