214 THE REVIVAL OF ALCHEMY. 



ist who expects to succeed must possess psychic power over the atoms, 

 so that by the action of his will they shall group themselves to form the 

 metal desired. 



Such is the physical philosophy of modern alchemists. The kabalistic 

 philosophy is by no means so clear, being closely linked to the Tarot, 

 which signifies the "hieroglyphs and algebraic calculations of the 

 primordial genesis." 



Students of the mystical philosophy of the Hebrews discover pro- 

 found occult significance in accidental similarities of widely differing 

 objects and phenomena. The seven planets, seven days of the week, 

 seven colors, seven orifices in the head, seven metals known to the 

 ancients, seven archangels, and seven infernal demons i^resent to the 

 truly kabalistic mind marvelous and precious analogies. In the Table 

 of Concordance of Major Arcana these correspondences are given: 

 Heth-Justice-Elementary existence-Nizah- Cancer- June-Hydrogen- 

 Fire. 



JoUivet-Castelot has written of Kabalistic Alchemy, and a perusal of 

 his essays leaves in the mind of the uninitiated confused memories of 

 colors, numbers, signs of the zodiac, alchemical operations as distilla- 

 tion, fixation and the like, the names of the sons of Jacob, certain 

 precious stones, geometrical figures, Hebrew characters, Azoth, quin- 

 tessence, and the devil, all discussed in a language as obscure as the 

 symbolism portrayed. To conceal esoteric mysteries abbreviations are 

 often used, but one does not have to be very deeply initiated to recog- 

 nize in P . • . Ph . • . pierre philosophale, and in G . • . O . • . grand 

 oeuvre. 



Astral light is an important factor in modern herraetism, and is 

 related very closely to the "radiant matter" of chemists and the 

 "ether" of physicists. "Astral light is the universal agent, the uni- 

 versal plastic mediator, the common receptacle of vibrations of motion 

 and of the phantoms of form." It is also the Od of the Hebrews and 

 of Baron von Eeichenbach ; it is the great Thelesma of Hermes Tris- 

 megistus, and the control of this force constitutes the great arcana of 

 practical magic. It heats, illuminates, magnetizes, attracts, repels, 

 vivifies, destroys, coagulates, separates, crushes, and gathers all things 

 under the stimulus of powerful wills; it is a perpetual and transforma- 

 ble vibration. Its kabalistic figure, represented by the Serpent of 

 Theogonies, is: 



Od = + 



Ob = — 



Aour = CO 



When the universal light magnetizes the universe it is called astral 

 light; when it forms metals it is called Azoth, or the Mercury of the 

 Sages; when it gives light to animals it is called animal magnetism. 

 The astral undulations determine the position of the atoms or neutral- 



