Part IV: Winter Solstice: The Chymical Funeral or Rite of Rebirth
(Fermentation Part II)
December 22 or the Sunday Between Dec. 21 and Jan. 1, Midnight
The Apprentice must be freshly bathed. The Apprentice wears old clothes, plain colors, no prints. The Apprentice is led to the Courtyard and placed on the ground before the Tombstone. Lying there, the Apprentice is blindfolded. The WA carries the sword of the Apprentice. The MC carries the spear and places its point on the left breast of the Apprentice (upon the heart) as he or she gives the instruction:
MC: This is your grave.
And now, behold your Chymical funeral ceremony.
In the beginning were you thus hoodwinked, blind to all but void. You pledged allegiance to the One who states “Per Me Caeci Vident,” “Thru me the blind see,” and followed in the way of her Royal Art, and bound yourself to her eternally in Chymical Wedding. So now in the end, as above so below, are you returned to that original state wherein all things have their beginning and their end. Rest now in stillness and in silence. Rest in peace.
(Funeral ceremonies vary between peoples and individuals. The essential unique ingredient is the eulogy, which usually describes and pays reverence to the dead. One may be written for the Apprentice for this part of the ritual. A last will and testament may be included and kept privately as part of the preliminaries.)
MC cont.: You are to lie here for one hour after I leave you.
Do not sleep.
During the following hour, you are to meditate deeply on death.
The Eight Seals of the New Science Formulae
The Seven Traditional Alchemical Processes in the Making of Alchemical Gold may be meditated here with the New Science (Integrated Humanist) Formulae.
Thus the Immortal Emperor, the Ineffable One, recites The Elixir of the Seven Seals and the Eight Seals of the New Science Formula and contemplates itself until it becomes emptiness. As the microcosm the alchemist visualizes this and becomes the One and emptiness. This is the True Self, the Original Self, and in this state, the alchemist embraces the One and returns to the Void.
The officers return after one hour and stand at the grave.
MT: In truth there is only One. By Law, opposites exist.
Behind manifestations, formations, creations, and emanations,
All opposites cease to exist.
As Creation, Light, and Good, you conquered Void, Darkness, and Evil.
But one opposite cannot exist without the other, and so your enemy can never die.
Your challenge destroyed you, but in this act you have been redeemed.
Finally, even in redemption, you shall become your own opposite.
The power of this Order has been conferred upon you,
And the transmission of power shall continue in this line, thru you,
From the ancient immortals to the founders of the Royal Art Society, to the very last.
This is the Revelation of the Enemy, that All is truly One;
And the Truth, like you, immortal, eternal.
Thus there is no Enemy, no opposite, but only immortality.
You shall die the eternal death and live the eternal life.
In this, the illusion of separateness, I wish you peace, for I know that we are One.
The MT lifts the Immortal Emperor out of the grave with a one-handed grip and the left hand on his shoulder. All return in procession to their stations in the Inner Temple.
MC: We stop the vial of oil and with this bell we close the operation in the name of the Great Work.
When the operation is concluded, the High One stops the vial of oil and sounds the bell thrice.
Here ends the Rite of Creation.
NEXT:
The Master Alchemist’s Handbook
Part I. Orientation: Intellect and Memory – Worldview and Mnemonic Map