"Saturn drew ten parts of this water and immediately picked the fruit of the solar tree and put it in this water...For this water is the Water of Life, which has the power to improve the fruits of this tree, so that from then on there will be no further need to plant or graft any, because by its scent alone it can make the six other trees assume the same nature as itself."
Some alchemical texts unrelated to the Red Mass of the Great Work help to clarify the activities taking place in it.
"For now a black cloud is seen, floating sweetly and gently through the middle part of the vessel and being raised above the vessel."
"Oh blessed cloud which floats through our vessel!"
"The artist must make this vessel himself; that is a maxim of the art. Do not therefore undertake anything until you have received all the light on this eggshell, which the masters of the Middle Ages called the secretum secretorum [secret of secrets]."
The Red Mass of the Great Work, an elaboration of the World Soul, was engraved by a 17th century Austrian artist. In the engraving is seen the Fence of Fire, called the Mighty Power by the Gnostics, formed as the result of the Self-limitation of Mind and Idea. Emanationism is illustrated in the engraving by the analogy of overflow, wherein the universe is like a fountain with upper levels spilling over from itself to itself into the levels below. The perfect, inexhaustible Source from which everything flows or emanates is represented by Mercurius (Thoth-Hermes), the Messenger of the gods, who is standing just beneath the palindrome V.W.I.W.V. (As Within, So Without).
Flowing in the fountain is the Hermetic Stream and "Bath of the Philosophers in which Sol and Luna disported themselves jointly." (1) The Hermetic stream is the mysterious Fountain of Life or Water of Life so often depicted in scenes of the Knights of the Round Table. The Water of Life was called "Osiris efflux" by the ancient Egyptians and Cretans, who carried it in a symbolic water-vase at the head of their processions honoring Osiris. The Water of Life that long ago flowed as Osiris efflux is now seen flowing from Jesus in the Red Mass.
Mind and Idea, emanated and empowered by God to participate in the give and take of creation, is part of the large sphere containing Mercurius, the fountain, Jesus (Administrative Intelligence-Demiurge) and the grape arbor (Arborvitae-Tree of Life-the cerebellum of the brain in cross section). Also contained by the sphere of the Red Mass is the World Soul, within which are contained individual souls along the fountain, exemplifying the Fountain of Souls. When the World Soul, symbolized by the Fountain of Souls, is viewed from above, it appears as concentric circles (below left). The geometry of concentric circles is responsible, in part, in creating the vortex-portal through which the individual may pass from this reality into that of another dimension (below right). This is represented by the Red Mass wherein two separate but connected dimensions are portrayed.
The World Soul is the Crater or Cup, the Holy Grail, in which the Creator "mixes the All-Soul of universal nature from the purest Cosmic Elements, and from it He also ladles out the souls of men..." (2) The Crater or Cup is the Mixing Space or Vast Vortex "extending downwards like a funnel," (3) "an infinite sea itself, being driven round by its own peculiar nature, flowed with a natural motion in an orderly fashion from out of itself into itself, as it were a vortex ... flowed, as it were in a funnel, down the middle of the universe, and was carried to the bottom..." (4)
At the bottom of the "funnel" on the Red Mass, alchemists are seen celebrating the White Rite. Above them, along the Fountain of Souls, are seven souls representing the seven known planets or "seven lords who wander," (5) including the sun and the moon, that are held on their appointed courses by the vital chains extending from the sun. (See the vital chains in Chapter Three, ref. Anonymous 16th Century Gentleman). From the top of the fountain, the planets are: Mercury (top), Jupiter (right), Saturn (left), Venus (right), Mars (left), the Moon (right), and the Sun (left).
Below the Fountain of Souls lies Matter, the firmament upon which stand the Alchemists holding bellows. One analogy of light, often used to illustrate Emanationism, is used here. The dark and dense material world of the Alchemists is illuminated by the overflow of metaphysical light from the bright, nonphysical world above. The Alchemists are interdependent with the upper orders for unity. The Red Mass illustrates how our temporal world and the timeless world rely upon each other for the reality we possess.
The Great Work of Alchemy is the lifting of the Curtain of space-time and energy-matter so that a privileged position vis-a-vis the universe can be attained. From this position we can access the realities which are ordinarily hidden. From this perspective we can see the hidden patterns. Operating as the curtain on the Red Mass are the voluminous black clouds floating between the world above and the world below.
Another natural barrier against the attainment of hidden knowledge is the Limit-Cross, seen on the Red Mass in the form of crossed swords made from the branches of the Arborvitae. Analogous in meaning to these swords are the fiery swords that are wielded by the Cherubims in order to bar Adam and Eve from Paradise, producing a Fence of Fire. Some of the realities hidden by them involve the alchemical process of creation by which Spirit becomes Matter and by which Force evolves into Form.
Alchemy, which was once called "celestial agriculture," is Emanationism in terms of the action of the Absolute in differentiating Self into a phenomenal universe. In the religious science of Alchemy, Form is eternal. The elements of fire, water, air and earth adopt forms, then exchange places and adopt other forms in a continuous process of transmutation. Part of the wisdom of Alchemy is in knowing that "Natura non facit saltus." Nature does not proceed by a leap, but by many intermediate stages. Like a process of extension, each successive level of emanation is formed on the basis of the models or archetypes in the level before.
Emanationism was bequeathed to Medieval Christianity by converts from Gnosticism, most especially St. Augustine, who was a Gnostic for nine years. During those times, the concepts of the philosophy were eloquently expressed by the Christian writer Dante Alighieri when he described the structure of creation in The Divine Comedy. His "Terrestrial Paradise" at the apex of Purgatory, the Christian equivalent of the astral planes (bottom left), is the emanated sphere upon which are standing the alchemists in the Red Mass. (above left and top of page) The location of Purgatory in relation to the universe is given in Dante's Universe (bottom right). Dante included in his diagram the philosophy of the 4 elements or constituents of Matter that continuously transmute and adopt form--fire, water, air and earth. The philosophy of the 4 elements, from ca. 3000 BCE in Sumer in Mesopotamia, was well known to the Hermetic orders of the Roscicrucians and the Ordo Templi Orientis (Order of the Eastern Templars) in 17th century Austria. (Camouflaged on the Red Mass are the signatures R.C. [Roscicrucians] and god-name A L with the symbol of the OTO between.)
Dante conceived of heaven as being somewhere in the outer world rather than the inner world. But in the Red Mass the universe is depicted as being both within and without (.V.W.I.W.V.) The universe is both subjective-nonordinary reality and objective-ordinary reality.
"For what is inside of you is what is outside of you." (7)
Dante's Universe is the portrayal of reality as objective and ordinary. The Red Mass, in the shape of a human skull, is the portrayal of the universe as subjective and nonordinary. The portals of the grape arbor are eye sockets, the crossed branches of the swords are throat cavity, the flat plane of Purgatory (Terrestrial Paradise) is the lower jaw, and the Alchemists on the lower jaw are neck vertebrae. The Alchemists are facing the faint image of a fence-like structure similar to teeth, a combination of the "fence of the teeth," as expressed by Homer, and of the Fence of Fire. Above the Fence of Fire is the Heaven-Sphere of the Ogdoad, meaning 8th heaven. Below the Heaven-Sphere, and within the Boundary of the Fence, lies the Hebdomad, collectively the seven lower portals. The Fence of Fire, a Mighty Power, was said to be marked by a flaming sword lying across its diameter. (8)
The skull of the Red Mass is odd because it is the back of the head, not the front. It is at the back of the head that the alchemical laboratory is located. The Great Work of lifting the Curtain takes places within the alchemical "vessel" of the human skull and involves the fontanelle, the Arborvitae, and the Yuzhen points (left, Illus. 1), all at the back of the head. The backs of the heads of all the alchemists of Terrestrial Paradise are shown. The lone female in the group is wearing a chignon over her Yuzhen points.
On the plane above them Jesus officiates the mystical marriage of the opposites, P6 (fire) and Luna P5 (water), two elements in the process of transmutation. Holding a cup at each Yuzhen point, he offers the bride and groom the ladled out souls of the All-Soul of the universe, the Elixir Vitae or Elixir of Life. The Yuzhen points facilitate "a shift from the conscious brain activity of the cerebral cortex to that of the subconscious [unconscious] and intuitive brain activities of the medulla." (9) This shift in consciousness is essential to The Great Work of lifting the Curtain. Every culture has developed a way of shifting the consciousness away from the waiting, analytical state of mind to the magical, altered state of mind.
"The kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you." (6)
 
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The Red Mass upside down (far left) is the Hermetic vessel known as the Philosopher's Egg (center) of the OTO, symbolizing the legendary Philosopher's Stone. Inside the Egg are two elegantly dressed Pythagorean philosophers discussing the correlation of the cosmos to the musical octaves. This implies something about the cosmos being inside the head! The Pythagoreans believed the whole heaven to be a musical scale and a number. Included is another version of the alchemical vessel.
The Fountain of Souls seen in the Red Mass symbolizes fundamental, life-sustaining activity at both the macro- and microcosmic levels of existence. At the Macrocosmic level, the emanations represented by the spheres of the fountain are connected by the flowing Hermetic Stream that flows through each sphere. At the microcosmic level, the human body is nourished and sustained by Elixir Vitae or Chi energy-life force, the psychic energy emanated by the Source and channeled by the chakra system (bottom right, Illus. 2). The chakras are the metaphysical centers of energy and consciousness that correspond roughly to areas of the human body from the base of the spine to the head. In the 17th century, the Roscicrucians and the OTO were familiar with Eastern concepts of the chakra system, as developed by the Hindus long before 2000 BCE.
The Elixir Vitae flowing through the centers of consciousness (bottom left) is Chi energy, bringing vitality to the physical body and animating it. Chi flows along specific pathways called Ida and Pingala, part of the subtle nervous system. Ida and Pingala, two of the Three Primordial Principles as expressed by the Chakra system are symbolized as serpents on the 2000 BCE Libation Cup of King Gudea of Lagash in Mesopotamia (bottom center) and are seen in detail on the 2000 BCE India stamp seal (bottom left). Ida and Pingala are part of the Caduceus (bottom right, Illus. 3), the symbol of healing in the occult sciences as well as in the medical profession. They are the serpents of the Rod of Hermes and "the guide of souls to the knowledge of immortal life" because they are part of the built-in psychic energy system that makes possible the Great Work of lifting the Curtain.
"This is all 'subtle' substance," wrote Joseph Campbell. "You
won't find it on the operating table."
At the top of the chakra system drawing (right, Illus. 4) is the Crown chakra-fontanelle, represented by Mercurius at the top of the Red Mass. Mercurius (Thoth) is P1 (Crown) or Divine Mind who, with P2 and P3, is the eternal Self. Just as the Creator is part of but separate from the material world, the mind is part of, but separate from the body. Demonstrating this is Archetypal Human (Illus. 2). The mind of Archetypal Human is represented by P1, P2 and P3, which are part of, but out of and above, the body. The subjective experience of P1, P2 and P3 is to experience a "raised consciousness."
The Fountain of Youth, bringing physical renewal to the bathers, is a good example of what happens when esoteric knowledge, such as the Hermetic Stream, the Bath of the Philosophers and the Fountain of Souls, escapes into the public domain. It becomes something that is supposed to exist in objective-ordinary reality but that does not, like the Philosopher's Stone, the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. The Fountain of Youth flows, as we all know, in St. Augustine, Florida, but how many know it is a symbol of Emanationism and the chakra system? Ponce de Leon did not know it. He searched the New World over for the Fountain of Youth when all the while it was invisible inside his body, encased in his clanking armor.
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P13 is Pinda, the region of gross physical matter and the world of the energies that are the study of the physical sciences. This is Muladhara chakra at the base of the spine, the abode of the Absolute in the form of Kundalini Sakthi, the female principle. The entire manifest universe is expressed by P13. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P13:
Sarcophagus of Lord Pacal: P13 is the base of the coffin
Jesse Tree: P13 is Jesse
Chartres Cathedral: Communion
Syriac New Testament Tree of Life: the Cosmos
Shroud of Turin: 7 Ahau's feet
Archangels of the Holy Sephiroth: Sandalphon
The Red Mass of the Great Work: Terrestrial Paradise
Archetypal Human: the feet.
P8-P12 is the Brahmand Region, where spirit intensifies its ascendancy over matter. Brahmand Region begins the region of the astral plane, where the astral body separates from the physical body and travels in the spirit-vision, also called heaven-walking.
P12 and P11 are Sahansdal Kanwal, meaning thousand-petaled lotus, part of the Etheric World of Forms that are the subtle energy systems or the blueprints of the physical forms taken by living matter. At this lowest level of the astral planes the physical person meets the Master (Guide, Partner or Angel), the spiritual being who has achieved a high level of spiritual enlightenment and who facilitates the communication of the individual sparks of the World Soul and Lightbody Network. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P12 and P11:
Jesse Tree: P12 and P11 are Jesse's counterparts to his left and right
Moving outward from the center of the Spiral of Creation, P10 is Trikuti, meaning three mountains. P10 is the center of the astral world of occult Forces that supports the etheric Forms taken by the physical world. Trikuti is the plane of the Mental body, much finer than the astral body. This is the region of the Universal Mind, where is kept the perfect record, called the Akashic Records, of the history of the universe throughout the aeons of existence. (Akasha is a Sanskrit word meaning the fundamental etheric substance of the universe.) The Akashic Records are the Holy Scrolls of the World Soul and the Ark of the Covenant. P10 is Swadhisthana chakra, element water, at the genital region. The disciples of Tantra Yoga concentrate on this chakra, claiming that all Alchemy stems from their religion. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P10:
Sarcophagus of Lord Pacal: P10 is the water-lily monster
P9-P8 is Daswan Dwar, meaning the land beyond the Tenth Gate. Daswan Dwar begins the first realm of immortality, with the ties to the lower regions forgotten. With ascension to this realm comes the experience of loss of memory of self in the physical world. Daswan Dwar is Manipura chakra, element fire, at the navel. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P9-P8:
Sarcophagus of Lord Pacal: P9 and P8 are the lifted spheres Ark of the Covenant: drawers for holding the Holy Scrolls Red Mass of the Great Work: Sol and Luna
V7 is Maha Sunn, the Buddhic area of intense darkness that one can cross only with the assistance of the psychic light emanated by the Heavenly Partner. The areas V7 and above are available to the living, but a Partner is required. This is the entrance into the realm of pure Spirit. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of V7:
Forbidden City: V7 is the path to the Emperor's Palace
P7 is Bhanwar Gupha, meaning revolving cave (crater-vortex), the area of "I am that," where subject identifies with object and where participation in separation ceases. This is the pivotal sphere, the midway point to transcendence, and the area of complete dissolution of all things physical, including self. P7 is Anahata chakra, element air, at the heart region. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P7:
Sarcophagus of Lord Pacal: P7 is the location of the lemniscate made by Pacal's hands
P6 and P5 are Sach Khand, the True Home of the Soul. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P6-P5:
Sarcophagus of Lord Pacal: P6 and P5 are the etheric spheres of the maize gods
P4 is Sat Desh, the region of Ultimate Reality. From Sat Desh the Great Creative Current, the Shabd or Word, flows to create and sustain all other regions. In Sat Desh the soul (Surat) is joined to the Sound (Shabd) of the angelic choir. P4 is Vishudha chakra, element ether, at the throat. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P4:
Sarcophagus of Lord Pacal: P4 is the semicircle just beyond the Limit-Cross and the Curtain
P3, P2 and P1 are the realm of Mind and Idea, the first Emanation of God, which in turn emanated Spheres 4 through 13. P3 is Alakh Lok meaning Inconceivable Region. P2 is Agam Lok, meaning Inaccessible Region. Combined P3-P2 is Anja chakra, the center of intuitional knowledge situated in the space between the eyebrows. Anja chakra, called the Third Eye, is considered to be the seat of spiritual wisdom in the mind. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P3 and P2:
Sarcophagus of Lord Pacal: P3 and P2 are the Forefathers beneath the green and blue feathers
P1 is Anami Lok, meaning Nameless Region. This is Sahasrara chakra at the top of the head--the Crown chakra-fontanelle--the entry-exit point of power bridging spirit and matter. At Sahasrara chakra, Kundalini Sakthi unites with Shiva, the Absolute in the form of the male principle, and ends the duality of Yin and Yang. The following art contained in this book exhibits the manifest qualities of P1:
Sarcophagus of Lord Pacal: P1 is the sacred bird
Syriac New Testament Tree of Life: the "ca-bala," two hidden, portals
Dante's Universe: Heaven of the Moon and Heaven of Mercury; and Archetypal Human: hidden. P13, P12 and P11 are the center of the Spiral of Creation. Pinda, the region of gross physical matter at the center of the spiral-vortex, is the destination of the unhappy first couple in Giovanni di Paolo's 15th century "Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise."
Forbidden City: the Emperor's Palace
Deposition From the Cross: the dwarf and the elf supporting the trunk of the World Tree
Chartres Cathedral: Vortex
Syriac New Testament Tree of Life: Atlas-Hercules (Foundation) and genital area
Shroud of Turin: genital area
The Red Mass of the Great Work: Jesus
Dante's Universe: Heaven of Venus
Archetypal Human: genital area.
Dante's Universe: Heaven of the Sun and Heaven of Mars.
Chartres Cathedral: the Nave
Syriac New Testament Tree of Life: Jacob's Ladder illuminated by the sun.
16th Century Gentleman: the center of the vortex on his tunic
Chartres Cathedral: hidden
Shroud of Turin: the pivotal sphere with the two images of the head of 7 Ahau
Red Mass of the Great Work: the fountain with Venus and Mars
Dante's Universe: the Heaven of Jupiter
Archetypal Human: the heart.
Syriac New Testament Tree of Life: Strength and Faith (right
Red Mass of the Great Work: Saturn and Jupiter
Dante's Universe: Heaven of Saturn and Heaven of Fixed Stars.
16th Century Gentleman: his throat
Chartres Cathedral: Sacred Center
Syriac New Testament Tree of Life: hidden
Shroud of Turin: hidden; Red Mass of the Great Work: the sphere of the fountain containing Saturn and Jupiter
Dante's Universe: Crystalline Heaven: Primum Mobile
Archetypal Human: the throat.
16th Century Gentleman: his eyes
Deposition From the Cross: the Shroud-Curtain
Chartres Cathedral: great stained glass windows
Syriac New Testament Tree of Life: an open eye-Form, and Force, and the eyes of Jesus
Dante's Universe: Motionless Heaven: Empyrean
Archetypal Human: Immortal Mind and Idea.
16th Century Gentleman: the emblem of the Sacred Bird on his hat
Jesse Tree: the Dove of the Holy Spirit
Deposition From the Cross: the Tau Cross (As Above, So Below
Chartres Cathedral: great stained glass windows
Syriac New Testament Tree of Life: the Crown and the crown of thorns on the head of Jesus
Red Mass of the Great Work: Mercurius-Hermes-Thoth
Dante's Universe: The Rose of the Blessed
Archetypal Human: Crown.
How the Grave works to Resurrect the Soul
Another fine example of this layered, geophysical architecture and layered metaphysical structure of creation is found within the burial mounds of the North American Mound Builders (1800 BCE-500 BCE). The mound architecture is in the nature of an unconscious admission of the structure of creation and a projection outwards of the Indians' interior mental and spiritual order.
The detail of the painting on muslin, "Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi Valley", 348 feet long and 7-1/2 feet high, was completed about 1850 by John Egan, far left with easel. Now displayed in the City Art Museum of St. Louis, the painting was designed to be rolled up on two poles and then unrolled so that it could be exhibited by Dr. Dickeson, foreground with red hat, who excavated (some say destroyed) more than 1500 mounds. The burial mound is a primitive version of the Temple of Inscriptions (below right). Mound Builder architects eventually produced a more sophisticated temple-mound (below left).
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Near the bottom of the primitive mound, in the approximate location of the Sarcophagus inside the Temple of Inscriptions, is a terra cotta vase, a small model of the physical world, containing human remains and around which are scattered more human remains. This is P13, Pinda, the region of gross physical matter. On the Sarcophagus, P13 is the bottom of the coffin, the final resting-place of Lord Pacal's human remains. Above the vase, Indians were laid head to foot on H4 and H3, defined by Surat Shabd Yoga as comprising part of the region of time and mortality (Pl3 through P8). After death and subsequent burial within the mound, the souls of the Indians abandoned their bodies and ascended, as illustrated by the Indian seen ascending the Spirit Tunnel at the center of H3.
In this same manner and location, Lord Pacal is shown ascending his sarcophagus. In Lord Pacal's tomb skeletons were found. Lord Pacal also constructed a Spirit Tunnel inside his temple leading from his coffin to the outside. He ascended, as did the Indian in the mound, via the Spirit Tunnel, V7 or Maha Sunn, the area of intense darkness. The Indian exited the tunnel and the universe of earth through the top of the mound at P7, Bhanwar Gupha or revolving cave where, on the sarcophagus, Pacal's hands are shaped as a lemniscate, symbolizing the eternal transformation of the soul. The top of the mound is the equivalent of the top of the Temple of Inscriptions.
On the sarcophagus, Pacal is ascending 4 physical confinements--his body, the coffin (V8 and V9), the temple (V5 and V6), and the universe of earth (P13-P7). Beyond these physical confinements, both Pacal and the Indian ascend through the Etheric World of Forms and the Aeonic spheres to the universe of heaven, where they find P4, Sat Desh, the Home of the Returning Spirit on the other side of the of curtain of space-time and energy-matter. Their alchemical Great Work now complete, they move on to other regions and dimensions for more personal growth and spiritual evolvement.
Thanks be to thee, Light, Great Creator, for this opportunity to serve. Amen.
Footnotes: 1. John Read, Through Alchemy to Chemistry; 2. from Plato, G.R.S. Mead, Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Vol.. 1, p. 315; 3. Ibid.., Vol. 1, p. 316, from Plutarch, Vision of Atidaeus; 4. Ibid.., Vol.. 1, p. 271, from Clementine Homilies; 5. Dr. M. Doreal, Thoth the Atlantean; 6. The Gospel of Thomas, the Nag Hammadi Papyri; 7. The Thunder, Perfect Mind, the Nag Hammadi Papyri; 8. G.R.S. Mead, Thrice-Greatest Hermes; 9. Ted Andrews, How to Meet and Work with Spirit Guides;
Illustrations: All Illustrations are by the author. 1. After Ted Andrews; 2. After P.W. Berg; 3. After Pamela Eakins; 4. After Manly P. Hall's Spiritual Centers of Man
Copyright Notice - Disk of the World - Text and images copyrighted March 21, 1993-2023, Claire Grace Watson, B.A., M.S.T., U.S. Copyright and under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, All rights reserved.