Brother Basil Valen¬tin says:

“The melodious voice of the

Queen will be very pleasing to

the ears of the King of fire; he

will embrace it warmly, out of

great affection for her, and he

will be enraptured until they

are made one single body

from both of them.” The Great

Work is a transcendent ethic.

Thus, it is easy for the Adept

to remove from his existence

the impediments of

superfluous thoughts and ill-timed beings.

But he will face serious difficulties if he wishes to reconstitute within

himself, in obedience to the norm of activity and passivity from which the

macrocosm has been built, the androgyne Eden for the assimilation of

another life to his own. This is the true obstacle.

It is useless, my Disciple, to perform preparatory ablutions, to cloak

yourself in the sacred linen garment. If your heart is not pure, the

garment will not modify it or hide it from the eyes of the Divinity.

There is no greater loss of psychic forces than the multiplicity of

covetousness. It is an enchantment that even Solomon could not resist.

“Qui purus est, is certus est augur,” and it is Paracelsus who teaches you

this, and the word of this master is precious.

Do not yield to nameless voluptuousness. Do not grid your leg with a

wolf-skin belt. Beware of lighting the green candle that leads the being

toward dark lust. Fear enchantments and love potions, wear topaz on

your finger to restrain lubricity and ward off night phantoms, do not trust

the witch’s toad, and do not sleep, like Merlin the Wizard, in the forest of

Broceliande where the treacherous Viviane will enchant you forever.

If you choose a partner, the bond that unites you must be indissoluble

because you will both one day face the Absolute face to face.

With her you must share eternal joys. Both her thoughts and yours must

converge toward the possession of the Absolute. You can only live beside

one who walks with you, hand in hand along the Way, with the one who

seeks with you the thing of three angles and helps you in the Great

Work.

The wife of the alchemist is Pernelle, discreet and wise, who bears on

her finger the ring of the supreme alliance, who reflects all the master’s

thoughts and at the same time guards the atanor until the hour demands

it.

If you have chosen poorly, take one last look at this mystery that is not

meant for you, fill your eyes with its light, and close this book.

You may abandon the Path of the Absolute to which you will never reach,

descend to hell, wretch, with the useless being you have bound to your

flesh, with the empty crust you drag, and enter the path of mediocrity

which from now on is yours and from which you should never have left.

But if your companion truly adorns your life, continue with her the

contemplative progression toward the Absolute.

She must extract from these meditations, wonderful woman, the same

fruit that you do.

But do not forget that her path to perfection, despite the coincidence of

the final goal, is different from yours, which you can know if you study

carefully her microcosmic constitution.

Paracelsus explicitly teaches: “Archaeus (the universal agent) alius in

viro, alius in femina.” It is from you that she must receive initiation, as

you receive it from the Divinity. Remember this essential point and

beware of guiding her along a path that is not hers. Place the Golden

Apple in one hand and the lit torch in the other.

The key of the Major Art is fire and dissolving menstruation. If you know

them, you are on the Royal Way and you will soon see the eternal day,

the day that has no end, «qui nescit occasum diez»

Grillot de Givry