OPUS MAG1CUM: CONCENTRATION AND SILENCE

Let us remember: "Aurum igitur aurificandi verum, unum, solum

principium esto. " (Gold is the one, true, and only principle of goldmaking.) The principle of perfectibility, dignification, and sublimation
of the spirit is in the spirit itself and it creates (or determines, if you
prefer) within itself the conditions of the ascent. Do not think that this
is an easy operation, especially in its initial, double phase. This phase
teaches how to first isolate the spirit, making it unassailable from any
external influence, until, having perfected this state, it eventually
acquires a new self-consciousness with completely new ways of
perceiving.
CONCENTRATION is the essential and the next most important faculty
after
the willful determination appropriate to the purpose. For those who
are
used to studying, it will be easy to concentrate, as they reconstruct
the
psychological process of attention that, in our case, is at first free
from any
object. In this as well as in every other phase, they observe the
general
principle of applying themselves for longer periods of time and with
increasing
intensity.
We should note here that concentration can be practiced in two ways:
the first, which we may call "external," has a purely cerebral and
mental
character; the second is essentially an act of the spirit.
One begins by finding a quiet and silent place, trying to eliminate any
external obstacle to concentration, and assumes the most
comfortable and
fitting position, so that the body will experience the least discomfort
and
not exercise any muscular effort. Then, totally abandoning yourself,
relax
in a position of absolute rest. We recommend the use of an armchair
with
a high back and armrests capable of sustaining the full length of the
forearms.
One can even lie down, with the head at the same level as the body,
facing eastward. In the case of several people practicing together,
special
guidelines must be observed.
The initial theme of concentration is to become free from the habitual
way of thinking and to feel one's thought as something real, fixed,
material,
massive, located in the mind, in the brain, as something condensed

and gathered in its proper seat. Thought should be imagined to

acquire
such a density and consistency as to be grasped, completely
dominated,
and maintained outside the body. In this act, what occurs is a gradual
separation between the conscious spirit, which is purely aware of
what it is
doing, and the act itself, which is something performed by the spirit,
outside
of the spirit, on another plane of "density," endowed with another,
different nature. The spirit, by concentrating, in the tension of
determining
and feeling thought in such a concrete way, gradually detaches itself
from it as a conscious act.
For this purpose many devices can be employed, such as mirrors. It is
generally helpful to place one's thought at a certain distance away.
The
concentration of thought in the area between the eyes is the object of
special
practices aimed at specific purposes.
Another method of concentration, more perfect but also more difficult,
consists in not paying attention to one's thought, abandoning it to
itself, until,
being deprived of the vitality that it derives from attention, it remains
inert,
no longer capable of disturbing the pure act of spiritual
consciousness.
In this state is found Silence.
The double function, active and passive, of the spirit in this phase was
aptly described by Philalethes: "Est autem aurum nostrum duplex,
quod ad
opus nostrum expetimus, maturum puta,fixum, Latonemflavum cuius
cor sive
centrum est ignis purus. Quare corpus suum in igne dejendit, in quo
depurationem
recipit, ut nihil eius tyrannidi cedat, aut ab eo patitur. Hoc in opere
nostro vices maris gerit, quare auro nostro albo crudiori, spermati
foemineo,
conjungitur, etc."7 (Our gold that we use for our work is double,
namely a
ripe, fixed, yellow Latona whose heart or center is pure fire. Hence it
defends
its body in the fire, in which it receives its purification, such that it
surrenders nothing to its tyranny, nor does it suffer from it. This acts
the
part of the male in our work, by which it is joined to our white, cruder
gold, as to the female seed, etc.)
The nature of the fire, as animating spirit (and not as a particular
element

to be experienced) was thus described by Agrippa: "Fire appears in all

things,
and through all things, and at the same time is nothing, for it
illuminates all,
yet remains hidden and invisible when it is by itself and
unaccompanied by
matter in which to manifest its proper action and thereby reveal itself.
It is
boundless, and invisible, sufficient in itself for every action that is
proper to it
. . . it comprehends the other elements while remaining
incomprehensible,
having no need for any of them, able to grow through its own virtue
and to
communicate its greatness to the things that receive it, etc."8
In Silence, the spirit, free from every bond, precipitated within itself,
sees
and knows itself. This happens through a succession of conscious
perceptions
that can be differentiated into three successive phases.
At first, one has a clear feeling of isolation and solitude, in which the
spirit floats, just as an inconsistent and airy mass floats inside a light,
luminous
medium. Gradually, one has the feeling of being submerged, sinking,
and descending into something that, instead of being more
substantial,
becomes increasingly tenuous; at the same time one experiences a
sense of dilating, as if one's surroundings slowly dilate, expanding to
the
infinite recesses of space. This is the first perception of the infinite.
Deeper down, deeper still, the slightly luminous impression becomes
feeble and eventually disappears. A thick darkness sets in and also, at
the
same time, a vague and more defined awareness of the greater
density of
the dark region into which one is sinking. Then it seems that being,
having
become solid black, expands beyond its limits into the universe. This
is the second perception of the infinite.
The consistency becomes denser, more massive, and darkness almost
becomes total blackness, up to a total opacity: the spirit sinks even
more.
At a certain point it stops, and the solidity is absolute. All of a sudden,
it
seems as if the enormous stony mass disintegrates (an instantaneous
impression),
and after that, a new abyss opens up underneath, the mass dissolves
and the spirit sinks. This is an absolute vertigo in the spirit, which
is vanquished only by the awareness of the self as an intangible,
indestructible,

tenacious, and victorious reality. Beyond this, the impression of

darkness
is one of a loose darkness: air-darkness. The spirit still endures,
focused,
resolved to overcome the abysmal depths; it remains immobile. From
the bottom, a new light shines forth, which, at first tenuous, becomes
increasingly
intense, until it is perceived in a watery consistency that melts
and transforms the infinity of things into a milky ocean.
Having reached this point, the sense of the spirit's infinity and
unconditional
freedom is absolute, and there is no better state to be enjoyed.
Requiem adeptus es. (You have attained rest.) But do not think that
one
must remain in this way in a state of absolute immobility, because,
although
the first prerequisite and the most difficult operation has been
performed,
what still lies ahead is the constructive phase of the ritual, which
is just as important and which leads to the knowledge and to the
experience
of purely spiritual ways of communication. The ritual teaches one to
perceive
the essence of things in their immediate reality, beyond formal
appearance,
by inwardly realizing the Names of power and the Signatures of
things.
Thus, the spirit will be perfect not only in potency, but in action as
well.
For a brief comparison with the alchemical tradition, we should note
that in the texts, the above-mentioned phases of darkness are
correlated to
other symbols referring to the color black. Philalethes has beautifully
described
the above-mentioned phase in the seventh chapter of his Introitus,
after exhaustively outlining all the properties of the active spirit and
its
determinations, its whence and wherefore. The reader who is
particularly
interested in this subject should refer to that text and try to
understand the
symbols in the spirit.