THE BLACK SUN, MYSTIC ROSE, HOLY GRAIL, STONE FROM HEAVEN AND THE ELIXIR OF LIFE
- ParrisVstefanow
- Apr 23
- 3 min read
There are also many parallels in the world of Hermeticism and alchemy.
Alchemy concerns itself with the search for the elusive “Elixir of Life”, a sort of cure-all substance that is capable if bringing health, wealth, immortality, and spiritual emancipation to him who possesses it.
Literally, it involves the transformation of base metals into gold, while figuratively, it involves the transformation of the dross of the unrefined Soul into the “Lapsit Exillis” - the Stone from Heaven.
This stone represents perfection idealized, the amalgamation of opposites into a unified whole. And yet it is also called “the Hidden Stone” because it lies in the midst of all things, and men do not see it;
....... giving rise to the Masonic parable of the “stone that was rejected” in the building of Solomon’s Temple, which in the end becomes the cornerstone for the House of God.
This stone has also been equated with the Sun, shining in perfect brilliance, ruling the Heavens like a king over his realm.
The alchemical process, both the physical and the figurative, involves a stage called Dissolution, when the elements (or the base emotions and Ego of the aspirant) are dissolved, to be replaced later by purity of spirit, or “gold.”
This stage is symbolized by... a black sun!
And this black sun stage is equated with none other than Saturn, or Kronos, the sleeping god buried in a subterranean tomb who is called “the Hidden One”.
....... And this is precisely why Elixir of Life is called “the Hidden Stone” - because it is hidden in the midst of this dross or base matter, the Black Sun, which, once dissolved, reveals the shining brilliance within.
This dross matter is called the Prima Materia, the “original matter” from which all other forms were made. At the same time, the concept of the Black Sun arose, some say, because ancient civilizations believed that the Sun died at night as it set in the West, and descended into the Underworld, where it turned black. The next day it would resurrect again in the East.
They imagined the Sun actually traveling underneath the Earth via a secret subterranean passageway, and had hieroglyphs depicting this.
Significantly, there is an alchemical motto called “V.I.T.R.I.O.L”, an acronym for Latin words which translate to “Visit the Interior Parts of the Earth; by Rectification Thou Shalt Find the Hidden Stone.”
Is this Hidden Stone, then, the same as the Black Sun that lights the inner Earth, and the “hidden sun” which lights the tomb of Christian Rosenkreutz?
Clearly, from the phrasing of the ritual, the Golden Dawn considers the hidden sun to be synonymous with the mystic rose which is the symbol of their order.
This rose has always been equated, not only with the female vagina, but with the Holy Grail, which is also called the “Hidden Stone” and the “stone that fell from Heaven”, and is also believed to contain the Elixir of Life.
So it would appear that these five symbols - the Black Sun, the Mystic Rose, the Holy Grail, the Stone from Heaven, and the Elixir of Life - all represent essentially the same thing, or at least portions of the same thing, stages in the same process.
The fact that the rose is surmounted upon an equilateral cross could be seen as symbolic of its place “in the center of things” - which is, figuratively, to be found in the deepest recesses of one’s soul;
....... wherein resides the equilibrium of opposing forces; and literally, in the center of the Earth’s axis. But is there any further evidence that ties this in more directly with the inner earth, the Holy Grail and a buried or “hidden” god?
Yes there is. Lots more.
Some of this evidence is to be found in the same Adeptus Minor ritual of the Golden Dawn, and the correlations are, in fact, pretty direct. In the beginning of the ritual it is states:
“The Tomb is symbolically situated in the centre of the Earth, Mountain of the Caverns, the Mystic Mountain of Abiegnus. The meaning of this title of Abiegnus - Abi-Agnus, Lamb of the Father.
It is by metathesis Abi-Genos, Born of the Father. Bia-Genos, Strength of our Race, and the four words make the sentence: ABIEGNUS ABIAGNUS ABI-GENOS BIA-GENOS. "Mountain of the Lamb of the Father, and the Strength of Our Race.”
As I have mentioned, the dead but dreaming god buried in a secret tomb who will one day arise is a recurring theme in many mythologies.
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