Nicholas

Valois,

the

alchemist,

says:

"The

Science

of

the

Philosophers

is

the

knowledge

of

the universal power of things.”

In

the

dark

night

of

your

soul,

my

Disciple,

you

have

sometimes

sighed

for

an

immeasurable

Light

that

should

come

to

illuminate

your

helplessness

in

a

distant and undefined day.

You

have

dreamed,

in

a

confused

vision,

of

joys

and

harmonies

beyond

human,

of

omniscience, of limitless power.

You

have

sensed

splendor

amid

the

darkness

and

the

sorrowful

opaqueness of the chaos in which you struggle confuse­ly.

And

now

the

horizon

of

your

life

dawns

and

lets

you

glimpse

some

better

and

more

perfect

things.

Hurry

to

turn

toward

this

light,

still

indecisive.

Follow

it,

it

is

the

star

of

the

Magi

rising

for

you

and

that

will

guide

you,

if

you do not lose sight of it, to the Master of the World.

Having

given

yourself

to

yourself,

you

have

been

characterized

by

the

disorder of ideas and deeds.

The

remedy

against

this

disorder

is

to

enter

into

yourself.

Entering

into

yourself demands a sustained and durable act of will.

The

sustained

and

durable

act

of

will

requires

a

rule

of

life.

The

rule

of

life entails a series of spiritual acts that you must scrupulously fulfill.

The

first

norm,

which

sums

them

all

up,

is

to

disinterestedly

disregard

the

judgments and acts of men.

Wrap

yourself

in

a

cloak

of

indifference;

it

is

the

key

to

magical

life.

Free

yourself

from

contingencies.

Get

rid

of

every

attachment

to

matter,

closed

inside

your

own

thought

and

your

science.

Be

the

solitary,

the

true

Mpvíaç (monk), build a cell within your own heart.

To

accept

a

dark

path

when

there

is

hunger

for

glory

is

the

summit

of

perfection. Thus, rigorously, the Wise have fulfilled the Great Work.

What

more

can

you

desire,

if

the

ideal

you

have

created

is

a

kingdom

where

you

reign

as

sovereign

lord?

You

are

a

King

at

the

moment

when

thrones sink! You are a Priest at the moment when hierophanies tremble!

Despise

the

multitude,

ignore

the

people,

ignore

the

crowd,

shun

the

depraved. Only the exceptional being is worthy of your interest.

Mass

expansion

is

only

worth

considering

when

it

is

hierarchical.

A

disciplined

multitude

built

the

hidden

monument

par

excellence,

the

monument that casts no shadow: the Pyramid.

Indisciplined

crowds

have

only

known

how

to

shout

and

loot,

something

within

everyone's

reach.

And

you,

simple

unit,

would

you

join

them?

Then

renounce

the

Great

Work;

the

Path

of

the

Absolute

will

never

open

for

you.

It

is

ridiculous

to

want

to

possess

Wisdom

and

popular

approval

at the same time.

"Acting

also

means

not

acting,"

says

Lao-Tse,

remember

that.

When

outside

people

shout

and

fight,

you,

my

disciple,

watch

over

the

atanor

of your soul and do not meddle in the upheavals and struggles.

If

you

do

not

mind

ignoring

what

is

thought

and

said

of

you,

courage!

you have already progressed on the Path of the Absolute.

Reputation

is

nothing;

only

the

testimony

of

conscience

matters.

What

good

is

it

to

appear

holy

if

you

do

not

have

hermetic

peace

in

your

heart?

There

is,

then,

according

to

the

Scala

Philosophorum,

beginning

the

work

when the Sun is in Aries and the Moon in Taurus.

Ripleu

and

the

Rósari

assure

us

that

a

year

is

necessary

to

obtain

the

Philosopher's

Stone

in

all

its

stability

and

firmness,

and

Bernard

le

Trevisan adds seven days.

Understand

and

meditate

on

these

words.

Strive

to

develop

the

latent

powers

that

subsist

within

you.

Order

your

life

according

to

hidden

rules.

You

are

the

very

matter

of

the

Great

Work:

spiritualize

yourself,

purify

your

astral,

rid

yourself

of

the

Cimmerian

shadows.

But

if

you

prefer

to

abandon

yourself

to

the

randomness

of

events,

weep

then

with

no

hope,

you

will

know

only

failure

and

disillusions

and

you

will

never

enter

the

assembly of the Philosophers.

Grillot de Givry