The Fire of the Mind and the Athanor

by Salomo Baal-Shem

The Mythological Symbolism Of Fire

The Greek legend tells us, that it was Prometheus, the Titan, who gave the fire to humanity. In this myth fire is a symbol for knowledge. Many different legends exist, that tell the same story in other words and images. Lucifer, the bringer of light, is another name for the same archetype. Also the Bible tells the same story. The snake makes Adam and Eve eat the fruit (most people believe it was an apple, but the Bible does not say so), that gives knowledge of good and evil.

Prometheus (whose name means 'Forethought') stole the fire from the chariot of Helios, the Sun-God. The Greek Gods were angry and they wanted to punish humanity. They send Pandora, a beautiful artificially made woman, to bring a vase (incorrectly described as 'Pandora's box') to humanity, which was filled with all kinds of plagues that flew away, when it was opened, only hope stayed. It was Epimetheus, who opened Pandora's vase. Epimetheus (whose name means 'Afterthought') is the symbol for the human being, who does only learn what is good and what is bad, after he experienced the result of his actions.

As in the biblical story it was a woman, who brought pain to humanity. This does not mean, that women are evil. Such an interpretation is only the mark of a confused mind. Eve has to give birth to her children. She is the mother of mankind. Therefore she is a symbol of Binah and Malchut. When Adam and Eve were punished, they were send out of paradise. Humanity was send into the world of matter in order to experience the results of their deeds. The Sanskrit word"Karma" means deed or action. Karma is the result of our actions, as we experience it in the material world. And "Assiah" the qabbalistic term for the world of matter means action, too. (As you see, the teachings of the east and of the west, speak the same truth, even though they may use other words or symbols sometimes.) This is, why pain is brought to humanity by women. It is the pain of being born into the material world. But once we have learned the lessons of Binah, we will understand, that is was a necessary step of our evolution.

Why Does The Bringer Of Light Appear To Be Evil?

We all have been told since early childhood, that the snake is the devil and therefore evil. But, there is nothing like a devil outside ourselves. There is no anti-god. The only devil that exists is within us. The unbalanced forces (the "Qlifot") are nothing else but misplaced energy.

Mankind has been given the gift of free will. But free will makes only sense if there is a choice. Man had to be tested in the world of matter, so that he can experience the result of his actions and learn the difference of good and evil. In order to test humanity someone has to be the tester, this is the one who gives knowledge. This is the inner teacher. But he has to work in disguise, to enable man to make his own decisions. One of the great clues to understand human evolution is to understand the importance of free will. It is better to learn form your own mistakes, than to be doing the right thing, without understanding why it is right. In order to enable every soul to learn the knowledge of good and evil, the concept of the free will is kept in high value by all occultists on the path of light. But because such a teaching will create misunderstanding or misuse, if given to those who are not ready to understand it, it was not described except in symbolic form. It was not the intention of the wise ones to give criminals an excuse to break the law. Yet without temptation the saint could never purify his soul.

In the Tarot "The Devil XV" is followed by "The Tower XVI". The Tower is the mortal personality that is "destroyed" and rebuild by the fiery force of a flash of lightning. This is the aspect of fire that I will describe in detail. Before I do so, a few preliminary informations have to be given.

The Snake And The Messiah

(The Hebrew word for snake is "Nachash", which has the number 358. This is also the number of the word"Mashiach", the Messiah or Saviour. The Tarot-card "The Devil" belongs to path 26. Twenty-six is the number of YHVH, the Name of God. The card itself has the number XV, which is the number of YAH, the abbreviationof YHVH.)

The snake of the Genesis is identical with the Kundalini of the east. Both have been put to earth, since the Snake-power is located in the earth-chakra. It is God within - the only true Saviour. The messiah can only be found within. Do not look for the messiah outside yourself. The story of the false Jewish messiah Shabbtai Tzwi, should be a warning to all those, who believe in a messiah outside themselves. A true teacher can help us and guide us to find the messiah within ourselves, but no one can do more than this.

Since the powers of the Snake-fire can be dangerous if the student is not well-prepared, this was another reason not to speak about these matters, except in symbolic form.

The creative power of sex is another aspect of the Snake-Fire, but I do not intend to describe it here. (Sorry, don't be disappointed!)

The Woman And The Snake

It is interesting to notice in the light of what was said above, that it was the woman (or in other words the female-passive side of us) which spoke to the snake. In the Jewish religion it is the task of the woman to call down the Shechinah (the Presence of God) into the house of the Jewish family on Sabbath.

The World Of Matter And Death

As a result of eating from the 'Tree of knowledge of good and evil' man was send into the world of matter. In the Qabbalah the journey of the soul into the world of matter is symbolised by the 'Tree of knowledge of good and evil'. And the journey that leads back to reunion with the Godhead is symbolised by the 'Tree of Life'. Therefore Man was forbidden to eat from the Tree of Life before he has entered the world of matter and learned the lessons of this world. The Tree of Life is used in qabbalistic teachings as a map, that leads the soul to higher development.

The snake promised "You will not die.", yet death is a part of material life. But the snake did not lie, when it said "You will not die.", since the concept of death is an illusion. For the trained soul death is only the sunset of life, which will be followed by another dawn into another life. This will repeat until the soul reaches the point, to leave the world of matter forever.

The Meaning Of Fire

Let us have a closer look at the meaning of fire. The use of fire changed the life of humanity in many ways. It prolonged the day, since it gave light and warmth. During daylight, primitive man had to do make sure, the tribe would survive the next day and have something to eat. Daylight was too important to be wasted. It needed to be spend on hunting or collecting fruits - in those times survival was hard work, they could not simply walk into a supermarket and buy what they wanted. The extra time given by fire could not be used for hunting or collecting, but it could be used for those activities, that the need to care for survival would not permit during daylight. The tribe might have gathered around the fire and ... well having a nice conversation? Certainly not. For the first time they may have felt the need for some communication that goes beyond the few calls that even most animals have. A call for danger, maybe even different ones of different types of danger. A call that says "I have seen animals for hunting" (and the 'most important' one that said "I am ready for mating"). It is quite likely, that real language began to develop in those times. First they may have acted out what they wanted to tell. How the hunters were killing the mammoth. Theatre may have originated in that time. Further by using simple ways to make sounds like clapping the hands or hitting a stick on a stone they may have discovered rhythm and the beginning of singing and music - even though it might have sounded rather awful from our point of view. Some may have discovered, that one could use the burned part of a piece of wood to draw on the walls of the cave. Communication, theatre, music and art was brought by the fire, that is what we might term "culture".Also the way we cook our food is considered to be a part of our culture and cooking food was only possible after the invention of fire. The use and control of fire marks an important point in the development of humanity. No animal can make fire. Fire may be considered the most important tool of primitive man. The use of fire would lead to an enormous amount of other inventions. Clay could be made much more stabile, when put into the fire. This would allow to create much better - and more artistic vessels. The art of melting metal and of smithing was invented. The use of metal was only possible by being able to use fire. This art has been considered to be so important, that the ages of human culture have been named after it. Such were the bronze age and the iron age. Even the atom age, as our time is called sometimes, may be considered to depend on the use of fire. Still in our times most types of energy are set free by burning such substances like coal or oil. Without oil, most of our industries would stand still. Fire has brought many inventions to mankind and many types of arts. Fire is creative.

Fire will also show us our weak spots. A vessel made from clay will break in the fire, if it has any weak parts. If you smith a piece of iron, that has a small rent, even if it is so small that the eye can not see it, it will break easily.

Fire will also give us light. It will let us see in the darkness. It will reveal to us, that what was hidden from our eyes in the night. It will make us know, whether we are alone in a dark cave or not. It is the only way the drawings deep inside the cave could be deciphered. Light givesus information and knowledge. Apollo was the Greek God of the Sun and of the Light

On the entrance of the Temple of Apollo, in Delphi one could read the words: GNOTHI SEAUTON "Know Thyself!"

There are many ways, in which one may find self-knowledge. I do not wish to say, that one is more important than the other ones, for in a fully developed human being, there should be balance between the different aspects of the soul. This is only possible if all parts of the soul are developed. I will only try to examine a certain aspect of self-knowledge, which may be called the "mental fire".

The mental aspect of fire does not give the knowledge of the higher Self, since this belongs into the area of the spiritual aspect of fire. But the mental fire gives the knowledge of the mortal personality. (The word "personality" comes from the Greek word "prosopon" and the Latin "persona", which indicates the "mask" or "role" of an actor. It is considered by the occultist to be the mortal incarnated self, while the "individuality" from the word "individuus" = "indivisible" means the immortal higher Self. The personality is only a mask of our true self. Unfortunately most people believe that their ego is their true self, but it is only a part of the whole.)

The Athanor

Mental fire is the light of analysis and synthesis. Thus it may be compared with the alchemisticalAthanor. The Athanor is an oven in which the fire will burn uninterruptedly. This was considered especially important to perform the great work, the higher aspect of alchemy. Thus the Athanor is both altar and altar-light of the alchemist.

Alchemists were called 'analysis-artists' in order to indicate, that the whole idea of alchemistical work can be considered to consist of analysis and synthesis. The practical work of Alchemy was called 'Spagyric' and the name comes from the Greek words 'spao' (to seperate) and 'ageiro' (to unite). The alchemist Basilius Valentinus described the great Work in two phases (each consisting of several sublevels to make a total of twelve levels according to the twelve zodiac signs). The two main phases were called SOLVE et COAGULA (solve and unite).

As indicated above, the Athanor was not only a tool for practical work it's meaning is far more important. Like the oven that provides food to eat, the Athanor provides spiritual food. If we want to do the Opus Magnus 'the great work' we have to prepare our soul well. It has been said, that only the best is good enough to be given as a sacrifice to God. If we want to lay our sacrifice onto the fire-altar, so that the material form is consumed by the fire and transformed into something more subtle, that can ascend to heaven like the smoke, then we have to make sure, that our sacrifice is worth to be accepted. Before we are ready to serve the light, we have to purify our mortal personality. This is where the fire of the mind is most helpful. The analytical aspect of mental fire, will show us our weak spots, and the creative aspect of mental fire, will enable us, to rebuild our personality.

Most beginning students do not like to hear this. They are more than eager to dedicate their lives to high ideals, but when it comes to the point, that the offer they made is tested and they have to pass the trials that guard the higher work, then they are disappointed and leave the work.

Do not misunderstand me. It is okay to be disappointed sometimes. I believe, that a student who was never disappointed, and who never regretted his or her choice to start this work, has not yet even touched the higher levels. Yet the dark night of the soul will pass and then you may realise, that it are those trials, that purify the soul and prepare it for the higher work. Life can do everything, that is needed to prepare you for your spiritual work. This is called the Path of the Heath-Fire. (This is just another aspect of Fire.)

The Path Of The Heath-Fire

You can not avoid the Path of the Heath-Fire, and you should not try to do so. But since it is a hard way to learn the lessons of life, you can shorten the process a bit. Some people make the same mistake over and over again, and sometimes it takes many incarnations until they learn a specific lesson. Think of those people, who always get a partner, who drinks and misuses them. When they are not able to tolerate this anymore, they separate and search for another partner, who drinks and misuses them, too. This will go on, as long as they have not learnt their lesson.

(I do not wish to laugh about people, who have such a hard destiny, nor do I wish to make you think, that there is anything wrong, with a soul, who needs much time, to make a certain step forward. Never amuse yourself or look arrogantly on the difficulties of others, for you may never know, what tasks lie ahead of you. Even if you are stronger or wiser than another soul - and arrogance is never a sign of wisdom - there will always be advanced souls, who have mastered a task, you will struggle to do, and they will understand you. So why should you not understand the weaker soul?)

If you do not wish to make the same mistakes over and over again, you can use your mind to purify your personality. As I said, you can not avoid the Path of the Heath-Fire. It is both a hard but also a joyful path. It's purpose is to make you learn. You can learn all your lessons on this path alone, and after having gone through the lessons of life you may enter the mysteries as a fully trained student. This is the meaning behind those teachings, that advise the seeker, not to enter the mysteries before a certain age. But you could also go through the training, that has been laid out, by the great teachers, to help you to learn the preliminary lessons, not in order to avoid the Path of the Heath-Fire, but in order to be able to absorb it's lessons faster, more easily and more gentle.

How To Use The Analysing Power Of The Mind To Gain Self-Knowledge?

Most of us do not like to look into the mirror of self-knowledge. It will show us the sides of our character, we would rather forget about. We like to think of us as perfect, or at least we make sure we have a set of excuses for our character-flaws. Only the others make mistakes, but we do not. We do not want to learn. It is amazing, what the subconscious mind is able to do, in order to keep the mind from thinking about it's mistakes. It may sound strange, but many of us do rather suffer, than change their way of thinking.

Honesty is the most difficult obstacle. You have to learn to be totally honest to yourself. Sometimes people are not even honest to themselves about their intentions. I have met some people, who told me, that they do wish to meditate, but they do not have the time to do so, yet they did have the time to watch several hours of TV every day. The truth is not, that they do not have enough time, but that they do want to spend it with other things. This is okay, as long as they are aware of it. Everyone has the freedom to decide, how to spend his or her time.

The way you spend your time can help you to find out a lot about yourself. Why are you doing, what you do. (For example: If you watch TV, why did you choose to watch a comedy, a nature-documentary, an action-movie, or a family-series? Often you may find a deep need of your own. Are you watching nature movies, because it is easier to turn on the TV, than to have a walk in the next park or visit the zoo? Are you watching action-movies, because you would like your life to be more exiting? Do you love family-series because you would like to live in a big family? Only you can find the answers.)

Go on and have a look at other aspects of your life!

How To Use The Mind To Change Your Life

Once we have analysed our life, we may want to change it, to make it better than it was. But what is 'better' ? Failure to get what you want, is often the result of not knowing what you want. Unless you know what you want, you can not do anything to get it! This is true in every case, but it is most important in the art of magic.

The first thing we have to do, if we want to practice magic is to find out what it is exactly, that we want - and I mean EXACTLY! Specify your wish! In how many fairytales does the hero have one wish or even three and in the end he is the fool or looser, because he got exactly what he asked for, but not what he meant. (If you want a new coat, you have to say that, otherwise you may get another old one, that looks even worse, than the one you had.)

Then think again, do you really want, what you asked for? What will be the consequences? Remember king Midas who wanted that everything he touched would turn into gold. As a result he could not eat his food because it turned to gold, when he touched it.

The second thing we have to do, if we want to practice magic is to understand the situation as a whole. Never give up your common sense in magic. The first virtue on the path is to be able to differentiate. Magic is not always the easiest or best method to get something. Even though it may help in many cases. But a true magician is also able to work in the material world. For in the world of matter, we learn and acquire strength of character. Do not forget this, or you may end up as an armchair-occultist, neither being able to work in the physical world, nor having the inner power necessary to endure the pressure of magical work.

For example: If we sit in a restaurant and want a glass of water, we have (theoretically) the following possibilities:

We could try to move the glass of water from our neighbours table by means of our telekinetic powers.
We could try to visualise a glass of water and hope, that this will sooner or later create an effect on the physical level and someone will bring us a glass of water.
We could simply ask the waiter to bring us a glass of water.
Certainly the last method is not as exiting as the others are, but it is the one, that is most likely to create the fastest and the best results with a minimum of effort.

Still there are more things to consider. We have to speak to the waiter in the right way. If we are unfriendly, he may let us wait longer. If the restaurant is in Paris, we may have to speak French. And finally we have to pay for the water. (If you think, that this is a reason to try the more magical methods, you should know, that also in magic you will have to give something, for everything you get. And also in magic, you have to know the right (magical) words.) Do not try to make things unnecessarily difficult. Try to find the easiest way to get, what you want to get or to change, what you want to change. Most of us won't have much problems getting a glass of water in a restaurant (even in Paris), but there are other things that will improve if you learn to use your mind the right way.

Even if you use magic, you have to open a door that enables the thing you want to enter. If you want to find a new job, you have to let others know, that you are searching for one, otherwise you won't get it. This is true in every case, whether you use magic or not. Your mind will enable you to find out, which steps you have to make, to reach your goal.

How Can Our Mind Help Us To Solve Problems And Reach Our Goals?

Once you know, what you want, you have to find out how you can get it. Sometimes we have to face a problem, that seems to be almost impossible to solve. All the advantages are on the opponent's side, as it has been in the case of David fighting Goliath. But the 'Ruach Adonai (YHVH)' (the Spirit of God) was inspiring David's mind. There was no way he could win the fight against the skilled warrior Goliath with heavy armour and weapons he was not used to. So he found a way to fight him, that gave him the chance to use his skills, while not allowing Goliath to get to close to him to cut him into pieces. He useda sling to knock out Goliath with a stone, before he had a chance to attack David.

Another story of an invincible enemy is the siege of Troja. It was Odysseus the creative genius, who always had a solution to solve every task, who found a way, how to conquer Troja. How did he do this? He looked at the situation from the perspective of the enemy. Thus he could see, how their strength could be turned to be their weakness. If you train your mind, never let it be stiff. The ability to look at a situation or a problem from another point of view is a mark of a well-trained mind and of a well-trained occultist. Thus he can turn a strength into weakness or a weakness into a strength.

Many of the Greek heroes had to find creative solutions to master tasks, that seemed to be impossible to solve. The occultist does not give up easily because something seems to be impossible. He knows, that he will not be given a task, that is too difficult for him to master. Only his fears and lack of self-confidence may hinder him, to master his problems. "We can do the impossible quite fast - only miracles need a little bit longer"

In his fifth task Herakles (Hercules) had to clean the stable of 3000 cows and oxes in one day. This seemed the be impossible and unworthy to an immortal. But instead of being narrow-minded and giving up, he opened his mind. Obviously he could not clean in the usual way, since he had only one day to do it and he was not allowed to accept someone else's help. So he broke down the walls of the stable so that two rivers could wash away all the dirt.

First you have to understand the problem as a whole, from an objective point of view. Try also to look at it from unusual points of view (This method is sometimes called "lateral thinking"). Then you have to analyse what needs to be done. Finally put the steps together, taking one step at a time.

The Secret Of Mental Power

Most people believe, that they are either born intelligent or stupid and whether they have a clear and effective mind is a matter of good luck, or a good horoscope or genetic influences. The horoscope does not show, how well your mind works, but where your interests are. Astrology does not limit you! (Whoever believes something different may have a look at the horoscope of Albert Einstein. Did he have Mercury (the planet of thought and mind) in a special position? In his own sign or house? No, he did not. Did he have lot's of good aspects? No, he had only a conjunction with Saturn, that gave discipline to his mind. But others have such a constellation without receiving a Nobel-price. His horoscope shows some interest into his type of work, but it is not the secret of his success.) Genetic influences may exist, but they can not explain everything.

But what is the secret of mental power? It is the same secret as the secret of physical power. If you want to have a strong body you have to train it! If you want to have a strong mind you have to train it, too!

How Can We Train Our Mind?

Fire is power. And this is also true for mental fire. Fire is also fight and struggle and training. No one is born with a trained mind, even though some may have gone through mental training in other lives and therefore they will find it easier to recapitulate, what others have to learn anew. But even those had to begin without any advantage once. Some people have great difficulties to grasp the more abstract ideas of the mind. They seem to be meaningless to them, as this text would seem to be meaningless to a caveman. Their untrained mind refuses to work along the lines of mental work. But this is only a matter of training. The same problem exists in every new field of work. In the beginning of meditation it is difficult to keep the mind to the meditation subject, but after a while it is much more easy. Yet it needs a bit of patience and discipline to reach that point.

The best method of training the abstract mind is to study a system of philosophy and correspondences like the Hebrew Qabbalah (or any other system of comparable nature, such as the system of the Pythagorean school, that was called the 'Greek Qabbalah' sometimes).

The best method of training the concrete mind is life itself. To solve the problems of life, we need our mind. There is no way, we can live successfully without a well-working mind. But most people do not like to use their mind. Instead of thinking about a question, until they found an answer, they get upset after a short while and give up, because their mind is not able to look beyond the inflexible limits of habit. They say: "This is impossible to answer." or "This will lead nowhere." Because they to not trust their minds. They do not know, what incredible things a well trained mind can do.

You may reach a point, where you will be able to perceive the inner harmony of true ideas and true thoughts. Just as a trained musician can hear a wrong note, a trained mind can spot a wrong thought. Someone will tell you a lie, and you know it is a lie, because it is like the piece of a jigsaw-puzzle, that simply does not fit into a place. You may not be able, to say immediately, why it is a lie. Yet this is no emotional feeling, but a mental perception, that tells you that there is no harmony in a wrong thought or in a lie.

Now, I wish to thank the reader for having the patience to go through the thoughts and maybe sometimes strange ideas of this text, which certainly proves, that the reader is ready for some more advanced mental training. And I hope, that I have been able to give an idea, what such training may look like.

After having written so much about the mind, I wish to remind the reader, not to forget his emotional self and the spiritual self, for both have a lot to offer and are equally important as the mental self. The spirit will give you wisdom and understanding of the inner planes, which the mind can not give you. The emotions will give you the power to do your magical or mundane work. Further will all psychic perceptions or intuitive knowledge enter through the door of the subconscious or emotional self.

However, whether you follow such information or whether you do not trust it, this is a decision, which can only be made by the mind. As I said above, in a balanced human being, all aspects of the Self will work together in harmony.