If only the Earth could talk…
What would the stones, streams, and trees have to say?
What wonders would the wind whisper into our ear?
What hidden clues would be divulged to our senses, if only we could hear?
Would we see it all differently?
Would we feel the atmospheric electricity?
Would we understand the imperceptibility of her constant changes?
Would we change our ways and be more nurturing in our exchanges?
Would we start to portray some genuine care for her state of dismay?
If only the Earth could talk…
Although she speaks to us in the language of seasons, our dulled senses pay no heed.
Although she inhabits everything around us, within her ‘modern’ man sees no need.
Beyond extraction and exploitation…
Beyond brazen rape, and the craven drainage of each river basin.
Corrupting and consuming is the only language spoken to Earth…
Curled in torment, weeping for her lot, all the Earth longs for is rebirth.
For we have forsaken Earth and stopped using our senses.
No longer amazed by Earth’s interesting ways, only what we have done with all our offensives.
If only the Earth could talk…
She would tell us of her wonders, and how the seasons sing.
She would divulge to us her secrets, and within her we could live anew.
She would release her hidden treasures, and we wouldn’t need to bruise her black and blue.
She would show us how the planets make life on Earth complete.
And she would teach us how to live naturally, without all that ugly concrete.
Maybe then we’d start to truly live in harmony…
We could ditch our dirty money, cities, and disease; and heartily prosper from nature’s pharmacy.
We could dance beneath the stars upon her firmament, rejoicing in life and call ourselves king(s).
If only the Earth could talk…
Only the Earth does talk, she talks to us constantly, every hour, every day, every week, every month, and every year, a ceaseless and constant cacophony of the senses.
But we have been taught and tempered to tune out our senses towards ‘mother’ Earth, and instead look towards the cold, mechanical, soul-less embrace of ‘science’ and ‘technology’.
And herein lies our dilemma. Here is the enemy we are confronted with, the enemy that ‘Earth’ has been combating, the faceless, compassionless, falsehood that is ‘progress’.
Once upon a time (hu)man lived a life in accordance with the Earth…
At one point we were inseparable from her.
But in these ‘modern’ times we have stopped.
No longer do we nourish and nurture by her grace…
We have cut ourselves off from our senses – we only see a tiny portion of the visible spectrum, we can only really distinguish the sourest and sweetest of tastes, and only hear the loudest of sounds. Not to mention that our sense of smell is shockingly poor when compared to the Kingdom of Animals.
What loss our senses have observed, and how much more have we lost along the way?
We have lost more than we have gained during this journey of so-called ‘evolution’.
So much churning of life to reach this destination, what we believe is this apogee of conscious development, this pinnacle of creation.
But all things rise and fall, all things grow and wither, live and die…
Therefore, it is time to tune up your mind and thoughts, and let go of all your manufactured illusions, fears, and defences, and suddenly you might find yourself coming back to your senses…
In the words of William Shakespeare from a Midsummer Night’s Dream:
“I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was: man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was - there is no man can tell what. Methought I was - and methought I had - but man is but a patched fool, if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream, because it hath no bottom...”
When writing ‘Being this Story within Earth’, it became apparent (once more) that potentially too much information was trying to be pulled together as one.
The title suggests a story about the life of Earth and (hu)man’s endeavours, an expose on the creation stories, or a tale of how we came to be here today?
But instead the reader finds themselves on a journey through the planets within man’s organs, reading about diseases ruled by planets, and likewise the herbs of this Earth. Tall tales of the planets casting/singing musical notes, and the shaky ‘science’ of vibration.
However, this was the crux of that story (well, one of them, with the other being unsurprisingly, the planets). It is an attempt to show how everything we mean by the word ‘life’, or more appropriately ‘reality’, is composed of waves of different frequencies. And these frequencies, this ‘music of the spheres’, this breath of thought, is life!
It is found within ‘everything’, and everything is connected…
It may be easier to show what is meant (rather than rely on words):
As can be seen, no two are the same, each creates a distinct ‘pattern’ with their vibrations (though there are noticeable similarities in some). And it is these patterns, these ‘fractals’, that are received by (maybe sung to?), (hu)man and ‘shape’ our reality, and thus life…
And just as water reflects ‘sound’ waves, like the vibrations of musical notes shown above, so too does it ‘change’ based upon these vibrational sounds, and the thoughts and words that are directed at it…
Surely, if we are to truly open our senses to what goes ‘unperceived’, to what is ‘sacred’, then we must also place much more care and emphasis on how we go about ‘living’, especially in terms of our words and thoughts (if not our deeds).
Because, these vibrational patterns flow all around, and within us, all the time…
It shapes ‘matter’ and (hu)man’s ‘reality’.
To hear it is simply breathtaking…
“This flowing song ‘Alba Mundi’ has been composed in the key of the ‘Earth’, and the harmony of the track evolves by using the ‘nine’ notes of the planets orbital frequency” (the original link to this piece, and its description was provided under the references of ‘Being this Story within Earth’).
No story about ‘Earth’ would be complete without sharing an understanding of its ‘symbology’, its meaning…
The above image is of the traditional alchemical symbol for elemental ‘Earth’, which relates the ‘qualities’ of: stability, grounding, solidity, foundations, strength, healing, fertility, and sturdiness (which is understandable as Earth symbolises (hu)man’s physical body, as much as it does planet ‘Earth’, and thus it is also associated with nature, animals, death and rebirth, as well as ‘wisdom’).
Within alchemy, as well as many other occult and ancient practices and beliefs, each of the elements are assigned a number of ‘sympathies’ and ‘correspondences’, such as compass direction, colour, time of the day, season, virtues and vices etc.
In the case of ‘Earth’ these are the ‘Northern’ direction, the ‘Midnight’ hour, and the ‘Winter’ season.
The colours green, brown and black are usually associated with the element of ‘Earth’ (although both white and gold have been used in some traditions), and this carries over to the imagery of the deities that were likewise associated with this ‘Earthly’ element, such as the Greek goddess Demeter (daughter of Cronus (Latin: Saturn), who was the goddess of the harvest and agriculture); Persephone (the daughter of Demeter and her brother Zeus (Latin: Jupiter) who was abducted by Hades (Latin: Pluto) and is forced to divide her time between her mother and her abductor husband - thus initiating the seasonal cycles); or Pan (the Greek satyr, god of nature and the wild, as well as shepherds and flocks, who was also known to be associated with Dionysius and his followers).
The signs of the Zodiac that are ‘Earth’ signs are Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, and the ‘Pentacles’ within a Tarot deck are likewise considered to be associated with the element of ‘Earth’.
The planets Venus and Saturn are aligned with ‘Earth’ energies, and this comes through when we think of the virtues and vices associated with elemental ‘Earth’, such as - ‘Being centered, being dependable, thorough, and yet dull. Having patience and being truthful, but also showing the negative properties of laziness and an often rude and inconsiderate manner’.
In addition to the above alchemical symbol of a triangle pointing downwards, bisected by a horizontal line (although not equally so), is the ‘astrological’ symbol for ‘Earth’ - which is a circle with an intersecting cross - representing the four quadrants of the world divided by the four rivers descending out of Eden.
This symbol is not commonly utilised anymore, although it does carry great meaning.
Several traditions associate the symbol as representing the four points of the compass, or the two solstices and two equinoxes. It is often said that at the centre of the cross is either a sacred mountain/world tree (a representation of the beginning-point of creation).
And in the Christian/Judaic faith (specifically the Old Testament, in the Book of Genesis 2:8-14) it identifies the four rivers that flow out of the garden of creation as the Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon, and Gihon (the Tigris runs to Assyria, the Euphrates to Armenia, the Pishon to Elam (Iran) , and the Gihon to Ethiopia).
Likewise, the Mesopotamian, Indian, and Buddhist traditions have similar accounts (although the names of the rivers change, such that in Indian tradition they become - the Ganges, Indus, Oxus, and Sita rivers).
The content of ‘Being this Story within Earth’ introduced a number of concepts that might be alien to the reader.
The esoteric/hermetic principles, the art of alchemy, and their associated way(s) of looking at this material manifestation of ‘life’ here on ‘Earth’ can be a little daunting when first approached, and as such what follows is a brief overview of some of the things raised, which we will be repeatedly returning to in the stories to come.
(Apologies to any readers who are well versed or acutely aware of the details that follow, however having a refresher or an aide memoire can sometimes come in handy).
The first thing to address are the ‘Seven Hermetic Principles’.
Within the first of the Sacred Sequencing stories - ‘A Lifetime of Planetary Cycles’ was introduced the ‘second’ principle about the macro and micro cosmos - ‘As above, So below’.
This latest story spoke of more…
So, here are all seven of the hermetic principles:
The Principle of Mentalism - The ‘All’ is mind: The Universe is ‘mental’.
The Principle of Correspondence - As above, so Below, as Below, so Above.
The Principle of Vibration - Nothing ‘rests’; everything moves, everything ‘vibrates’.
The Principle of Polarity - Everything is ‘dual’; everything has poles; everything has its pair of ‘opposites’.
The Principle of Rhythm - The pendulum swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; ‘rhythm compensates’.
The Principle of Cause and Effect - Every ‘Cause’ has its ‘Effect’; every effect has its cause.
The Principle of Gender - Gender is in everything; everything has its ‘Masculine’ and ‘Feminine’ principles; ‘Gender’ manifests on all planes.
These are pretty clear definitions of the ‘forces’ (or should that be ‘laws’) that underpin all of our ‘reality’, and are expounded upon in multiple works, although probably the most famous (and thus widely known) was within the words of ‘The Kybalion’.
Knowing and understanding these principles is of particular importance today, in our once beautiful world these ‘truths’ are being turned on their heads…
Gender is being touted as no longer an ‘absolute’, but something that is malleable and ill defined. Cause and Effect have been placed on the shelf alongside ‘virtue’, as our modern beliefs separate the two and now you can have effects with no ‘causation’, or ‘causes’ that have no effect. Our entire way of ‘life’ is out of rhythm, and we are beset by ‘false’ polarities, and fake ‘dualities’, that in truth are nothing but the same (just painted different colours to give the illusion of ‘opposition’).
Only the first three principles are (beginning to be) accepted by ‘science’, and thus should surely be considered ‘truths’ by (hu)man today (as we stride through this decade following ‘the science’…)
The second thing we need to address are some of the principles of ‘Alchemy’.
Alchemy and Astrology are intrinsically linked. Both are ‘Arts’ that cannot be truly understood without spiritual (or ‘soul’) knowledge.
Both are incomprehensible to those (hu)men who cannot realise the ‘true’ character of the stars, or believe in the regeneration of (hu)man in ‘Spirit’ from the material ‘elements’ of our physical bodies.
Alchemy deals with the knowledge of ‘invisible’ nature, that which relates, and constitutes the ‘astral’ bodies of things.
The core tenant of which is the ‘trinity’ of a body and a spirit held together by the soul. As such, the ‘Cross’ is the sign in which an alchemist works, because our roots are the material ‘elements’ within the ‘Earth’ (hence the above referenced symbology).
All the power(s) of the universe are contained within (hu)man (potentially, you don’t get access to them for free), and our ‘physical’ body (including our organs) is nothing but the ‘product’ (or representation) of the power(s) of ‘nature’.
Alchemy is described by our old friend Paracelsus as an art in which ‘Vulcan’ (the fire of Nature - who’s tale will be told here someday) is the active artist.
By this art the ‘pure’ is separated from the ‘impure’, and things are made to grow out of what is termed - ‘primordial’ matter.
It is probably easier to let Paracelsus explain (the following is sourced from the ‘Life of Paracelsus’ by Franz Hartmann):
"Man's mind is made up of the same elements as the stars; but as the wisdom of the Supreme guides the motions of the stars, so the reason of man rules the influences which rotate and circulate in his mind. The essence of man's sidereal body, which he attracts from the stars, is of a substantial nature; still, we consider it as being something spiritual on account of the ethereality of its substance, and on account of the great dimensions of its invisible body. The essences in man's sidereal body are intimately related to the sidereal essences of the stars, and the former attract the powers of the latter; but if a man is the master over his own mind, he can permit those attractions to take place in an irregular manner, or control his passions and repel influences which he does not desire.
There is an attractive power in the soul of man, which attracts physical, mental, and moral diseases from the Chaos. The planetary influences extend through all Nature, and man attracts poisonous qualities from the moon, from the stars, and from other things; but the moon, and the stars, and other things also attract evil influences from man, and distribute them again by their rays, because Nature is an undivided whole, whose parts are intimately connected.
The sun and the stars attract something from us, and we attract something from them, because our astral bodies are in sympathy with the stars, and the stars are in sympathy with our astral bodies; but the same is the case with the astral bodies of all other objects. They all attract astral influences from the stars. Each body attracts certain particular influences from them; some attract more and others less; and on this truth is based the power of amulets and talismans, and the influence which they may exercise over the astral form of the bearer. Talismans are like boxes, in which sidereal influences may be preserved.
Three spirits, united in one, live and act in man; three worlds, united into one, throw their rays upon him; but all three are only the reflection, image, or echo of one primordial creation.
The first is the essence of the elements; the second, the soul of the stars (the mind); they are caused by the life of the elements, but there is only one life, and the life that causes the instincts of man is contained in all elements in the stars as well as in vegetable and animal forms. The activity of the life-essence is modified in vegetable, animal, and human forms; it becomes the life of the earth, and the life of the earth is radiated back to the stars. Stars attract and repel each other; they have their sympathies and antipathies; and these living antipathies and sympathies, attractions and repulsions, could not exist if no vehicle of life existed between them.
Primordial matter, forming the basis of the constitution of the human body, has absorbed influences from the stars, and they nourish the elementary (physical) body, and by means of these influences man's soul is connected with and united to the souls of the stars. Having three worlds in him and living in three worlds, man should learn to know the lower elements, understand the sidereal, and know the eternal.
The body comes from the elements, the soul from the stars, and the spirit from God. All that the intellect can conceive of comes from the stars.
All knowledge comes from the stars (the Universal Mind). Men do not invent or create ideas; the ideas exist, and men are able to grasp them. If all professors of music in the world would die in one day, heaven, being the original teacher of music, would not die, and it would teach other persons this art.
Many ideas exist which men have not yet grasped; many stars are still too far away to form a connection with the earth. The realm of stars and ideas is infinite, and therefore the source of inventions and discoveries is not yet exhausted.
New stars appear and others disappear on the sky. New ideas appear on the mental horizon, and old ideas are lost. If a new comet appears on the sky, it fills the hearts of the ignorant with terror; if a new and grand idea appears on the mental horizon, it creates fear in the camp of those that cling to old systems and accepted forms.
Physical man takes his nutriment from the earth; the sidereal man receives the states of his feelings and thoughts from the stars; but the spirit has his wisdom from God. The heat of a fire passes through an iron stove, and the astral influences, with all their qualities, pass through man. They penetrate him as rain penetrates the soil, and as the soil is made fruitful by the rain. Likewise man's soul is made fruitful by them; but the principle of the supreme wisdom of the universe penetrates into the centre, illuminates it, and rules over all.
Hail may destroy the fruits of the earth, evil planetary influences be attracted by the soul of the earth and cause epidemic diseases, and the spiritual centre in man be devoid of wisdom, and darkness rule in its place. The earth, the animal kingdom, and physical man are subject to the government of the stars; but the spiritual man rules over the stars and over the elements, and conquers the worlds without and the world within by the wisdom that comes from God.
Stones, plants, and animals obey the government of the mind, and man should obey the will and wisdom of God. The individual terrestrial life should correspond to the laws governing the universe; man's spiritual aspirations should be directed to harmonise with the will and wisdom of God. If this is attained, the inner consciousness will awaken to an understanding of the influences of the stars, and the mysteries of Nature will be revealed to his spiritual perception."
Seraphim's Soliloquies Episode Two (Earth)