Volume Ill, Number 4 Wi nter 1999

Atfantis: L~eruf
or History?

A Brief

History of

Afcfiemy

L. Gordon
P(wnmer
Remembered

TfieHidden

History of tfie

Human Race

AVehicle for the Ancient Wisdom Tradition

 This magazine is an invitation for followers of all traditions to enter into a

dialogue whose goal is Truth and whose means is Universal Brotherhood.

Why Study Theosophy?

Geoffrey Farthing has put together another article reminding the various leaders of the Theosophi-
cal Movement of the special legacy which they protect. The theosophical writings inspired by and
to some extent written by the Masters, are safeguarded by Theosophists for future generations.
This is a heavy responsibility and Geoffrey Farthing reminds leaders that this responsibility would
be better served through cooperation—after all we do espouse Universal Brotherhood.

Further Archeological Finds Given a Theosophical Twist in Theosophy

For those wanting to look at other exciting finds shedding light on the past, the November-De-
cember 1999 issue of Theosophy published by The Theosophy Company has a selection of items
in their section “On The Lookout.” A structure that appears artificial was found off the coast of
Okinawa 10 years ago and is dated at least 8000 BC. If indeed artificial, this structure indicates
a civilization with a high degree of technology. As well, a stand of trees of a type thought to be
extinct for 30 million years has been discovered at a location not more than 150 kilometres out
of Sydney, Australia. We are given these finds and several more with accompanying theosophical
literature.

The Different Branches of Theosophy

In The Quest magazine, Eldon Tucker takes a look at the various Theosophical Societies that have
branched off from the original Society and judges their respective specializations as not to be a
bad thing. In an article titled “The Specialization of Theosophy” he takes a quick look at the
development of various strains of modern Theosophy and questions how his own Society, TS in
America, might add to the overall Societal fabric. He leaves readers with the challenge of creating
a new direction through increased interaction among members within the Society and by reaching
out to members in the greater Theosophical Society.

“Why Atlantis Was Not an Atlantic Continent”

This short article from Theosophy in Australia eloquently expresses, from the point of view of the
modern geological theory of Plate Tectonics, the current scientific beliefs concerning submerged
continents. Dr. Victor Gostin takes the reader step by step through the theory giving the reader
a good understanding of current scientific beliefs on this topic.

On Ghosts
The Word magazine is currently reprinting an article written by H.W. Percival for the first series
of the magazine. This article, “Ghosts, Gods and Man,” gives a theosophically derived perspective
of the various different natures of ghosts. This fascinating article could provide many hours of
theosophical discussion around a midnight camp fire.

Gnos-is, No More!
Gnosis magazine has been discontinued and current subscriptions are being filled by the
publication, Lapis, subtitled “the inner meaning of contemporary life.” Lapis focuses on the
Western Inner Tradition as it follows society’s transition into the new millennium looking at
everything from politics to spirituality.

Available From Wizards Bookshelf

A recent publication, Free Energy Pioneer: John Worrell Keely by Theo Paijmans, gives a fascinating
look at the occult influences involved in free energy theory by researchers like John W. Keely.
 FOHAT
A Quarterly Publication of Edmonton Theosophical Society
Volume III, No. 4
Winter 1999

Editor

Contents
Robert Bruce MacDonald

Managing Editor
JoAnne MacDonald

Assistant Editors Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Rogelle Pelletier
Dolorese Brisson
Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Publisher
Edmonton Theosophical Atlantis: Legend or History? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Society
by Morry Secrest
The pages of Fohat are an open
forum dedicated to the pursuit of
Truth, and consequently the
The Darwinian Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
views and opinions expressed by Robert Bruce MacDonald
herein are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the publisher unless The Mystery of Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
otherwise specifically stated. by Claude Hughes
Any articles or correspondence
may be sent to: Alchemy and the Alchemists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
FOHAT Reprinted from Transactions of the Scottish Lodge
Box 4587
Edmonton, Alberta Theosophical Friends Remembered . . . . . . . . . . 89
Canada T6E 5G4

E-mail: [email protected]

Subscription Rates:
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 editorial
Upsetting the Moneychangers
Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and
overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. - Matthew 21:12

For a meek and mild-mannered Prince of Peace, The moneychangers play a dual role as they represent
this one verse from the gospels seems to stand out the tax-collector, both political and religious. The
as incongruent with the rest of the spin that the moneychanger takes our coin—the fruits of our la-
Christian religion wants to put on the life of Jesus. bour—and removes part of it to be spent on the
It is this incident that led to his eventual showdown religious or economic infrastructure that we have
with the Priests and the Roman Authorities and come to see as necessary to conduct our lives. This
consequently could not be left out of the story; and infrastructure allows us then to purchase those luxu-
yet why should he care what went on in the public ries that will enable us to obtain happiness in our
buildings of the establishment—whether political physical life and allow us to pay the necessary relig-
or religious? Would it not have been simpler to ious fees to get into heaven so that we can be happy
establish new temples for his followers where such in the hereafter. As long as we remain ignorant, this
practices did not occur? Perhaps an allegorical arrangement works nicely. The funny thing about
look at this incident from the point of view of the the tax-collector is that the more that we want to hold
advancing initiate can shed some light on the onto our standard of living, the more he can charge
broader social theme. in taxes for this privilege. The consequence of this
arrangement is the loss of personal freedom. The
As the initiate prepares himself for the final initiation, totalitarian government (the loss of personal free-
he must empty the temple of all those forces that dom), excessive taxation, and materialism all go hand
would try to drag him down. The temple of God, as in hand. As we move today into a totalitarian World
we know, is the body or the lower self. “All those who Empire or New World Order, the question becomes
bought and sold” are the initiate’s set of desires that how do we get rid of the tax-collector?
continually clamour for his attention under the as-
sumption that some set of desires may actually bring A thousand years ago we went through a similar
peace and contentment—an assumption that the period with the end result being the establishment of
initiate knows intellectually to be a lie. “The tables the Common Law. The Common Law included such
of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold documents as the Magna Carta and the Petition of
doves” refers to the business of religion. In a sense Rights. The Common Law attempted to protect the
the aspirant would like to change some aspect of his sovereignty of the common man, especially against
mundane self into a coin with which he could buy infringements by the State. The Petition of Rights
access to the dove—the symbol of the Higher Self or established in 1628 expresses one aspect of this right
Heavenly Father. The aspirant realizes that he must to property as follows:
rid himself of the temptation of this thought and They do therefore humbly pray your most excellent
remove it from the temple. His only path is to spiri- Majesty, that no man hereafter be compelled to
tualise the lower self by removing all traces of the make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or
mundane from it so that it becomes a fit vehicle of the such like charge, without common consent by act
Higher Self. of parliament; and none be called to make answer,
or take such oath, or to give attendance, or be
To now look at the broader social theme, we bring confined, or otherwise molested or disquieted con-
cerning the same or for refusal thereof; and that
into the riddle the knowledge of Christ as an Avatar.
no freeman, in any such manner as is before
If the Avatar comes to the World during a time when mentioned, be imprisoned or detained. . . .
evil is pervasive, then we should see the life of Christ
in this context. The Priests and the Romans were The Magna Carta, as one step in the development of
scared of this man, so much so that they felt that the the Common Law, as well as the American Revolu-
only solution to the problem that he posed was his tion, were both motivated by excessive taxation. His-
death. What did Jesus know that made him so tory can be described as periods of excessive taxation,
dangerous to the Roman Empire and the Priests of usually accompanied by moral decay, followed by
the Israelites? Why did Pontius Pilate try to wash periods where attempts are made to limit such ex-
Rome’s hands of this man’s fate when in fact it was cesses in the future. The protection of life, liberty,
not possible to do so—that is, what made him Rome’s and property have been the birthrights of the sover-
problem too? eign citizen. When the sovereignty of the citizen is
protected, the sovereignty of the nation is protected.

76 FOHAT
No power can make any lawful demands on a sover- life, will they do it? Without a group of educated
eign people as they are answerable only to their own individuals in a position to ensure that the people are
higher self. not deceived into trading away their sovereignty,
tyranny is the result of democracy. In the twentieth
The sovereign individual has two aspects to his life, century we have seen everyone enfranchised with the
the spiritual and the material. These two aspects are vote, and rights and freedoms curtailed. We are now
in fact one. In the spiritual or contemplative side he threatened with a World Government in which trans-
tries to understand and come closer to his Higher national corporations will decide the fate of the indi-
Self. In the material or objective side he tries to reflect vidual. Jesus had two sets of teachings, one for the
this understanding into the world he lives in. If he masses and one for his disciples. Each had their
loses sovereignty over one or both of these worlds, he respective areas of influence. The people must take
is inhibited from spiritual growth. Rome and the sovereign responsibility for their own lives, and the
Priests both were threatened by Jesus inasmuch as so-called ruler or rulers need only ensure that this
Jesus was reminding the ignorant masses that they sovereignty is protected. Blavatsky writes that
possessed free will. A free will is the characteristic of Christ’s injunctions to take no thought for the mor-
the sovereign individual and a threat to the material row, nor as to what we shall eat, drink, or clothe our
establishment. A people who are heavily taxed are a body with, but to live as “the fowls of the air and the
people whose wills have been captured by luxury and lilies of the field”, are but another version of the
vice. teachings of Buddha (Vide Matth. vi, 24-34 and vii).

The Ilbert Bill in India was an attempt to give more If the people can be made to understand this simple
power to local authorities. The Mahatmas warned teaching, and a few made responsible to understand
Sinnett that this Bill was aimed ultimately at Eng- and protect its Spirit, this descent into the abyss
land. Democracy is the ultimate in giving power to might be halted. The big question is how did Jesus
the people. If you give the people the power to trade get anyone to listen?
away their rights and freedoms for a more luxurious

In this issue we look at mysteries. Several of these “The Mystery of Self.” By exploring the concept of duty,
mysteries are so because they arise out of the ancient we are brought closer to understanding the mysterious
past. Morry Secrest takes a look at some of the assump- being that is Man. The mystery of Man is the field of
tions of modern Anthropology and Geology as well as study for the subjects of our final article, “Alchemy and
some clever reinterpretations of the writings of Plato in Alchemists.” This reprint from The Transactions of the
order to give a plausible time and location for the Scottish Lodge takes a brief look at the history of alchemy
destroyed civilization of Atlantis. This article is followed and its practitioners with special focus on their legen-
by “The Darwinian Filter” where some of the assump- dary abilities to transmute base metals into gold.
tions of today’s men and women of science are taken to
task by Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson. These We end this issue by giving poetic license to those who
two men present evidence that if looked at seriously knew one of the well loved Theosophists of this century,
would either call into question the dating of ages by L. Gordon Plummer. Personal reminiscences help to
modern geology or push the age of man back to unimag- flesh out this man and give us some idea how he affected
inable lengths. Either way it reminds us that the theo- the lives of others.
ries of science are just that theories—this includes of
course the Theory of Evolution. Finally, the editors of Fohat would like to wish everyone
a joyous holiday season and a happy new millennium.
Claude Hughes next takes us on a short journey into

Letters to the Editor:

Flora MacDonald’s sister Mary Merrill, who was char- accurate flowers in wax. The book, which was pub-
acterized in the alleged fictional novel, Mary Melville lished after HPB’s death describes in detail a great
the Psychic, 1900, has a close parallel in Mollie Fancher many more inexplicable phenomena, and includes
the Brooklyn Enigma, by Abram H. Dailey, Brooklyn, references to Richard Hodgson, and Prof. Elliot Coues,
1894. She is mentioned by HPB in The Theosophist in its 262 pages. Both of these late 19th century
Vol. I, #3, Dec. 1879, p. 79 (BCW Vol. II, pp. 190-91) as women embody the 3rd Theosophical object, ‘the un-
having lived without food for 9 years, never slept, read explained powers latent in man’CMiss Merrill by birth,
sealed letters, described distant friends; though com- and Miss Fancher as a consequence of two serious
pletely blind perfectly discriminated colors; and accidents. Of course the third way is through personal
though paralysed embroidered canvas, and sculpted exertions as embodied by the Adepts.
Richard Robb

WINTER 1999 77
 Atlantis:
Legend or History?
Morry Secrest

In the book The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky, in the Atlantic ocean at a time when the sea level was
the former island of Atlantis is pointed out as being much lower. And second, a description of the end
the homeland of the 4th Root Race, the Atlanteans. days of Atlantis just before its destruction, when it
It is further said that humanity of the present day was at the height of its wealth and power. The
(the 5th Root Race) descended from the Atlanteans.1 second story took place much closer to Solon’s own
It is important, I believe, to clarify the historical time and was located in the Aegean sea rather than
veracity of this story because, if it be true, the in the Atlantic. There are a number of clues within
Atlanteans are an important historical element of all the narrative itself which lead me to believe that this
the present-day humanity.2 However, this story is theory (of two stories joined into one) is valid, and
not without difficulties which make it both intriguing that the story of Atlantis properly understood is
and frustrating. Several inconsistencies within that history, not fable.
tale make it hard to believe. Nonetheless, with some
recent archaeological discoveries and a careful read- The Time Factor
ing of the original story, I believe it can be shown that
the story of Atlantis is a historical, not mythological, A confusing factor is the method of keeping track of
work. We are encouraged to compare The Secret time. To begin with, it is known that all the ancient
Doctrine with the findings of science by HPB herself.3 civilizations kept track of time using the moon cycle.
The yearly sun cycle is never used in any record
The story of Atlantis is first told in the dialogues of keeping until the Babylonians began keeping track
Plato (Critias and Timaeus); it is an event in the life of events in terms of solar yearly cycles, around the
of Solon, who was a Greek statesman living during year 550 BC.5
the period 638 to 558 BC. It was during a visit to
Egypt at about 593 BC that he met with a number The Egyptian priest knew that the ancient records
of Egyptian priests. He found that their knowledge used the moon cycle as the means of keeping track
of Greek history was far greater than his own, and of time. He was likely to be unfamiliar with the
therefore asked to be taught the missing history. The relatively new method of timekeeping because it
story of Atlantis is a large part of the history as clashed with tradition. The Greeks, however, learned
related to Solon by one of the Egyptian priests. everything they knew within the previous few gen-
erations, and being familiar with the Mesopotamian
Two major inconsistencies have caused scholars to civilization, learned of this new development (solar
doubt the historical accuracy of this story, leading time keeping) about the year 530 when it was carried
them to consider it a myth. For one thing, there is from Babylonia to Greece by the Greek astronomer
no evidence that an island of the size described, and Meton. From that time on, Greece used only the
in the location described in the story ever existed in solar method of timekeeping. This factors in a mul-
the Atlantic ocean. Several research efforts examin- tiplier of about 12.3 to every date in Solon’s story.
ing the ocean floor in that area show nothing that Using this factor, we find that 9000 moon cycles
could support that part of the story. It is a geological equal nearly 730 years which takes us back to the
impossibility. Second, the time stated for the dura- time of the eruption of the volcano which destroyed
tion of Atlantis is incredibly ancient, placing a pow- Thera and its civilization. (This eruption is often
erful bronze age civilization back at the middle of the placed at about 1450 BC by archaeologists.) So the
paleolithic (old stone age). This is an anthropological story of the destruction of Atlantis then was actually
impossibility. This difficulty is found within The the story of the Aegean civilization on Thera and
Secret Doctrine as well, causing its readers to doubt Crete, which we know today as the Minoan civiliza-
the veracity of the theosophical world-view which it tion.
lays out.4
Durations given as of great length clearly make sense
After carefully reading Plato’s story of Atlantis, I feel when the key is applied consisting of the conversion
that it is an amalgamation of two different stories: factor between monthly cycles and lunar cycles. For
first, a description of the very beginnings of Atlantis, instance, counting by moon cycles explains the enor-

78 FOHAT
mous ages attributed to many of the ancient kings, Today we can look in the archaeological record and
and for the remarkable ages claimed for Methuselah follow the development of every one of these technical
and his family. The age of a man, given as 1000 skills. All of them were created, from the earliest
moon cycles, would actually be an age of about 84 beginnings, in several places nearly concurrently: in
years. This is an old man even today, and in those the fertile crescent, in the mountains around the
early times before the Bronze Age, it was a remark- Black Sea, and a little later, in the Nile valley. It is
able age indeed, quite worthy of retelling from one clear that these technologies were developed in those
generation to the next. locations. It is also clear that these skills were
shared by travelers on ships to other areas. There-
Two Stories in One fore any advancement that developed in one area was
soon available to other areas and was incorporated
It is my theory that the Egyptians gathered two into their array of skills also. The picture of develop-
separate stories about ancient Atlantis and confused ment, then, is that the Bronze Age was a period of
them. One story was about a landmass which ex- development experienced by most of the civilizations
isted in the northern Atlantic ocean prior to 16,000 of humans; not simultaneously, but not totally inde-
years ago but then sank, depriving the indigenous pendently either. The Atlanteans were most likely to
peoples of their homeland. At that time, the people have been fairly close in their level of development to
were most likely tribes of paleolithic hunter-gather- those people in the Mesopotamian plain, in Egypt
ers. Another story was of a brilliant bronze-age and the towns around the Black Sea, because they
civilization of sailors, traders, artisans and warriors, were all in close and continuous contact by sea. No
living on islands in the Aegean, which were destroyed one civilization could remain significantly advanced
almost overnight by a volcanic explosion. The loca- than the others for more than a short time.
tion of the first was retained correctly, but the loca-
tion of the second was badly muddled because of the As the sea level rose, from about 16,000 to 10,000
remarkable similarity of the directions to their loca- years ago, all dwellers on islands and along seacoasts
tions. found themselves having to relocate from diminish-
ing islands and move further back into the hills of
Immediately after describing the location, the Egyp- the continents. This was certainly true for the Atlan-
tian priest describes the vast periods of time that teans. During this time, all over the world, the
passed, including the many generations of kings that various tribes, villages and cities in low lying areas
ruled Atlantis. Next, he describes the magnificent would have relocated in response to the receding ice
wealth and technical development of the Atlantean sheets, the rising sea level and changing climate.
civilization. For many readers a confusion arises Villages and towns would have begun, flourished and
here: The culture described is clearly a Bronze Age then withered, just as they do today. At any given
culture, and we know that no Bronze Age cultures time, at least one of these cities would have been
existed prior to 3000 BC. Yet the reader assumes the larger and more active than the others, and would
description of magnificence applies to Atlantis from have been able to claim that it was the greatest
its first days. This is due to the lack of clear transi- descendant of Atlantis. It was quite likely that the
tions within the narrative. However, if we recognize Minoan civilization on Crete was in exactly that
the assumption and allow ourselves to realize that situation: that is, it knew itself to be descended from
another interpretation of this ancient story is possi- the great and ancient Atlantis.
ble, we can see a new understanding of the Egyptian
priest’s description. Thus the second story contained within the descrip-
tion by the Egyptian priest was of a later Atlantis,
I suggest the following as an interpretation: having cultural continuity with the first one, but in
a different place and at a different time.
Atlantis had a long, continuous culture, from before
15,000 YBP (Years Before Present) to 12,000 YBP. It Two Locations For Atlantis?
was not always a wealthy, brilliant culture. It slowly
grew, as all cultures did, from primitive beginnings The description of the location of Atlantis is ambigu-
and achieved greatness after much time and effort. ous. It is often assumed to describe a location in the
It was only late in the history of Atlantis that its Atlantic ocean. However, it could also have been a
wealth and technical ability reached the level de- description developed by the sailors of the peoples
scribed by the Egyptian priest. This description is along the southern shore of the Black Sea.
clearly that of a late Bronze Age civilization around
3000 YBP. They worked metals, had highly devel- These people lived on the north shore of the Ana-
oped ships, built bridges and aqueducts, and had tolian peninsula and in the mountains of the Cau-
organized armies with specialized weapons and 2- casus. As their sailors explored the Mediterranean
man chariots. sea (during the Bronze age period beginning around

WINTER 1999 79
5000 YBP) and then returned home, they might have of them led to a civilization called Atlantis. The first
told their companions the following (Paraphrased was an ancient set of directions, known to the oldest
from Plato’s story of Atlantis): “First you travel west Egyptians. The second was a much more recent set
until you come to the narrow opening from our sea of directions, reported to the priestly scribes by the
to the other sea. It is obvious that our sea is merely sailors from the Anatolian peninsula as they were
a large lake, but that other sea is a true sea because being interviewed. It is not hard to imagine that the
it is much larger. You then find, just past the strait, Egyptian priests, unused to traveling themselves,
an island with a brilliant civilization. From that handing on their written records generation after
island you can come to other islands, and beyond generation, would have confused the two, imagining
those, crossing the true ocean, you find the great them to be both the same.
continent on the opposite shore. This great conti-
nent is so large that it surrounds the true sea.” This Are we justified in teasing apart this description into
is an exact physical description of the Black sea, the two stories? I think so. The priest said that the
Bosporus, the islands of the Aegean, the Mediterra- Egyptian records were very complete, being com-
nean sea and the surrounding shores of North Africa prised of not only their own observations but also
and Southern Europe. those observations reported to them by travelers who
came to visit. Since this particular observation was
This description, developed by the Anatolian sailors written into their archives many hundreds of years
and told to their families and friends back home, was earlier, prior to the destruction of that island civili-
undoubtedly carried with them as they traveled zation, it may easily have lost the associated verbal
around the Mediterranean. Meeting the Egyptians, information identifying it as provided by Anatolian
they found the Egyptians willing listeners to every- sailors. Further, the first story is separated from the
thing the sailors were willing to talk about. This is second story by a large block of time, as evidenced
known from the comment by the Egyptian priest to by the priest’s recounting of the large number of
the effect that their records were far more complete generations that passed. Therefore, Plato’s story of
than the Greeks, because they contained everything, Atlantis can be understood as literal, historical truth
not only what the Egyptians discovered for them- . . . in the form of two separate stories.
selves but also what others told them. Therefore,
this description could have been relayed to the Egyp- When Was Atlantis Culturally Advanced?
tians, and written down just as it was told, as a
description of what the Anatolian sailors found, from The early part of the Egyptian priest’s description is
the point of view of the Anatolian homeland. of an extremely primitive people, perhaps no more
than nomadic hunter-gatherers. In his telling, the
At the same time, the Egyptians had in their ancient remark is made that the first two generations of
records the story of the early beginnings of Atlantis, Atlanteans were on an island surrounded by water
when it was a large landmass in the Atlantic ocean. at a time before man had boats. This is a significant
The Egyptians knew that when ships sailed west clue. Archaeologists have been finding and carefully
from Egypt they eventually came to a narrow strait dating the remains of boats all around Europe and
which opened onto an enormous ocean beyond. And the Mediterranean Sea. The earliest evidence hints
their ancient records correctly described a large land- at regular use of rafts and canoes prior to 7000 YBP,
mass, with a huge nearly level plain, facing south in Denmark. Looking back to a time before humans
onto the Atlantic ocean, with mountains on the north were using boats, we must say that it had to have
side to offer protection from the cold north winds. been considerably before 10,000 YBP.
This set of directions would, 16,000 years ago, have
led us to the Celtic Shelf, which is a large, nearly level Following this statement, the priest talks about the
plain of which the level part is presently submerged large number of generations of kings and their de-
but the highlands are today called Britain, Ireland scendants. Then he begins to talk about the more
and Scotland. This level plain, the Celtic shelf, was highly developed culture which Atlantis had devel-
slowly exposed as the ocean level receded during the oped. Most of the story from this point describes a
onset of the most recent glacial age. As the polar ice Bronze Age civilization.
caps grew, the ocean levels dropped. The peak of the
ice age occurred around 18,000 years ago, and after Since Atlantis was the premier ocean-traveling civi-
a few thousand years, the climate changed, the polar lization on the globe, they would have gone every-
ice caps began melting, and the world oceans began where and therefore would surely have left traces of
rising again. The Celtic shelf then began to slowly their bronze age handicrafts on every shore where
submerge over many thousands of years. they traded with the indigenous people. There is no
trace of a Bronze Age civilization in existence prior to
This single set of directions started from two different 3000 BC, anywhere. This is why archaeologists are
places and led to two different destinations and both

80 FOHAT
fairly sure that a Bronze Age civilization called Atlan- ferent on the Celtic shelf because of the levelness over
tis could not have existed 12,000 years ago. such a broad distance. The inhabitants would have
noticed a remarkably fast incursion of the sea into
The Large Size of the Island their lowlands, and would have retreated to the many
low islands that were formed. As these islands be-
The description of the physical dimensions of the came smaller and disappeared, they would have
island of Atlantis is quite ambiguous. From the made use of their dugout canoes to travel from one
description, it may be that the island itself was quite to another, constantly relocating their villages to
small, and was situated close to a landmass which higher ground. This would have led to the legend
could have been part of a continent. No landmass that their homeland sank beneath the sea, and
matching that description exists now. However, the would have forced them to develop the skill of ocean-
Egyptian chronicle states that it was in existence going travel unmatched by any other group of people
12,000 years ago. At that time, the ocean level at the time.
around the world was considerably lower than it is
today. Was there, at that time, any landmass match- As the climate gradually warmed and the ocean rose,
ing the Egyptian’s description? England and Ireland became more habitable. The
inhabitants moved slowly northward into Ireland
Yes. and England, and eastward toward Europe, with its
receding coastline.
The British Isles, including Ireland, are situated on
a large plateau which was almost entirely exposed We know that the Celtic shelf was almost entirely
above the ocean level at that time. Called the Celtic above water, 12,000 years ago. It very likely housed
shelf, it is large enough to have held a plain with the tribes of hunter-gatherers. There is no sign that
large dimensions given by the Egyptian.6 It is low their culture was more advanced than that on the
enough to have had canals connecting directly to the European continent. The evidence we have tends to
ocean. And it is level enough to have had those support the idea that, at that time, all humans had
canals extend a considerable distance into the plain the same culture and the same degree of cul-
before the land rose high enough to have made ture—none was more advanced than any other.
sea-level canals impossibly deep. Further, the high-
lands (what we now know as England and Ireland) I theorize that as the Celtic shelf began to sink
would have represented enormous mountainous beneath the waves, the ocean encroached over a large
masses, providing protection from the cold north area and created many large, low islands and penin-
winds, exactly as mentioned by the Egyptian priest. sulas. The inhabitants moved onto their nearest
The north winds would have been a problem, be- island or peninsula and two things occurred. First,
cause at that time, 12,000 years ago, the ice age was this forced a separation of the people on different
still at full strength and the accompanying ice cap islands. Separation of a culturally identical people
glaciers extended so far south as to actually cover the allowed the development of slight differences in their
north half of England. culture, parallel, basically similar but at the same
time clearly distinct. Second, it forced all these
This broad continental shelf faced the Atlantic Ocean people to become adept at ocean travel. Over some
to its south, thus receiving full benefit from the thousands of years, beginning 12,000 years ago, the
circulating North Atlantic current which brings people inhabiting the Celtic shelf became the world’s
warm water up from the equator. The shelf had a premier ocean sailors. They explored the Atlantic
mild climate, a southern exposure, and plenty of ocean, as well as the Mediterranean sea, trading and
water from streams and rivers coming down from the colonizing wherever they felt like it. The many is-
highlands. It was very likely populated by humans, lands of the Atlantic ocean, the large continental
because it was such an inviting place. However, shelves of the Iberian peninsula and of North Africa,
shortly after 12,000 years ago, the ice caps began and the large islands of the Mediterranean were
melting due to the warming of the climate, and the available to them.
sea level began rising. The rising continued to the
present day, where even now there are historical This could explain the many occurrences of ad-
legends of villages to the south of England drowned vanced cultural activities suddenly popping up in
by the rising Atlantic ocean as recently as a thousand many places around the Mediterranean area. There
years ago. are several instances of a mature culture appearing
in an area where no antecedents exist. This hap-
The ocean rose slowly, and around most of the earth pened in the coastal area of the Eastern Mediterra-
would hardly have been noticed by the hunter-gath- nean, in coastal areas of the Iberian peninsula and
erers who never stayed in one place but traveled in some of the Mediterranean islands.
around constantly. However, the situation was dif-
. . . continued on page 94

WINTER 1999 81
 THE DARWINIAN FILTER
Robert Bruce MacDonald

M ichael A. Cremo and Richard L Thompson in

their underground classic, The Hidden History
of the Human Race,* point to archeological evidence
cies and as this culling is done again and again, new
species. As the theory progressed, genetic mutation
became a means to explain the introduction of new
that suggests that Man may very well have coexisted traits resulting in more profound changes in the
with the dinosaurs. One piece of evidence is that of development of species. This is the theory in a nut-
a shoe print fossilized in Triassic rock. Quoting John shell. What are its implications?
T. Reid, the finder of the fossil in Nevada, we find out:
The analyses proved up [removed] any doubt The philosophy of René Descartes marks the estab-
of the shoe sole having been subjected to lishment of modern philosophy. What Descartes did
Triassic fossilization. . . . The microphoto was to make Spirit and Matter two essentially differ-
magnifications are twenty times larger than ent substances; this is fundamental separatism.
the specimen itself, showing the minutest Descartes argued that the material world could be
detail of thread twist and warp, proving con- explained in terms of material laws and did not
clusively that the shoe sole is not a resem- require spirit as part of the explanatory model. As
blance, but is strictly the handiwork of man. scientists seized on this idea they immediately per-
( Hidden History , p. 116)
ceived that spirit was not only not required in their
modelling but that it was also a superfluous concept.
The Triassic period is believed to fall between 213- Two essentially different substances cannot interact
248 million years ago. Modern Man is believed to one on the other. Modern analytic philosophy there-
have left Africa about one million years ago—what fore feels that by analysing matter into its smallest
does this type of evidence mean? components, it can then determine how the universe
works—like the way a clock can be taken apart and
Before we try to decipher this type of evidence, then put back together in order to understand its
perhaps the question of what exactly the Darwinian workings. The latest basic component for physics is
Theory states and implies should first be investi- the super-string, a subatomic particle that is the
gated. Modern scientific evolution postulates a cou- basis for all other particles. The vibration of the
ple of premises. First, that organisms of today are super-string will determine what type of particle the
descended from other and different organisms in the super-string expresses itself as. Descartes, know-
past, and a corollary, that today’s complex organisms ingly or unknowingly, ushered in the age of modern
are descended from simpler organisms. Secondly, scientific materialism. Knowledge in this model be-
this change and evolution of organisms over time is comes that which can be measured by the senses or
necessitated by a changing environment. This physical instruments that aid the senses. Scientific
change can be explained by an organism’s ability to proof has made superstitious the wisdom of the
have more offspring than a given environment can ancient myths and legends. Yet scientific proof im-
support, the natural variation among individual plies the acceptance of the doctrine of materialism.
members of an organism, and the competition among The deep underlying assumption of this doctrine is
those members for the limited resources. Over time that there is a linear development from simpler un-
members with less desirable characteristics are organized matter to more complex and more organ-
culled from the group thereby creating new subspe- ized systems of matter. The science of biology in

* Govardhan Hill Publishing, Badger CA, 1994.

82 FOHAT
 If the evidence that
Current Geological Time Line Cremo and Thompson
put forward has been
Million filtered out, then its in-
Age Years Ago Period Features clusion would necessi-
"Age of Quarternary Appearance of Early Man. tate a very different
Mammals" 1.8
Tertiary Mammals. prehistoric past than
66 the one that is now as-
Extinction of Dinosaurs; First Flowering
Cretaceous sumed. As well as the
Plants.
"Age of 144 footprint described
Jurassic Abundant Dinosaurs; First Birds; First above, a metallic vase
Reptiles"
Mammals. blown out of Precam-
208
Triassic First Dinosaurs. brian rock dating back
245 600 million years in
"Age of Permian Extinction of Many Marine Animals.
286 the Dorchester, Mas-
Amphibians" Carboniferous Sharks and Amphibians; First Reptiles. sachusetts area is also
360 described. In fact there
"Age of Devonian First Amphibians.
408 is a large number of
Fishes" Silurian First Land Animals and Plants. anomalous finds de-
438 scribed coming out of
"Age of Ordovician First Fishes.
Marine 505 North America that
Invertebrates" Cambrian Marine Invertebrates. date back to incredible
570
ages. Finds are not
Compiled from Dictionary of Geological Terms, 3rd ed., Anchor Books, 1984, and The Earth Through Time by Harold L. only restricted to North
Levin, 4th ed., Saunders College Publishing, 1992. America; Europe has
order to be considered a real science must reflect its share as well. The Precambrian vase was worked
this. Darwinism does this admirably. The fossil in what appeared to be a zinc and silver alloy with
record must demonstrate a progression from sim- pure silver inlaid into decorative figures that circled
pler organisms to more complex organisms. If this the outside of the vase. If this vase is Precambrian
linear progression is not there, this could upset the in origin as the evidence suggests, we have evidence
entire modern scientific paradigm. If you buy into of metal work 600 million years ago whereas metal-
the paradigm, any evidence that does not fit into work of this type is not commonly believed to be more
this linear progression must somehow be ruled than several thousand years old. Blavatsky in her
unfit. The modern scientific paradigm needs Dar- Collected Writings writes of the bones of giants being
winism. found at a dig that dated back perhaps 5000 years
(Collected Writings, XIII p. 112) and yet today we hear or

Michael Cremo in his introduction to The Hidden read nothing of this and other like finds. What seems
History of the Human Race writes that “there exists clear is that science does not want to know about
in the scientific community a knowledge filter that archeological finds that do not fit its assumptions.
screens out unwelcome evidence. This process of Consequently, modern scientific theories on the age
knowledge filtration has been going on for well over of man and on his pace of development must be
a century and continues to the present day” (Hidden suspect. Modern anthropology has no room for ad-
History, p. xviii). Cremo not only points to filtration but vanced civilizations rising out of our past. It is not
he also points to cases of suppression where tons of interested in proving the existence of civilizations
artifacts undermining standard theory have gone such as Atlantis that are dated prior to 10,000 years
missing from modern museums. In a sense the entire ago and according to popular myth supported an
scientific community has a stake in Darwinism for advanced culture perhaps even by today’s standards.
what is being undermined is not simply Darwinism When such engineering wonders as the pyramids are
but modern scientific materialism. If man coexisted looked at, it is easy to discern that there is much that
with the dinosaurs hundreds of millions of years is being left unstudied. Scientists simply discourage
ago, the concept of an orderly progression from one another from even looking there. Human pre-
simple to complex organisms would be destroyed history has not even begun to be written yet; it would
thereby shaking the foundations of scientific mate- be a grave error to give too much weight to the
rialism. We would require some new theory such as assumptions of modern anthropology when looking
mankind being extraterrestrial in origin, or at least at historical myths reaching out to us from the past.
partly so. If evidence at some point becomes irrefu- As long as modern scientists are bent on protecting
table, it may not be unreasonable for science to scientific materialism, Truth must take a back seat
adopt such a theory, especially if it wants to hang and theories of the past supported by their evidence
on to its precious assumptions. must be speculative at best.

WINTER 1999 83
 The Mystery of Self
Claude Hughes
Every Ego has the Karma of past Manvan- know, that person who shoved in front of us at the
taras behind him. The Ego starts with Divine postal line this morning when we leaned slightly out
Consciousness—no past, no future, no sepa- of line to look at something; or maybe the person at
ration. It is long before realizing that it is the office who asked us how to extricate themselves
itself. Only after many births does it begin to from some computer problem. Of course they asked
discern, by this collectivity of experience, that us when we were busy, but so were they.
it is individual. At the end of its cycle of
reincarnation it is still the same Divine Con- Real theosophy is a 24 hour-a-day project and the
sciousness, but it has now become individu- events that present themselves outside of the lodge,
alized Self-Consciousness. (H. P. Blavatsky) outside of meetings, outside of studying the S.D. are
usually the more important. Why? Because they are
What is the difference between personality, individu- so easy to overlook, to mentally dismiss. Greatness
ality, and abstract Unity? It’s an interesting question comes from the ability to “Stand and Deliver” as the
and more than one head has become white pondering pages of life flash by. It may take travel, it may take
the problem. Perhaps we could say that our person- fixity, for the ability to adapt one’s thought to the
ality—our mask or working garment for any one plastic potency we bring to a plan is mysterious, and
lifetime—is built by Memory. We might go further cannot be dogmatically mapped out in words but
and say that discovering or discerning the individu- needs the genius of each person’s discovery:
ality occurs by means of our bundle of experience. Those who practice their duty towards all,
Now we come upon the wall of “What is experience?” and for duty’s own sake, are few; and fewer
It’s a tricky word and gets used and misused by every still are those who perform that duty, re-
sect or group seeking a “following.” What if “Duty” maining content with the satisfaction of their
and “Individuality” turned out to be next of own secret consciousness. . . . Modern ethics
kin—“kissing cousins from a Royal Past”? If we are beautiful to read about and hear dis-
remember that “Royalty” in occultism derives from cussed; but what are words unless converted
the acquired ability “to wash other people’s feet,” not into actions? Finally: if you ask me how we
running a “new age boot camp,” then some hint of understand Theosophical duty practically
what the word Individuality means may come to us and in view of Karma, I may answer you that
from studying its beloved “next-of-kin”—Duty: our duty is to drink without a murmur to the
[O]ur philosophy teaches us that the object last drop, whatever contents the cup of life
of doing our duties to all men and to ourselves may have in store for us, to pluck the roses
the last, is not the attainment of personal of life only for the fragrance they may shed
happiness, but of the happiness of others; the on others, and to be ourselves content but
fulfilment of right for the sake of right, not for with the thorns, if that fragrance cannot be
what it may bring us. Happiness, or rather enjoyed without depriving some one else of
contentment, may indeed follow the perform- it. . . .
ance of duty, but is not and must not be the [N]o Theosophist has the right to this name,
motive for it. . . . unless he is thoroughly imbued with the
Duty is that which is due to Humanity, to correctness of Carlyle’s truism: “The end of
our fellow-men, neighbours, family, and es- man is an action and not a thought, though it
pecially that which we owe to all those who were the noblest”—and unless he sets and
are poorer and more helpless than we are models his daily life upon this truth. The
ourselves. This is a debt which, if left unpaid profession of a truth is not yet the enactment
during life, leaves us spiritually insolvent and of it; and the more beautiful and grand it
moral bankrupts in our next incarnation. sounds, the more loudly virtue or duty is
Theosophy is the quintessence of duty. (Key talked about instead of being acted upon, the
to Theosophy pp. 228,229) more forcibly it will always remind one of the
Dead Sea fruit. (Ibid., pp. 229, 230)
So Duty is a debt we owe the “Abstract Unity” and
that debt shows up in the form of events; it shows We are asked to “Drink without a murmur” what life
up quintessentially in the form of tiny little favors brings us; what this abstract ONE SELF presents as
asked of us from unknown, unnamed humans. You . . . continued on page 93

84 FOHAT
 Alchemy
and the Alchemists*
Read before the Scottish Lodge, by the Vice-President, 19th October 1891

W hat was, and what is, alchemy? Is it a dream or

a reality? A simple delusion, or a great and
elaborate fraud? Are its exponents to be understood
knowledge was carefully kept from the uninitiated;
and it is not therefore till the early centuries of the
Christian era, when the remains of the mysteries of
as speaking in a natural or in a mystical sense? Here Isis had passed to the Neo-platonists and the Gnos-
are questions which have been discussed for at least tics, that we meet with the earliest alchemical trea-
a thousand years, and which seem as far from being tises. In 296 A.D., Dioclesian is said to have burned
answered in a satisfactory manner now as on the first the books of the Egyptians “on the chemistry of gold
day that they were started. Each will answer them and silver”; and 700,000 rolls are said to have been
according to his own mental bias; each answer will burned at Alexandria, some of which doubtless
probably contain a portion of truth; and he who treated of the same subject. With the decay of the
discovers the true answer will never reveal it, for with Roman Empire, and the invasion of barbarians from
his knowledge will have come wisdom. He will have the North, learning of all kinds found its refuge in the
learned the secret which each inquirer must find for East. All chemistry was in the hands of the Arabs;
himself. He will know that nothing that he can say and the very name of “alchemy” shows who were the
will convince the wilfully and perversely ignorant, or transmitters of the hidden knowledge. Avicenna,
aid them one step on their way; rather will an ill-ad- Geber, and others were the link between the lost
vised laying bare of the results of his toil, to a world learning of Egypt and modern chemistry. The Cru-
unready for such knowledge, make himself and the sades opened the East to Europe, and Europe to the
truth which he would teach a mark for the scoffing East. Great and varied were the treasures brought
jeers of the multitude. For scorn to himself he would from the East by the Crusaders; and no treasure was
not care; but the initiate knows the fate that awaits more prized than the treatises of the Arab writers on
him that would unveil the arcana before the eyes of alchemy. The knowledge was of course very eclectic.
the profane. “Alchemy is a delusion and a fraud!” In those days a manuscript was not common prop-
cries the world; “we know it is; we have looked in our erty, but the jealously guarded treasure of one man.
books, and they say the thing is absurd; we have
looked in the books of those who profess to have
solved the riddle, and we could not understand their
meaning. Is not this the nineteenth century? and do
not we possess the sum of all human knowledge? If
we cannot understand the meaning, then the mean-
ing does not exist; and it is a delusion or a fraud.” It
may be so; but if it be, then is it a delusion that has
led men to give up their lives to it, happy at least in
their delusion,—and, strange to say, those who have
gone furthest on the quest have said least of what
they have found. Some there have been who have
loudly proclaimed their knowledge, and claimed hon-
our and renown as the owners, and possible divulg-
ers, of the great secret; and these men it is who have
brought evil repute on the mystery, and such as
these will bring evil repute on all mysteries so long
as the world endures.

Alchemy, so far as is known, took its rise in ancient Egyptian Symbols for the metals. From Lepsius, Metals in Egyptian
Egypt. We may be sure that among the priests all Inscriptions, 1860.

* Reprinted from Transactions of the Scottish Lodge of the Theosophical Society 1891-93, Volume I. Photocopied Reproduction
by Edmonton Theosophical Society; pp. 4-11.

WINTER 1999 85
 There were, fortunately for posterity, London, he converted twenty-two tons weight of
no great libraries in those days, so quicksilver, lead, and tin into gold. He sent to King
that manuscripts got some chance Robert of Scotland a book of “The Art of Transmuting
of being read. There can be no doubt Metals.”
that the Knights-Templars brought
back with them much occult knowl- Arnold of Villanova was probably born about 1245,
edge, to their own destruction, as it and died about 1310. His contemporary, the cele-
proved; and many of the charges brated jurisconsult, John Andre, says:—“In this time
Albertus Magnus brought against them may have appeared Arnold de Villeneuve, a great theologian, a
1193-1280. arisen from a misunderstanding of skillful physician, and a wise alchymist, who made
the mystic language of the alchemical treatises. To gold, which he submitted to all proofs.”
this period belong some of the greatest names in
alchemy. Albertus Magnus, who, as is related in the The number of alchemists increased greatly at the
“History of the University of Paris,” when entertain- end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth
ing William, Count of Holland, at Cologne, prepared centuries. With Basil Valentine we enter on a period
a banquet for him in the open air, though the season when alchemy tended to mysticism. He lived at
was midwinter, and the ground was covered with Erfurt, in 1413. In his writings he extols antimony,
snow. To the astonishment of the courtiers, the as the source of excellent medicines to those who
snow disappeared, the air became soft, the flowers know the secrets of alchemy, but that otherwise it is
bloomed, and the birds sang in the trees; to their still a poison of the most powerful nature.
greater astonishment, as the banquet was ended and
the last dish removed, all these things vanished in a John de Meun, who died about 1365, wrote the
moment, and winter returned in all its severity. “Romaunt of the Rose,” which was translated by
Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelical Doctor, Chaucer. Under the veil of a love tale is concealed
was a pupil of Albertus. In England, Roger Bacon an alchemical treatise.
studied not only alchemy, but every branch of natu-
ral science; he knew and described the camera ob- Nicolas Flamel, whose name is per-
scura, the microscope and telescope, the haps better known than that of any
manufacture and use of gunpowder, and many other of the older alchemists, was a scriv-
things usually supposed of much later invention. ener in Paris. About the year 1357
he became an hermetic student. His
In Spain, Raymond Lully, of whom own account of how he was led to the
many romantic stories are told, was study tells us that, in the course of
originally a soldier, and Grand his ordinary occupation of writing,
Seneschal of the Court. He, at the engrossing inventories, making up Nicolas Flamel
1330-1418
age of thirty years, relinquished all accounts, keeping books, and the
his honours and devoted himself to like, there fell by chance into his hands a gilded book,
the conversion of the infidels, very old and large, made apparently of admirable
founding a professorship of the rinds of young trees. The cover of it was of brass; it
Arabic language in the convent of Arnold of Villanova was well bound, and graven all over with a strange
St Francis, at Palmes, for that pur- 1245?-1310? kind of letters, which he imagined to be Greek char-
pose. In 1281 Raymond went to Paris, where, from acters. The matter within was graven on the bark,
Arnold of Villanova, he gained the first rudiments of in Latin characters, curiously coloured. It contained
the art. In 1311 he, while at Vienna, received letters twenty-one leaves, every seventh leaf being without
from Edward II. of England, and Robert, King of writing, but having images or figures painted on it.
Scotland, inviting him to visit their realms. Ray-
mond went to London, where he had apartments On the first seventh leaf was depicted—(I) A Virgin;
given to him in the Tower. The king pressed him to (2) Serpents swallowing her up.
transmute metals, on the understanding that if Ray-
mond provided the necessary funds, they were to be On the second seventh—A serpent crucified.
expended on a mission to the infidels. Raymond
accordingly transmuted base metal into gold, which On the third seventh—A desert or wilderness, in
was coined at the mint into six millions of nobles, midst whereof were seen many fair fountains, from
each worth three pounds sterling of the present day. whence issued out a number of serpents.
The coins are well known to antiquarians by the
name of the Rose Noble. They prove, in the assay of The fourth and fifth leaves contained in symbols the
the test, to be a purer gold than the jacobus, or any first matter or agent, and the process of transmuta-
other gold coin made in those times. Lully, in his last tion.
testament, declares that in a short time, while in

86 FOHAT
First, there was a young man painted, with wings at Paracelsus is a name known to all;
his ankles, having in his hand a caducean rod he was born at Hohenheim, two
wreathed about with two serpents, wherewith he miles from Zurich, in 1494. He is
struck upon a helmet covered with its head; against said to have learned the secret of
him came flying a figure of Time, who with his scythe alchemy at Constantinople, from
made, as it were, to cut off the feet of Mercury. an Arabian, from whom he re-
ceived the universal solvent,
On the other side of the leaf was painted a fair flower, which he calls azot—death, or that
on the top of a very high mountain, which was very Paracelsus which putrefies; or alcahest—the
much shaken with the north wind; its footstalk was 1494-1541 spirit, which is the sophic fire.
blue, its flowers white and red, and its leaves shining
like fine gold; round about it the dragons and griffins The system of Paracelsus is as follows:—In the first
of the north made their nests and habitations. place is the alcahest,* or spirit of nature, uncom-
pounded; it is one, undecomposable, universal, mild
On the fifth leaf was depicted a fair rose-tree, flow- attraction, passive and impotent, until by an al-
ered, in the midst of a garden, growing up against a chemical combination with any other matter it pro-
hollow oak, at the foot whereof bubbled forth a duces in the union a new substance of prodigious
fountain of pure white water. power, according to the nature of the matter with
which it is combined; these preparations are dissol-
On the last side of the fifth leaf was depicted a king, vent transmuters, and medicinal elixirs.
with a sword, who caused his soldiers to slay before
him many infants; these infants’ blood was put into Beneath this monad, or principle of simple unity, is
a great vessel wherein Sol and Luna came to bathe placed the binary distinction of all nature, in a mild
themselves. or harsh attraction and repulsion. This sexual class
of nature is not a pure distinction; the male is partly
I have given an account of this book at some length, feminine, the female is partly masculine.†
because the symbology of the figures seems interest-
ing, and I should like to hear some opinions on the The next classification of nature is the trinity,—a mild
subject. Flamel having for several years vainly tried or hard attraction, repulsion, and circulation;‡ a rec-
to solve the riddle, set out at length on a pilgrimage, ondite salt, mercurial spirit, and sulphur; in these
trying to find some learned Jew who might decipher principles, as before, each one contains a part of the
the figures. In Leon he met with a M. Canches, who other two. Each division of the quaternity, or four
explained to him fully the figures, and proceeded elements, is still further removed from simplicity; the
with him to France. Soon after their arrival, M. great visible masses of earth, air, and water, are
Canches died after eight days’ illness. After his infinitely decomposable; and the fourth ele-
death, Flamel wrought for three years before, by ment—heat, is equally various in its nature; it is
careful study of the writings of the philosophers, he produced by the equilibrious conflict of the binary
succeeded in preparing the powder. He made his principles, and partakes of the nature of its origin in
first transmutation on 17th January 1382, when he the three principles or four elements, but with less
turned a pound and a half of mercury into pure silver; apparent predominancy of their qualities because its
and his second, on 25th April of the same year, when birth is in equilibrium.
he transmuted the same amount of mercury to gold.
The wealth obtained by transmutation, Flamel and It would be both interesting and instructive to exam-
his wife expended in building hospitals and ine the symbolical meaning of these expressions.
churches, at Paris and at Boulogne, having founded They seem to consist of seven: the first three of the
and endowed with revenues fourteen hospitals, three elements—earth, air, and water—being absolutely
chapels, and seven churches in each place. He material; the fourth—fire, originating from these
caused the process to be depicted in hieroglyphics three; and above these, as I understand it, three
on arches in some of these buildings; and Langlet du others, since the trinity is spoken of as the result of
Fresnoy says that as late as 1742 these figures were the monad and the duad. Paracelsus himself seems
to be seen in the cemetery of the Holy Innocents, as to have made very unworthy use of his great knowl-
also in the church of St Jaques in the Boucherir, and edge; he led a turbulent life, and died from drinking.
in the portal of Little St Genevieve.

* The Sanscrit mulaprakriti, the scientific “ultimate matter.”—P.

† As to meaning of sex here, see “Transactions of Blavatsky Lodge,” Part I.—P.

‡ Spirit, matter, and Fohat.—P.

& Historically very doubtful, though a common theory. See Hartman’s “Paracelsus.”—P.

WINTER 1999 87
Passing over Picus de Mirandola, Charnock, and than twenty-four carats fine; he had never seen such
Denis Zachary, we come to the well-known name of fine gold.
Jacob Behmen, who may be called the father of
modern mysticism. To us he is specially interesting, Dr John Dee made transmutation several times, with
as being the first, so far as I know, who wrote of a powder said to have been found in a tomb in the
Theosophy under that name; and here I would call ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. The English Ambassa-
attention to the fact that he defines Theosophy not dor at Prague, Lord Willoughby, sent home to his
as the “Wisdom Religion” (an interpretation which to court a piece of a brass warming-pan, which was
me has always seemed forced, and doubtful, to say converted into silver by steeping it, red hot, in the
the least, on philological grounds), but as the “Divine elixir.
Wisdom,” the wisdom of faith, which is the substance
of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not The learned Von Helmont testifies that he several
seen with the outward eye. times made projection with powder that had been
given him, though he did not profess to be able to
Jacob Behmen was born in Old Seidenberg, in Prus- make it.
sia, in 1575, and was apprenticed to a shoemaker.
In 1598 and 1600, he was surrounded with the In 1666, Helvetius, a celebrated Dutch physician at
Divine light for several days; he saw the virtue and the Hague, testifies that he made projection on lead
nature of the vegetable world, by the signature of the with some powder that had been given him, and
plants, as he sat in a field: his looking on a plate of converted it into gold. This gold was tested by the
tin was sufficient to inflame the glory of the light mint master, Mr Porelius, both with acid and fire. It
within him. From this time he wrote several books not only passed the tests triumphantly, but actually
of the inward manifestations of Theosophy, until he increased in weight, having converted into gold a
died in 1624, aged fifty. portion of the silver and the antimony used in testing.

In his writings on the Philosopher’s Stone, he says, Instances, excellently attested, of transmutation,
“No skill or art availeth, unless one give the tincture might be multiplied, but it would be useless to do so.
into the hands of another; he cannot prepare it, To myself the truth of the matter is beyond doubt;
except he be certainly in the new birth.” but in looking through the records of public trans-
mutation, we are met by the singular fact that in
In 1602, Alexander Sethon, a Scotchman, made almost every instance the operator did not himself
projection at Erkusen, in Holland. Passing into Sax- know how to prepare the powder, but had received it
ony, the Duke of Saxony seized him, and put him to from some one else. Those who really had the power
the torture, to make him reveal the secret, but in either kept themselves secret, or refused to gratify
vain. He effected his escape by means of one Sendi- greed or curiosity by a public exhibition.
vogius, to whom he gave an ounce of the powder of
projection; and, worn out with troubles, died in 1604, What was, then, this powder of projection, this phi-
only two years after he left his home. losopher’s stone? It was the final result of the alche-
mist’s toil,—the red stone, or great work. It had three
Sendivogius made projections with the powder re- great properties, according to Denis Zachary—1st, to
ceived from Sethon, and wasted the proceeds in transmute metals into gold and silver; 2nd, to pro-
riotous living. At Prague, he presented himself to the duce precious stones; 3rd, to preserve health.
Emperor Rodolph II., and in presence of several lords
of the court the king himself made powder by projec- It has been often said that the alchemists worked
tion. Having exhausted all his powder, Sendivogius blindly; but this was not the case. Their theories
became a common charlatan, obtaining money from were based on the law of the unity of matter. Matter
the wealthy to enable him to make more of the is one, but it may take diverse forms, and under these
powder, though of its composition he knew nothing. new forms combine with itself and produce diverse
bodies. The first matter was a liquid or vapour,
Richtausen, about 1648, made projection before the pervading all space. It differentiated first into sul-
Emperor Ferdinand III., with a powder bequeathed phur and mercury, and these two principles, uniting
to him by the Baron Busardier. One grain of the in various proportions formed all bodies. Later a
powder converted three pounds of mercury into gold. third principle, salt or arsenic, was added, but there
The Emperor caused a medal to be struck, com- was not assigned to it the same importance as to
memorating the event, and enobled Richtausen. In sulphur or mercury. These three principles must in
1658, the Elector of Mayence himself personally no way be confounded with the ordinary substances
made projection with the same powder, taking elabo- of the same name. They represented certain qualities
rate precautions against deception. The master of of matter; thus sulphur in a metal represents colour,
the mint certified that the gold produced was more . . . continued on page 95

88 FOHAT
 THEOSOPHICAL FRIENDS REMEMBERED

Lafayette Gordon Plummer

August 8, 1904 - September 10, 1999

On September 10, 1999 a In 1978 Gordon approached us with the offer to

gentleman who had been undertake a lecture tour in Canada. Assured that he
an inspiration to multi- could do it in spite of a severe sight impairment, we
tudes for many decades gratefully started planning a lengthy tour which
died of pneumonia at might have challenged a younger and physically able
Sharp Cabrillo Hospital in person.
San Deigo, CA. Dr. Plum-
mer was born at the Head- So, accompanied by his wife Esther, Gordon visited
quarters of the Point Victoria, Vancouver and Calgary. (At that point, Es-
Loma Theosophical Soci- ther had to return to their home in San Diego to
ety, on Point Loma, near honour commitments there.) Gordon then went to
San Diego, CA. He was Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. Spending an av-
educated at private erage of a week in each city, he generously gave his
schools and at the Theo- time to local Theosophists, giving public lectures and
sophical University there, intensive study sessions at every branch.
where he received a doc-
Photo taken 1989; supplied by Car- torate in Theosophy and He had a unique ability to make even the most
men Small. Science. He later taught difficult Theosophical concepts understandable to
Mathematics and Science at the Raja Yoga School, first time enquirers as well as to long time students.
and Astronomy and Mathematical Symbology in the A gifted teacher, he knew how to hold an audience,
University. and was particularly good with university students
who attended his lectures.
In 1949 he joined the staff of San Diego’s City-County Doris and Ted Davy
School Camps for Sixth Graders. Outdoor education Calgary, AB
and conservation were the primary interests of the
Camp. He was involved with the camps until 1984.
We had the pleasure of meeting Gordon for the first
Life-long friends, Carmen and Emmett Small, sup-
time in 1978 when he lectured in Edmonton. We saw
plied the San Diego Union Tribune with information
him again in San Diego in 1988. He entered into the
regarding Gordon’s amazing contributions. A staff
Small’s home carrying his model of a dodecahedron,
writer, in the Obituary published Saturday, October
eager for an opportunity to discuss it. He still had a
9th, included the following:
child’s enthusiasm for the subject, and that is the
Generations of sixth graders knew L. Gordon image of him which lingers with us.
Plummer as the affable magician who treated
them with tricks and tunes. If he wasn’t Rogelle and Ernest Pelletier
pulling something out of a hat or making Edmonton, AB
cards disappear, he was serenading them on
the accordion. Since 1961 I have visited Theosophical lodges in the
Due to his poor eyesight, Gordon apparently learned Orient, Europe, and North America, but of all the
to play the organ and accordion by ear. people I have met in the Movement, I have been most
impressed with the old Point Loma Theosophists.
After his retirement, Dr. Plummer became active in Among these was L. Gordon Plummer, or ‘Gordon’,
the San Diego Hall of Science of which he was a as he dropped the Lafayette when very young. One
founding member. He also conducted tours at the of twins, he was born with but 2/5ths vision in one
Mount Palomar Observatory, including the site of the eye, and early on showed an interest in science,
200-inch Hale Telescope and the Astronomical Mu- magic (prestidigitation) and C puns, which kept peo-
seum. ple groaning or laughing for 75 years. A great deal of
his knowledge was absorbed by listening as he grew
[Following are personal memoirs from a few of his up on Point Loma, though he could read with diffi-
many friends.] culty. He learned to speak with careful diction and
deliberate lucidity, and I can’t remember him jabber-
Our first contact with Gordon Plummer was in the ing in an off hand manner, as many do. This served
1960s when as editors of The Canadian Theosophist him well as he lectured to countless school classes
we began publishing some of his articles. on science, or to Theosophical groups, in North

WINTER 1999 89
America and Europe well into the ’80s. He had an
inventive turn of mind as well, demonstrated by his
construction of a unique sundial which made use of
a suspended gnomon shaped like a bowling pin,
giving great accuracy. This was placed at the en-
trance of the Ruben H. Fleet Space Museum.

Gordon was never at a loss to occupy his time. He

authored six books that I know of, best known for
Mathematics of The Cosmic Mind, for which he con-
structed a complex series of models of a dodecahe-
dron, icosahedron, etc., his lack of eyesight being a
minor inconvenience, it would appear. When comput-
ers came on the scene, Gordon delighted in his,
though by then well into his =70s.

Gordon lived a life of self discipline. He embodied the

Theosophical ideal of being impersonal, never fasten-
ing on personalities, and he was always extremely Sundial displayed in Balboa Park. From the San Diego Union, January
polite and well mannered, after the old school which 28, 1976.
has nearly vanished in our era. And he was very
Countless children in the San Diego Unified School
diplomatic and tactful when the occasion arose.
District shared Gordon’s enthusiasm over the dec-
Once at an open gathering where a number of us gave
ades. Nurtured by Theosophy, this enthusiasm con-
talks, I made some harsh remarks which outraged
veyed his certainty that we are innate Gods, evolving
several members present. But amidst the tension
towards our true Divine stature, just as the stars are
and clamor, Gordon stepped in and quietly put out
evolving suns. One of Mr. Plummer’s last titles, The
the fire with great acumen. All in all, a true and able
Way To The Mysteries, reflects all the wonderful
Theosophist, who ignored his dis-ability, to inspire
thoughts he shared with us during the Solstice and
those around him in general, and myself in particu-
Equinox gatherings from the early 1980s onwards,
lar.
until his eyesight prevented his long bus trip to Los
Richard Robb
San Diego, CA Angeles. Earlier he had travelled on lecture tours, not
only in the United States and Canada, but also as far
afield as Holland and Finland. In his declining years
Like a journey to an enchanted isle it was, to have he used a huge magnifying glass to construct his
encountered Gordon Plummer. Known to some as intricate geometric figures comprised of string and
an “Instructor in Symbolic Mathematics”, brimming doweling. These greater and lesser mazes were used
with wit and inquisitiveness, he conjured the world to tutor students, who still trekked up to his retire-
of Space and Number for young and old alike. ment home, into his late eighties. By one mobile of a
dodecahedron which enclosed all the other geometric
I first met Gordon at mountain camp for sixth grade shapes he taught the concept of interpenetrating
children in the Cuyamaca Range east of San Diego. worlds. Photographs and drawings of these shapes
As a teacher trainee chaperoning several classes, I as well as the Platonic solids are found in his books.
admired his sense of humor as he regaled the kids Even after totally losing his sight he fashioned moe-
with magic tricks, accordion playing and astronomi- bius strips, scribbled with his beloved number se-
cal tidbits. Later in the evening we discussed philo- quences.
sophical ideas, and I said to him, “You sound like a
Theosophist”. From this encounter grew a lifelong Gordon had ventured beyond these teaching aides
friendship, as he would come up to Los Angeles to by the invention of a universal self-correcting sun-
visit his twin sister Gertrude and Boris de Zirkoff. dial, dedicated by the San Diego Hall of Science in
November 1975. As son of the noted American geog-
Gordon’s wife Esther had taught with him at a private rapher, whose name is born by Plummer Peak in the
school in Topanga Canyon (near Malibu, California) state of Washington, Gordon certainly made his
where they met. She was his guiding light in later mark upon the world, both inner and outer. We are
years as he lost the sight in his one good eye. deeply indebted to him and wish him a restful so-
Sympathetic to Theosophy, she lived the life of a journ within the Devachan of his celestial imagina-
Theosophist, although more inclined to the Unity tion.
movement.

90 FOHAT
Gordon’s first book was From Atom to Kosmos, fol- son Nauzer, then 11 years of age, was so keenly
lowed by Star Habits and Orbits, Astronomy For impressed, he studied the 12 Manuals published by
Theosophical Students (with Charles J. Ryan; Theosophical the Point Loma Publications as guide to the study of
University Press, 1944). In this latter book you find him theosophy. Ordering these books directly, was our
unfolding the occult interpretation of nebular evolu- first contact with ‘Lomaland’. Little did I know then
tion and sharing his boyish delight in the celestial that within a year, our lives were to change and
orbs which never left him. His most popular book unexpectedly, we would not only visit this ‘magical’
Mathematics of The Cosmic Mind (Theosophical Publishing place called Lomaland and meet Esther, Carmen and
House, 1966; rev. ed. 1970), was followed by three Point Emmett, but live and experience the cultures and
Loma Publications: By The Holy Tetraktys! (1982), The climes of Papua Niu Gini, the remnant of archaic
Way of The Mysteries, Insights on the Seven Jewels Lemuria and proceed from there to Brindisi and
of Wisdom (1991), and Three Steps to Infinity (1993). Taranto. Taranto is built over Pythagoras’ school
Dara Eklund called “Meta Ponto”, in Megna Grecia or South Italy.
Studio City, CA
[Reprinted with permission from Theosophy World, No. 40, We visited San Diego in December, 1980. O, it was
October 1999] an enchanted event and a truly and equally en-
chanted Christmas! Our dream came true and we
were actually walking on the sacred grounds of
“Sketchawampus”! Lo and behold! Coins would ‘Lomaland’! The first thing we did after our arrival at
magically appear from Gordon’s nose and ears!! “Ab-
San Diego was to visit Point Loma with Gordon.
racadabra”? O NO! That is the word ‘tricksters’ com-
Besides the beautiful and impressive buildings, the
monly use; it is tabooed by the ‘mathemagicians’! So!
majestic Greek theatre and the canyon, the boys were
Whenever my family and I reminisce about Gordon, fascinated by the ‘monkey-puzzle’ trees and the small
we say, “sketchawampus”!
red coloured pebbles which they picked up as memo-
ries of Lomaland. With Gordon as our guide,
This is neither a biography nor an obituary; it is just
Lomaland displayed some of its past aura. We could
a walk down memory lane.
imagine the lights being turned on at the Coats’
residence; G de P pondering over his books and
It was a sunny but nippy day in October, 1978, in
papers at his residence; voices echoing and applause
Edmonton, Alberta. The doorbell rang and my friend
thundering at the Greek theatre! Yes! Lomaland
Simon Postma accompanied our houseguest L. G.
turned out to be all that we had imagined it to be. Its
Plummer, to our home. It was the first time we met
serenity and sacredness were immediately etched in
Gordon, but there was no strangeness to our greet-
the silent chambers of our heart. Fortunately, we
ing. We met like old friends and immediately took to
were able to revisit this remarkably beautiful place
each other. Gordon was especially delighted with my
many times, each time equally impressed and spiri-
3 sons who were 11, 6 and 2 years of age, then. That
tually rejuvenated.
was 21 years ago! The 2 year old fascinated him and
through the years, Gordon’s interest and relation-
Of course, our meeting Carmen and Emmett Small
ship with him became more meaningful.
was as fulfilling as our meeting Gordon and visiting
Lomaland. Our friendship has sustained over the
On that first visit, Gordon spoke gently and lovingly
years and Carmen and Emmett have proved to be the
of his wife Esther, and of a ‘magical’ land called
most gracious hosts, always. As indicated before,
Lomaland, in San Diego. He spoke of its history and
this was the most memorable Christmas for my
the 2 key people, dear to his heart, who played major
entire family. We had a party at the Small’s. Carols,
roles in building this fabulous Lomaland. He spoke
skits, warm apple cider, sumptuously delicious din-
of Katherine Tingley, lovingly called K.T., and
ner, laughter, camaraderie and above all, “uncle
Gottfried de Purucker, called by those who knew him
Gordon” was entertaining all of us, especially 3 very
intimately, as G. de P. He also spoke very fondly of
amazement-struck, keen spectators who were my 3
his 2 dear friends whom he knew from his good old
sons! And, ho, ho, ho! Santa Claus (Emmett, of
days at Lomaland. Of course, these 2 are none other
course), appeared with gifts, too!
than Carmen and Emmett Small.
Esther and Gordon accompanied us to Palomar Ob-
When Gordon was not lecturing at the Edmonton
servatory where Gordon used to conduct tours, and
Lodge or visiting Nell and Simon Postma, he was
as it so happened, fortunately for us, the dome was
talking to our family of the 7 ‘Jewels’ in the crown of
being serviced and we saw the portals of the dome
theosophy. He fascinated us by the various shapes
open to reveal the grandeur of the sky. He was a
he had made of the icosahedra and dodecahedra. We
founding member of the San Diego Hall of Science
heard with rapt attention what he had to say about
and showed us the universal, self-correcting sundial
their place in the Maze, i.e. the Universe! Our eldest
he had designed that was displayed at the Plaza de

WINTER 1999 91
 Balboa. It was a memo- proud of all the boys, and if I seem to mention Percy
rable visit to San Diego occasionally in my letters, it is largely because I am
and Lomaland. And, amazed that a 14-year old has already grasped some
happily, the beginning of of the deepest aspect of Theosophy to the extent of
several future visits, which his young mind is capable.” On February 28,
each just as memorable. 1992, he wrote about his new book, “Three Steps To
Infinity”. He added: “To tell the truth, I had an
Gordon loved children intuition on my visit last year that it might be the last
and when he was not of its kind, and for this reason, I gave all of you the
playing his accordion, best of which I was capable in our ‘Round Table
‘magically’ producing talks’. If you are able, will you consider that my new
coins, telling funny sto- book will be like another kind of visit, and it will be
ries, or doing mathe- yours for keeps. As I am sending it to all of you at
magical tricks, he was just this time, you will know that in one sense, I shall
imparting theosophical feel that I am back in my ‘Home away from Home’.”
teachings. He LIVED
theosophy! He was one of Gordon (he seldom used his first name La Fayette),
the direct chelas of G de was always surrounded by laughter, music and spiri-
P and K.T. K.T. had met tuality! Later in his life, he became hard of hearing,
W.Q. Judge and they in addition to having poor eyesight. Despite his
Photo taken 1980; supplied by Pervin were all much, much physical handicap, he could hear clearly and see
Mistry. nearer to the source of much better than those who, having perfect physical
present day theosophy as revealed by Madame eyes, are spiritually blind and with acute sense of
Blavatsky. Perhaps now that Gordon has passed into physical hearing, are equally, spiritually deaf! He was
Light, Carmen, Emmett and Grace Knoche are the a profound thinker; ‘thoughts’ are not just things;
only theosophists left of that Golden Era. How I wish they are beings, he would admonish! His noble soul,
time could transport my family and I to those days his enlightened thoughts, his spirituality, are dis-
of spiritual vitality and exuberance that flowed from played through his writings. His famous books are
every molecule at Lomaland! However, as Gordon Mathematics of the Cosmic Mind, From Atom to Cos-
would sometimes remind me, I have a piece of Point mos, The Way of the Mysteries, Three Steps to Infinity,
Loma in our own home and heart as long as we keep and By the Holy Tetraktys. The last book Gordon was
its memory alive and live up to its ideals. writing is called “The Winged Globe”. He titled it so
because he saw the ‘Winged Globe’ displayed above
After our first visit, not only were we fortunate to visit our fireplace. It is a symbol of the Zoroastrian relig-
San Diego many times but were equally fortunate to ion.
have Gordon visit us in Toronto several times over
the years. He took great delight in teaching our He gave Percy some of his mathemagical tricks, and
youngest son Percy, mathemagical tricks; he visited he gave me some of his articles which, I am sure, are
his school to the delight of schoolmates and teachers; published in the Eclectic and other theosophical
he walked the crescent where our home is located in journals. Some titles are: “The Inner Structure of the
order to ‘straighten’ the crescent, Gordon would Number 7”; “Divine Geometry”; “An Unfinished Uni-
comment! Later, in one of his letters, he wrote, “I can verse”; “Pathways of Light”; “The Mystery that is
close my eyes and see it as it was in the early morning Man”; “In My Father’s House are Many Mansions”;
light.” Most important of all, every evening, after “Egypt”; “The Egyptian Mysteries”; “Harmonics”;
supper, Gordon would talk to us about theosophy “Notes on Chelaship”; “I Am the Captain Of My Soul”;
and the teachings! All 5 of us would look forward to “Ygdrasil, the World Tree”; “Principles and sub-Prin-
suppertime because we knew that Gordon will then ciples”; “Who, What and Where is God?”; “The An-
nourish our mental and spiritual needs. cient Mysteries and the Bible”; “Sun and His family”;
“Man Know Thyself”; “The Universal Solar System”;
In a letter dated August 5, 1991, Gordon wrote: “Who Are The Manasputras”; “Reflections”; “Evolu-
“Above all the activities that are offered me when I tion, Creation, or What”; “The Theosophical Move-
visit, I prize above all, our evening talks around the ment”; “Man’s Divine Lineage”; and an undesignated
dining table. Likewise, the talks we have in the paper that may be entitled “Where Does Man Fit In?”.
morning before the boys are up…I am convinced that
when we are gathered around the table, our minds In 1989, when one of my brothers passed into Peace
and hearts are lifted to the degree that the Holy Spirit and Light, Gordon hastily penned an article and
enshrined in the teachings is unquestionably among named it: “There Is Time For Everything”. He wrote:
all of us. And it is a very real thing which will tell very “First, we must recognize that in all of the kingdoms
favorably for all during the years to come… I am of Nature there is much variety among the denizens

92 FOHAT
therein. Differences are seen among humans, more that Gordon had passed into Peace and Light,
in terms of mental and spiritual faculties than in strangely, I anticipated the news before she said it. I
outward appearance. Would it not follow that in the am sure I dreamt of Devachan, the spiritual abode
higher kingdoms, there must be differences as where Gordon’s consciousness is now transmitted.
among the Manasputras for instance, and likewise Truly, birth and death are mere transient events in
among the Spiritual Monads. Surely they are not all the life of an immortal, peregrinating Soul. I know
cut out of one piece of cloth, so to speak. The Monadic that Gordon was never bound or handicapped by his
Essence is a stream of consciousness flowing from physical sight or hearing; and now, he is free of all
the Divine Monad, through the Spiritual Monad, physical limitations. His spirit soars to the stars; his
then the Higher Human Monad, and so on through- consciousness experiences the spiritual fulfillment
out the entire human constitution. Since the doc- of Devachan.
trine of Swabhava which means literally Self
Becoming is essentially the consciousness of the La Fayette Gordon Plummer, the name and the
Monadic Essence itself, it would appear that every personality now survive only through his numerous
Spiritual Monad has its own individuality, hence its writings that are the manifestations of his illumined
own Karma… It seems likely that the quality of the consciousness on the physical plane. Live on, my
after-death experience will vary according to the friend. I am sure that some time, our paths will cross
karma of the Spiritual Monad itself.” again. As friends, we will share the sublime brother-
hood through time and eternity. Space is an illusion.
On Friday, September 10, 1999 I had a strange The reality is “Being”. “Become the Path”, he would
dream. I dreamt that a room was filled with beautiful constantly remind!
flowers and more and more kept filling up the room. Pervin J. Mistry
The atmosphere in the room was peaceful and pleas- Mississauga, ON
antly lit. Three days later, when Carmen called to say

. . . Mystery continued from page 84

we walk through life caged in our emotions and the Sir John Maddox2 pointed out that “the nature of our
thousand tears that flesh is heir to. That’s a tough present ignorance points to problems science cannot
idea. Do you know anyone who does it, or even avoid”—the most obvious being, “what happens in
seems to?? If we could be as enthusiastic and grate- our head when we are thinking.”
ful in our effort to serve others when personal tragedy Investigators in various fields of study are
and disgrace visit our playing field as we are when realizing how little they know in comparison
it’s raining violets, The Voice of the Silence would not to what needs to be known, and this is evok-
need to warn us that we are entering a Path of Woe. ing in them a sense of humility. “We should
However, in one place it does say that if we succeed discard the idea that scientific inquiry will
in becoming as hard as stone to our own private “ups ever be complete,” says Maddox. “What we
and downs” and as soft as the bright mango pulp for know so far is that each question answered
that of others, we will, in time deserve the epithet: merely spawns another.”
Oh, Conqueror of Weal and Woe
As HPB stated at the end of Volume I of Isis Unveiled:
Friend, if you think we are talking about “ethics” The few elevated minds who interrogate na-
perish the thought! or, if you are willing to call ture instead of prescribing laws for her guid-
knowledge and ethics siamese twins, then we will ance; who do not limit her possibilities by the
allow it in the same sense that Gandhi identified imperfections of their own powers; and who
means and ends: only disbelieve because they do not know, we
There is no wall of separation between means would remind of that apothegm of Narada,
and end. We have control over means1, not the ancient Hindu philosopher:
over the end. Realization of the goal is in “Never utter these words: ‘I do not
exact proportion to that of the means. . . . The know this—therefore it is false.’ One
means may be likened to a seed, the end to a must study to know, know to under-
tree; and there is just the same inviolable stand, understand to judge.”
connection between the means and the end
as there is between the seed and the tree.

1
Parabrahman is “Supreme” as to +)75- , not supreme as effect. (Mandukya Upanishad, vide S.D. I, p. 6)

2
This part derives from July 1999 issue of The Theosophical Movement, Bombay, India. An article in Time magazine written
by Sir John Maddox, former editor of Nature, is being quoted.

WINTER 1999 93
. . . Atlantis continued from page 81
Atlantis in the Aegean Sea? side of the Mediterranean. Such a cataclysm is
hardly possible. However, if Atlantis was recognized
Was there a civilization matching the wealth and in its latter days as having existed on an island in
technical brilliance described by the Egyptian priest? the southern Aegean sea, then it would have been a
Yes. More than one author has identified the Minoan neighbor to the Greeks and such a mutual destruc-
civilization as being the source of the legend of tion would have been possible.
Atlantis. The Minoan people had cities on the island
of Crete and the island of Thera which are noted for Closing
their degree of wealth. Now being unburied, these
cities show us that the Minoan civilization was well In closing, I offer the theory that the story of Atlantis
in advance of other Mediterranean civilizations at the as told to Solon by the Egyptian priest was actually
time in terms of its wealth, its ability to build struc- a mixture of two stories; each one of them being true
tures, and according to independent observations in itself, but when combined, not true. Thus the
made at the time, their shipmaking ability.7 Their story of Atlantis became a fable, because there is no
sailing ability must also have been of the best. Ak- one place on earth, at any time, that was exactly like
rotiri, the main city on Thera, was destroyed by the the description given by the Egyptian priest, in its
eruption of its volcano. All of the cities on Crete were entirety and in every detail. By separating the two,
destroyed by the tsunami created by this same vol- we have a description of the beginning of the civili-
canic explosion. zation of Atlantis, even before that time when man-
kind did not yet have boats, in the northern Atlantic
Further, the destructive geological activity that de- ocean, on the Celtic shelf while the ocean level was
stroyed Atlantis was said to have destroyed the low. And we have the second story, of the brilliant
Greeks as well. This raises the question of the nature and wealthy civilization on the islands of the Aegean
of a geophysical cataclysm that destroyed an island sea (on Crete and other islands). Its location, wealth,
in the Atlantic, simultaneously with the Greek pen- shipmaking and sailing, world-wide trading and skill
insula on the north side of the Mediterranean, with- at construction of buildings, all agree closely with
out harming the Egyptian civilization on the south this second story.

1. “The gradual evolution of man in the Secret Doctrine shows that all the later . . . Races have their physical origin in the
early Fourth Race.” ( The Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, pp. 165-6)

2. “. . . from the Fourth Race, language is perfected and knowledge increases. At this half-way point of the Fourth Round (as
of the Fourth Root, or Atlantean, race) humanity passes the axial point of the minor Manvantara cycle. . . .” Ibid,
( Vol. I, p.
189)

3. “It is during the so-called Eocene period that the continent to which the Fourth Race belonged, and on which it lived and
perished, showed the first symptoms of sinking. And it was in the Miocene age that it was finally destroyed—save the little
island mentioned by Plato. Ibid,
It is these points that have to be checked by the scientific data.” ( Vol. II, p. 693)

4. “Now our Fifth Root-Race has already been in existence—as a race sui generis and quite free from its parent stem—about
1,000,000 years . . .” Ibid,
( Vol. II, p. 435) and “This is the calculation of theEsoteric Doctrine, as approximately as it can
be. For 1,000,000 of years are allowed for our present Root-race (the Fifth), and about 850,000 years since the submersion
of the last large island (part of the Continent), the Ruta of the Fourth Race, or the Atlanteans; while Daitya, a small island
inhabited by a mixed race, was destroyed about 270,000 years ago, during the glacial period or thereabouts.” Ibid,
( Vol. I,
pp. 650-1)

5. “Simplicius . . . reports . . . on the authority of Porphyry, that Kallisthenes sent Aristotle from Babylon a series of astro-
nomical observations, which reached back for 31,000 years, or, as the Latin translation has it, for 1903 years before the
time of Alexander the Great.” Reprinted from “Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology”, 1874 and published in
Astronomy and Astrology of the Babylonians by A. H. Sayce, p. 146; Wizard’s Bookshelf, publisher; San Diego ISBN
0-913510-39-4

6. Atlantis: New Hypothesis by Viatcheslav Koudriavtsev, a paper published on the internet (http://www.imh.ru/at-
lan4_e.htm) available April 1998.

7. Atlantis: The truth behind the legend by A.G. Galanopoulos and Edward Bacon, Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis/New
York; 1969. Library of Congress number LC 71-80738.

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

- The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians 4:11

94 FOHAT
. . . Alchemy continued from page 88
combustibility, power of attacking other metals, translating into figures this paragraph we get 1 + 2
hardness. On the contrary, mercury represents glit- + 3 + 4 = 10.
ter, fusibility, malleability; the salt is simply the
means of union between the sulphur and mercury, as When the sulphur, mercury, and salt of the philoso-
the vital spirit between the body and soul. Besides phers were enclosed in the “philosophic egg,” or
these three principles, there were the four elements. vessel hermetically sealed, in which the work was to
But again, under new meaning, water signifies all be carried on, they were exposed to a heat of sixty or
liquids, earth is the solid state, air a gaseous state, seventy degrees centigrade. This was in the various
fire a very subtle gaseous state. The theory, then, of stages increased, till it reached in the fourth stage
the alchemist was that all metals were forms of this the point of the fusion of lead.
first matter, or rather different combinations of the
secondary emanations—sulphur and mercury. Na- In the course of the great work, the matter changed
ture would in time perfect all metals, and bring them colours several times. The principal colours were
to gold, but various accidents may check or interrupt black, white, and red; the secondary colours were
the process. A mine once opened, the metals in that those leading from black to white, namely grey; and
mine remain in a certain state of progress, and from white to red, namely, green, blue, the colours
advance no further. Did an adept then know the first of the spectrum; then yellow, orange, and finally red.
matter, or universal solvent, he might imitate the
operations of nature, and complete the work left When the red powder was obtained, it was mingled
unfinished. with gold in certain proportions; again heated, and
another red powder was obtained, which was the true
The matter used in the great work were gold and Philosopher’s Stone, which being projected on im-
silver united to mercury, and prepared in a special pure metals, would purify them, and convert them
manner. Gold was taken as being rich in sulphur, into gold. This powder, dissolved in alcohol, formed
silver as containing a very pure mercury; as for the elixir vitæ, or universal medicine. A great friend
quicksilver, it represented the salt, middle term of of mine assured me that he once met with what he
the union. These three bodies, prepared according believed to be the elixir, but as a powder. He was
to certain processes, were enclosed in a glass vessel, walking in a country place in the south of England
called the philosophic egg, and closed with care. The when he met with a rural postman; he got into
whole was heated in a furnace named athanor. Im- conversation with the man, and to his astonishment
mediately the fire was lighted, the great work com- found that he was deeply read in occult studies. He
menced. In the course of the operations the matter went to the man’s cottage, where he was shown a red
took different colours, which were called the colours powder; the man assured him that by taking this
of the work. Finally, a red colour announced the powder he could go for an indefinite time without
completion of the work. According to the alchemic food. He gave my friend a few grains of the sub-
theory, it was rational that the matter of the Philoso- stance, and my friend declared that with that dose
pher’s Stone should be composed of sulphur, mer- alone he was able to go for three months almost
cury, and salt. These three principles, taken in a entirely without food. Some months after he went
state of absolute purity, united and prepared accord- back to the cottage, and found that the man’s wife,
ing to the rules of the art, should compose a new in a fit of passion, had broken the bottle and de-
body, which, without being a metal by itself, might stroyed the powder.
communicate metallic perfection to impure metals.
Now, are all these statements and processes to be
The alchemists, in speaking of the matter of the taken in their material signification? or are they
stone, regarded it sometimes as one, referring to its simply an allegory, in which is set forth the raising
invariable composition; sometimes as triple, referring of man’s self to the higher life? I myself believe that
to the principles which formed it; sometimes as they are to be taken literally, though the processes
quadruple, replacing the principles by the elements. and the materials themselves may receive a mystic
The philosophers said enigmatically that the matter interpretation. If such an interpretation can be
of the stone has three angles in its substance (the found, I know of no one so likely to be able to unfold
three principles), four angles in its virtue (the ele- it to us as our President, and I hope he will examine
ments), two angles in its matter (fixed and volatile), the various statements which I have laid before you
six angles in its root (the universal matter). Cabal- tonight, and give us his interpretation of them.
istically the number of the matter is 10, for by

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 30hat is the Steed, 71wught is the 2?ider

,Jtis the "bridge" by which the ",Jdeas" existing in the "rnivine

71wught" are impressed on Cosmic substance as the "laws of
::Nature." 30hat is thus the dynamic eneroy of Cosmic
,Jdeation; or, regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent
medium, the guiding power ofall mani~station .... 7hus from
Spirit, or Cosmic ,Jdeation, comes our consciousness; from
Cosmic Substance the several vehicles in which that
consciousness is individualized and attains to self - or
r4f.ective - consciousness; while 30hat, in its various
manifestations, is the mysterious link between ~ind and
~tter, the animating principle electrifying every atom into
life. - Secret rnoctrine I, 16

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