The Light of Egypt; Or, The Science of the Soul and the Stars - Volume 2

ible verities of exact science and the philosophical speculations on the infinite and the unknown, as to elude our menta

es to the mystic student's ear, and bow pregnant with awful and mysterious possibilities

antipathy, that the human family possesses; as well as all organic and inorganic forms and substances; and how

e, silent influences emanating from a name, a word, and the power existing in words, when properly used. The human mind is so absorbed in Natur

t, viz., Alchemy, then give a brief review of its physical correspondence

a far different meaning from the one which the terms usually convey to the average mind. Terms, and the ideas we as

composed verbiage, and see if we can excavate the living germ, that has become buried within. If we can do so, we shall, at the commencement of our study, have attained unto a reali

, or secret, ergo THE OCCULT, from which are derived our modern term Alchemy, more properly Al Kimia. This is very different from the popular conception to-day, which supposes that the word relates to the art of artificially making gold by some chem

had greater control, and could impart the real, the alchemical side, of Nature to him; hence the Law of Co

lightened, they have veiled their

tude would have been generally disastrous. So they wrote it in mystical language, knowing that all educated students in Nature's laws, at that time, would understand; yet they little dreamed h

rom each other, though they can never do so in reality, for the latter produces and establishes the facts, while the former occupies itself in their tabulation and deductions. The science constitutes the foundation, and the philosophy, the metaphysical specula

ously, so mix and intermingle the two terms, that nine-tenths of the students present only one side of the question-phil

Yes, this may be true, if its twin b

hall deal especially

rganic chemistry, to which originally they belonged; as astrology did to astronomy. Alchemy and astrology-twin sisters-were the parents of the modern offspring, known in chemistry and astronomy as exact sci

e forest and stagnant weed of the swamp, is the outcome of, and ever surrounded by, its corresponding degree of spiritual life. There is not a single atom but what

at, this biune life is ever in motion throughout the manifested universe; circulating around the focii of creative activities, which we term suns, stars, and planets, awaiting the conditions which are ever present for material incarnation; and under all possible combinations of circumstances and conditions, conceivable and inconceivable, adapting itself to continuous phenomenal expression. Links, so called, in this migh

and its boasted independence, and works silently on, and at last, accomplishes its mission-the evolution of matter, the uplifting of the s

print the scenes, beheld behind the veil, upon the tablets of the brain of the physical organism, a fire would be

es, go forward, irrespective of the gradation of physical t

e made him. But the very reverse is true. The fauna and flora of past geological periods are what the human soul has produced, by virtue of its gradual advancement to higher states and conditions of life, so that, so far from man being the outcome of the planet's development, such material progress is the outgrowth of man's advancement, proving again that, matter is not independent of spirit, neither can spirit be indepen

us, setting up vibrations that will create higher and loftier conditions for the physical man. Aye! then they will know

ements-the STAR, the ROOT, the ELEMENT and the SPERM. These elements were composed of the three principles, SIDERIC SALT, SULPHUR, and MERCURY. Mercury, or spirit, sulphur, or oil, and salt, and the passive

ondence, could, by the same use of the spiritual laws of Alchemy, analyze and combine the same elements from the atmosphere, to produce the corresponding ex

oil of olives is not a single, simple substance, but it is more or less combined with other essential elements, and will fuse and coalesce with other oils and essences of similar nature. The true chemist will not confine his researches for knowledge to the mere examination, analysis, and experiments, in organic life; but will inform himself equally, in physical astrology; and learn the nature

amount of life it contains. We are so complex in our organization that, we require a great variety of the different elements to sustain all the active functions and powers within us. Man, being a microcosm, or a miniature universe, must sustain that universe, by taking into the system the various elements, which combine to make up the In

ill grow, become fruitful, and reproduce itself. They can reproduce from the stones in the street the same chemical equivalents that go to compose gluten, albumen, and starch-the trinity which must always be present to sustain life; but they cannot, by any known process, make such chemical equivalents of these substances, do the same thing. Now, if not, why not? Science cannot answer this. A very mysterious shake of the head and profound silence is the only answer. Ask Science HOW THE PLANT GROWS, what causes the atoms of matter to build up root, stem, leaf, bud and flower, true to the parent species from which the germinal atom came. What is there behind the plant that stamps it with such striking individ

physical science upon the subject, and for this purpose no more trustworthy guide can be consulted than the new edition of "The Chemistry of Common Life," by the l

be built up by the conjoined labors of myriads of minute zoophytes, laboring together on the surface of a coral rock; but it is not less wonderful that, by the ceaseless working of similar microscopic agencies in leaf and root, the substance of vast forests should be built up and made to grow before our eyes. It is more wonderful, in fact; for whereas, in the one case, t

ter, on pages 62-3, the sam

ry different from each other in composition and in all of their properties. From the seed-vessels of one (the poppy) we collect a juice which dries up into our commercial opium; from the bark of another (cinchona) we extract the quinine with which we assuage the raging fever; from the leaves of others, like those of hemlock and tobacco, we distil deadly poisons, often of rare value for their medicinal uses. The flowers and leaves of some yield volatile oils, which we delight in for their odors and their aromatic qualities;

us through the physical science of chemistry, what think you must be hidden from our physical sight and knowledge by the veil which hangs between

sm of man have concealed within his microscopic universe, to study and comprehend? Plant life is me

rom life. We perceive every external form to be the physical symbol of a corresponding degree of spiritual life; that each complete plant represents a complete cycle, state, or degree of interior existence; that it is made up and consists of countless millions of separate atoms of life; that these atoms of spiritual activity are the real instigators of the life and motion of corresponding ma

ualities, by what appears, to the uninitiated observer, a miraculous transmutation of matter, but which is, in reality, the evolution of organic form from inorganic materials, in obedience to the Divine law of spiritual progression. Who could stop with exact science? For, when we come to consider the apparent mysteries of life and growth by the aid of this alchemical light, the shadows flee, and all the illusions of Nature's phenomenal kaleidoscope vanish before the revelation of the underlying spiritual realities. We know that the plant, being the physical expression upon the material plane of a more interior life, endows its outward atoms with their peculiar qualities. THESE QUALITIES ARE NOT DRAWN DIRECTLY FROM THE SOIL; the soil only becoming the medium for their complete or incomplete expression, as the case may be; i.e., supplying the necessary inorgani

this life if at once prepared for food, if not overcooked, which is so often ignorantly done. This is the secret of sustenance from foods. Nature's perfected fruits and vegetables are overflowing with the life-giving essences, and, if eaten direct from the tree

carnations and labors in its cycle of evolution, from the mineral up to man, has achieved the royal prerogative to rule within its own state. Man being the highest representative form-the grand finale in the earthly drama-sums up and contains within himself everything below, and THE GERMS OF EVERYTHING BEYOND, THIS STATE. He is truly a microcosm, and repres

, which inhabits and controls the outer organism, and through its instrumentality, understand the interior source and workings behind the phenomena of manifested being. So we see t