Continuing the discussion on circular motion, I would like to ask you what an alchemist sees in the rite of Photagogy, or attraction of light, a form of divination described by Iamblichus. The most complete ritual of photagogy that has come down to us from late antiquity, punctuated and supported by the use of barbaric names, is contained in the Great Magical Papyrus of Paris. As we have already seen, Photagogy is a form of divination theorized by Iamblichus, who sees divine light illuminate the theurgist’s ethereal and shining vehicle when the gods are present in his soul or when they make it shine with a light that comes from them and precedes them. This latter case is the light of the sun or moon, or again, the opposite, darkness, or finally, objects appropriate for welcoming the gods, such as water, due to its diaphanous nature, or a wall covered with sacred inscriptions. The procedure is carried out by the light of a lantern, a case not discussed by Iamblichus, but abundantly attested in Greek and Demotic magical papyri.
So we are in the minefield of Iamblichus’ theurgy… What did you want to ask me specifically?
Iamblichus describes an object worn by Egyptian officiants of those specific rites. I quote: Aside from the circularity of the cosmic soul, and the contemplation of a formless fire in the depths of the cosmos, the clothing of the highest priest, whose function was to act as interpreter and mediator of the divine word, included the presence of a small stone held close to his chest. In this regard, I would like to know if this stone could be analogous to the Philosophers’ Stone.
I will not delve into the realm of theurgy, but I will respond—as an alchemist—to what appears to us as a metaphor for the Philosophers’s Stone. For an alchemist, the entire ritual of Iamblichus’ Photagogy is a metaphor. As a metaphor is the small stone held close to the officiant’s chest. I’ll complete the description of the rite for you: “The operator wants to identify himself with the god Thoth and become a sort of alter ego. Then a barbaric sequence dedicated to the triple Horus is expected. This must be followed by the enunciation of the seven vowels, which reproduce the invocation of the holy name of the god in the symbolic way of the three cynocephali (dog-headed).” An alchemist will replace all theurgic terms with alchemical laboratory nomenclature and tell you that this Photagogical ritual is nothing more than the representation of the alchemical Last Cooking. The intriguing part, even for an alchemist, are the cynocephali (dog-headed. Which in fact have a great analogy with the three dog-like faces of the goddess Hecate, or whirling deity who stands in the middle. What an alchemist means by “alchemical light” is exactly this: the three dogs of Hecate. The goddess who unites everything, because there is no void between one body and another. It seems to me that the teeming of entities is also the essence of Iamblichus’s philosophy. For an alchemist, nothing really scary.
How can the officiant act as interpreter and mediator of the divine word?
Speaking as an alchemist, I can tell you that all of this fits perfectly into the alchemist’s role during the final stage of the work—that is, when the alchemist has succeeded in making the philosophical egg “speak” and simply awaits the arrival of the higher octave.
Metaphorically, you mean.
No, I mean the actual waiting for the actual eighth note that would come from a real “sky”.
So, I have to deduce that the seven vowels…
I am a genuine, ordinary, and elementary simple musical scale.
Ultimately, the stone worn on the chest, then, could be the Philosophers’s Stone…
In the sections dedicated to this topic, we will see how the term “philosophers’ stone” is more poetic than literal. A true alchemist speaks, instead, of the philosophical egg.
And the three dog-like faces of the goddess Hecate?
The famous “third between the two”. But we will look at this in greater depth in the section dedicated to the enigma of the three salts. Before that, let us turn to more modern times—to the physics of today. Since we cannot simply take a background in mythology for granted, perhaps by venturing into the narrative of modern physics, we can discern connections that allow us to move forward.
Drawing inspiration from the concept of the “third between the two”, we return to Iamblichus’s Photagogy, which envisions divine light illuminating the theurgist’s radiant and ethereal vehicle when the gods are present within his soul—or when they cause it to shine with a light that emanates from them and precedes them. How should we picture this light?
A light that emanates from them and precedes them can also be the light of the sun or moon, or indeed the opposite of darkness, or finally objects suited to
receiving the gods—such as water, by virtue of its diaphanous nature—or—and here we return to writing—a wall prepared with sacred inscriptions.
Must the inscription be illuminated, or does it emit light itself?
Iamblichus does not discuss this latter case, but the procedure is amply attested in Greek and Demotic magical papyri and is carried out using the light of a lantern.
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