Tree of life (Kabbalah)....Alkahest…Sleeping Prophet..chemical fortify the liver ( or failed) ...three main systems of roots, trunk and branches parallel human development of body, psyche and spirit.

In this figure of a reclining man, the liver gave people information about their medical conditions and cures that were contrary to the accepted medical procedures of his day. Today some of these have become more commonplace in holistic medicine and today are among commonly used naturopathic practices. He has been therefore called the father of holistic medicine. A man before his time for certain. Some called Edgar, a man out of time for he seems to have reinvigorated albeit through the unconscious trance state, the practices of ancient physicians once again. In addition to his medical readings, he also gave life readings upon request. In most of those readings people were astonished to find that they had lived before. While most were found to be average people, in a handful of cases individuals were reported to have been persons of historic significance. In even a few cases these souls had lived lives during the time that Jesus walked the earth and it is these few upon which this picture is focused. Their roles in Jesus life were varied. There were teachers, acquaintances, friends and personal relationships. In addition, a good number of these people were part of the Essene community, which he knew about prior to the surprise discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls which occurred after his death and which then introduced them to the world at large after being translated painstakingly for years. The sculpture of Rouen spoke of these people on the shores of the Dead Sea and northern Palestine, today's Israel,
The Tree of Life is a universal symbol found in many spiritual and mythological traditions around the world. In various cultures it is known as the Cosmic Tree, the World Tree and the Holy Tree. The Tree of Life symbolizes many things, including wisdom, protection, strength, bounty, beauty, and redemption. This wise and holy Tree is like the Creator as it sustains creation with its abundant fruit, protection and generativity. The Tree is also like human beings, as we develop roots, strengthen our trunk and branch out to a wider vision of life as we grow.

Trees provide many analogies to human development. They are amazing microcosms of exchange and flow of water, nutrients and gases. With sustenance from the earth, cooling water, refreshing air and the light of the sun, they grow in stature and strength and eventually blossom into full flower and fruit. They are earth-bound and yet reach up toward the heavens, trying to touch back to the source. Their three main systems of roots, trunk and branches parallel human development of body, psyche and spirit.

The following are some examples of how the Great Tree is understood around the world. These examples demonstrate why so many cultures use the Tree of Life to describe the Divine and our journey back to the Divine.

Kabbalah – In Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition underlying Judaism and Christianity, two different Tree of Life symbols are used: one is upside-down and the other right-side-up. The original Tree of Life emanates out of the divine world of unity and is depicted as upside-down, with its roots flowing from the divine place of unity and infinite light. The trunk and branches reach down towards us, penetrating the worlds of spirit, psyche, and physical existence. This is said to be the Tree of Emanation, which flows downward from the source. The other Tree of Life symbol flows upward, back towards the source, with roots in the ground and branches growing up to the sky. This is the Tree that the initiate climbs to return to the source and is the Tree of evolution or initiation. It is the initiate’s responsibility to evolve and awaken, climbing the Tree and penetrating the worlds of psyche, spirit and divine unity, reconnecting with the divine source.

Depth Psychology – From a depth psychology perspective, the tree is seen as a powerful symbol of growth, as the tree is the only living thing that continues to grow throughout its lifetime. The tree is also a symbol for the true self and serves as a positive, healthy model for the unfolding development of both psyche and spirit. As we grow and develop, a larger and more mature personality emerges and begins to flower and fruit, providing its gifts and bounties to the wider world.

Christianity – In Christian art, Jesus is often depicted as standing in the branches of the Tree of Life, presented as the living fruit of the Tree. In this capacity he is the bridge between the Divine and humanity and between heaven and earth. He is a vision of enlightened humanity and our potential to bloom and bring forth abundant fruit. The image of Christ on the cross is another depiction of the World Savior on the Tree of Life, redeeming humanity through his death and subsequent rebirth.

Buddhism – It was beneath the great Bodhi tree, the great Tree of Enlightenment, that Buddha was said to redeem the whole universe under its protective branches. Under this World Tree, the Buddha transformed all negative temptations and energies and achieved perfect enlightenment. In this story, as in the Christ story, we have the archetypal World Savior and the World Tree themes together.

Nordic – In Nordic mythology, Odin is the god who rules all magic and guards the great well of wisdom and knowledge at the root of the World Tree Yggdrasill, whose strength supports the entire universe. Here, under the branches of Yggdrasill, Odin becomes an initiate magician and discovers a Shamanic vocation, obtaining inner sight and healing capacities.

Shamanic – In many Shamanic cosmologies, the Cosmic Tree is said to connect the Underworld, Middle world and Above world. During initiation, the Shaman learns to travel comfortably in all three realms. In some traditions the Underworld contains power animals and helper guides for healing. The Above world consists of ancestors, spirit guides and spirits of plants and diseases to whom the Shaman can speak and engage their help in healing others. During initiation, Shamans are often instructed to make and climb a ladder to symbolize their ability to access the three zones of the Cosmic Tree.

Minoan – From the ancient Minoan culture of Crete, the Tree of Life is connected to the Mysteries of the Labyrinth. The Tree of Life is said to occupy the very center of the labyrinth. The goal of initiation is to claim your own self by winding into the center of the labyrinth, climb the Tree of Life and connect with your own divinity as well as the divine source.
Alkahest is a term used in Renaissance alchemy for the theorized "universal solvent", which was supposed to be capable of dissolving any other substance, including gold, without altering or destroying its fundamental components.[1] Among its philosophical and spiritual preoccupations, Hermeticism was more anciently concerned with the Panacea, but (in the context of reformed understandings of human physiology) the emergent Latin alchemy associated with European humanism was itself transmuted into a new medical and pharmaceutical philosophy. The Swiss physician and alchemist Philippus Paracelsus (1493-1541), who gave his name to the early modern school of medical theory known as Paracelcism, first made mention of the Alkahest as a chemical which could fortify the liver, and (in instances where the liver failed) could act as a substitute for its functions (see De Viribus Membrorum Spiritualium, Cap. VI, "De Cura Epatis", at p. 10). By reducing or dissolving substances into their fundamental virtues and properties, it was hoped to gain control of those invaluable medical healing properties (see also Azoth), and for this reason the Alkahest (also known as the ignis gehennae[2]) was earnestly sought for, and the reality (or otherwise) of its existence was debated among the alchemists and philosophers.

Contents
1History
2Etymology
2.1Other names
3Structure and mechanism
4Uses
5Recipe
5.1Paracelsus
5.2Jan Baptist van Helmont
5.3Seventeenth century alchemists
6Issues with the concept
7References
History
Alkahest became very popular in the 17th and 18th centuries through J.B. van Helmont, after which it was taken less seriously over time. Its prevalence in the 17th and 18th centuries, despite its otherwise absurd and extreme qualities, was likely due to the popularity of alchemy at the time and the lack of an adequate alternative theory of chemistry.[3] Those who followed and trained under Paracelsus did not think of the alkahest as van Helmont did, but slowly built upon the ideas posed by their teacher.[3] Tobias Ludwig Kohlhans (1624-1705) suggested in his dissertation of the spleen, that alkahest could be found in the lymphatic vessels of animals.[2] This was then contested and doubted by Helmont, Henry Oldenburg (later in 1661), and Goddard, who raised questions about the lymph's "sweetly acidic" quality, the necessity of a hypothetical universal solvent to explain the acidity in empty animal lymphatic vessels, its ability to be generated within the body, and how it differed from that of the other fluids or humours in the body.[2] The German alchemist Johann Kunckel (1630-1703) and others in time began to see the alkahest as merely fantasy and wishful thinking.[4] Ladislaus Reti, a 20th-century historian of science, investigated alchemical recipes involving alkahest and found that no chemical was sufficient in breaking down the wide variety of materials Helmont supposed. Reti points out that in such recipes, an alcohol solution of potassium hydroxide could have been used instead.[4]

Etymology
There is no consensus on the origin and etymology of the word alkahest, as Paracelsus left no trace or history of the word. George Starkey argued it came from the german word al-gehest (all spirit).[4] Johann Rudolph Glauber posed that it could have come from the words alhali est, the german word al gar heis, or Al zu hees, meaning "very hot".[4] Cleidophorus Mystagogus in England[5] argued for its root being of Belgian or High Dutch.[4] Paracelsus believed that alkahest was, in fact, the philosopher's stone, whereas Henry Oldenburg in 1661 made experimental connections between the legendary alkahest, and the liquid discovered in the lymphatic vessels of animals introduced by Kohlhans.[2] Boerhaave in his textbook Elementa Chymiae (1732), did not think Alkahest was the philosopher's stone but that it was in fact of greater importance and value than the stone.[2]

Other names
Helmont considered the alkahest to have never-ending reusability, calling it an "immortal".[2] He also used the term "maccabean fire" because of its similarities to the "thick water" in the deuterocanonical Book of Maccabees in the Old Testament.[2] Another name for the Alkahest termed by Helmont was ignis gehennae.[2] Other names include Latex (or "clear water reduced to its minutest atoms"), and primum Ens Salum (or "salt exalted to its highest degree").[2]

Structure and mechanism
The theory of alkahest was conceived in terms of alchemy, Helmontian theories, and the physical theory of corpuscularianism.[3][6] According to Helmont and Robert Boyle, the alkahest had a "microstructure", meaning it was composed of extremely small, homogeneous corpuscles.[3][7] This structure allowed the alkahest's corpuscles to move between the corpuscles of all other materials and mechanically separate them without altering their base materials or itself, conforming with the idea that it was infinitely reuseable.[3][7] It was these qualities which made the alkahest distinct from ordinary corrosives, which are altered by the substances they act upon and thus are not infinitely reusable.[7]

Uses
George Starkey and his mentor Helmont (by their report) used mercuric sulphide to dissolve gold, and informed Boyle about it in a series of letters. The alkahest, according to Starkey, was able to remove sulphur from the natural mercury leaving a quicksilver resistant to corrosion.[7] Moreover, because of the credited power of alkahest to break down substances into their occult qualities, it was sought after for its potential to cure incurable diseases at the time.[7] For example, the breaking down of Ludus could provide a cure for urinary calculi.[2]

Recipe
The recipe for the theorized alkahest was often kept secret, as many alchemical recipes were.[4] There were many alchemists attempting to obtain the universal solvent, and thus many recipes, some later rejected by their creators, have been found.[7]

Paracelsus
Paracelsus's own recipe for alkahest was made of caustic lime, alcohol, and carbonate of potash; however, his recipe was not intended to be a "universal solvent".[3][8]

Jan Baptist van Helmont
Following Paracelsus, it was the chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont who expanded on the alkahest, believing it was a universal solvent.[3] Helmont claimed that knowledge of the recipe was granted by God and was therefore known by few, and he had many dreams during which he believed he had been gifted the recipe, only to find them inadequate.[3][4] Given the difficulty of obtaining alkahest, Helmont suggested the use of other, inferior substances that they believed were capable of similar tasks.[7] Volatile salt of tartar, also known as pyrotartaric acid or glutaric acid, was considered both a substitute for alkahest and a component of alkahest.[7][1] Helmont's writings also referred to a fourteenth century alchemical manuscript which discussed sal alkali, which may have been caustic potash or lye, that was capable of dissolving many substances and may have been an ingredient for Helmont's alkahest.[3][8][9]

Seventeenth century alchemists
During the seventeenth century, many alchemists were working on obtaining the alkahest, some being Johann Rudolf Glauber, George Starkey, Frederick Clod, Thomas Vaughan, Thomas Henshaw, Johann Brun, Robert Hamilton, Hugh Piatt, and Robert Child.[3] Glauber believed that the alkahest was a class of substances, rather than one, particular substance.[3] Glauber believed he had discovered alkahest after discovering that volatile niter (nitric acid) and fixed niter (potassium carbonate) were able to dissolve many substances.[7] Starkey described alkahest as a circulated salt that is neither acid nor alkali.[3][10] Moreover, Starkey believed that, because acid saline liquors are destroyed by alkalies and urinous spirits, they cannot be ingredients of the immortal alkahest.[7] He believed instead that non-acidic substances could be ingredients of the alkahest, some of these suspected substances being urinous spirits, spirit of alkalies, and sulphureous vegetable spirits.[7] In particular, Starkey believed that alkahest's secret ingredient laid within urine.[3][7] Clodius believed that mercury could convert salts into "ponderous liquor", which he believed was needed to make the alkahest.[7]

Issues with the concept
A potential problem involving alkahest is that, if it dissolves everything, then it cannot be placed into a container because it would dissolve the container. This problem was first posed by German alchemist Johann Kunckel.[4] However, the alchemist Philalethes specified that alkahest dissolved only composed materials into their constituent, elemental parts;[10] hence, a hypothetical container made of a pure element (say, lead) would not be dissolved by alkahest. The old remark "spit is the universal solvent" satirizes the idea, suggesting that instead of a solvent that would easily dissolve anything, the only "real" solvent to anything is a great deal of hard work. In modern times, water is sometimes called the universal solvent, because it can dissolve a large variety of substances, due to its chemical polarity and amphoterism.

The tree of life is a diagram used in various mystical traditions.[1] It usually consists of 10 nodes symbolizing different archetypes and 22 lines connecting the nodes.[2] The nodes are often arranged into three columns to represent that they belong to a common category.[2]

The nodes are usually represented as spheres and the lines are usually represented as paths.[2] The nodes usually represent encompassing aspects of existence, God, or the human psyche.[2][3][4] The lines usually represent the relationship between the concepts ascribed to the spheres or a symbolic description of the requirements to go from one sphere to another.[2][4] The nodes are also associated to deities, angels, celestial bodies, values, single colors or combinations of them, and specific numbers.[3][5] The columns are usually symbolized as pillars.[2] These pillars usually represent different kinds of values, electric charges, or types of ceremonial magic.[2][5] It is usually referred to as the Kabbalistic tree of life in order to distinguish it from other concepts with the same name.[1][6] In the Jewish Kabbalah, the nodes are called sephiroth.[2] The diagram is also used by Christian Cabbala, Hermetic Qabalah and Theosophy.[5][6][7] The diagram is believed to be derivable from the flower of life.[3]

Scholars believe that the concept of a tree of life with different spheres encompassing aspects of reality traces its origins back to Assyria in the 9th century BC.[1][6] The Assyrians also assigned values and specific numbers to their deities similar to those used by the later Jewish Kabbalah.[1][6] The beginnings of the Jewish Kabbalah are traced back by scholars to the Medieval Age, originating in the Book of Bahir and the Book of Zohar.[5][6] However, the first historical instance of the modern diagram appeared centuries later in the cover of the Latin translation of Gates of Light in the year 1516.[5] Scholars have traced the origin of the art in the Porta Lucis cover to Johann Reuchlin.[8]

Contents
1Evolution
2Interpretations
2.1Chassidist
3See also
4References
5External links
Evolution

A version of the Kabbalistic tree of life
The first historical instance of the modern tree of life was designed by Johann Reuchlin.[8] Paolo Riccio's son, Hyeronomius, had actively exchanged letters and shared his father's work with Reuchlin before publication.[9] Thus, in the year 1516, Reuchlin's diagram came to appear on the cover of the Paolo Riccio's Latin translation of Joseph Gikatilla's Gates of Light. The diagram only had 17 paths and, at the time, the concepts of 10 spheres and 22 letters were still distinct in the literature.[10] In 1573, a version sketched by Franciscus Zillettus appeared in Cesare Evoli, De divinis attributis.[11] This version introduced several innovations that would reappear in later versions: all the spheres were of the same size, the lines became wide paths, the spheres were aligned into 3 distinct columns, Malkuth was connected to three spheres, and astrological symbols for the known celestial bodies were used in conjunction with the Hebrew names to label the spheres. However, it also had only 17 paths, albeit distributed differently. Reuchlin's version was reprinted in Johann Pistorius' compilation of 1587. Finally, several versions from unknown artists introducing 21 and 22 paths appeared in the posthumous print editions of Moses Cordovero's Pardes Rimonim between 1592 and 1609.[12] However, the diagrams with 22 paths lacked consistency with each other and none of them had the 22 letters.[13] Between 1652 and 1654, Athanasius Kircher published his own version of the tree in Oedipus Aegyptiacus. Kircher might have designed his diagram in a syncretic attempt to reconcile several distinct ideas. This heavily annotated version, self-termed Sephirotic System, introduced more innovations: abstract concepts, divine names, the 22 Hebrew letters for each path, and new astrological symbols.[14] Between 1677 and 1684, Christian Knorr von Rosenroth published Kabbala Denudat. He designed several new versions of the tree of life, introduced the first version with 11 spheres, placed Daath between Kether and Tiphareth, and attempted to derive the tree of life from elemental geometry.[15][16][17]

Consequently, to modern day, two versions are widely circulated: one where Malkuth has 1 path, owing to Reuchlin's original; and another where Malkuth has three paths, owing to several later versions; both having 22 paths in total, corresponding each to a Hebrew letter, owing to Kircher's syncretism.[18] With the resurgence of occultism in the 19th century, many new versions appeared, but without major innovations.[19] In the 20th century, Aleister Crowley might have resurfaced the idea of Daath as an 11th hidden sphere between Kether and Tiphareth in his book Liber 777, syncretizing the concept with Kircher's symbols and von Rosenroth's diagrams.[20][21] With the discovery of new planets, people might have tried to introduce more astrological symbols to their own versions of the diagram. As a result, there is no general agreement about the position of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.[22][23] However, in particular, it has been noted that Pluto bears resemblance with Daath: Pluto is a former planet, the last traditional celestial body to be discovered, and Daath is a hidden sphere, the last to be introduced.[24] In the 21st century, enthusiasts might have rushed to attribute these collaborative works spanning centuries and involving several people through complex interactions to single authors. Thus, sometimes, the version where Malkuth has 3 paths is termed the Tree of Emanation, and the version where Malkuth has 1 path is termed the Tree of Return.[5]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkahest

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_life_(Kabbalah)

Taken on: September 1, 2021

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Sets appears in: • inner core...internal light ...phosphen... reversal

Groups appears in: • Architecture gothique en France • Tympans des portails en France

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