Re: Prima Materia

[BeautifulEvil]

So, in essence, the Prima Materia is more of a concept, describing the "inter-relatedness" of everything in the universe? To say that I, as a human being, despite being composed of different PHYSICAL elements, have the same "essence" as an ounce of sand, or wood, or anything? That essence being the thing that binds the universe, that everything has in common?

That's a good way to think about it. The Prima Materia is really everything, but yet no one single thing. Various different Prima Materia's have their own specific "energy" signatures that they impart on this one essence or universal energy. We must always be concerned with the signature of the energy we're working with, and in this way we can choose appropriately which Prima Materia we will use as the starting source for a Stone.

Also, it should be noted that the quantity of this one essence varies in different in all matter. There's not really an equal amount in all things, but all things which exist as matter MUST contain some quantity of this essence or universal energy. It really is something we all have in common.

This is really how I think about it, but others tend to have different views on this subject. It's really an interesting one I think.

[Israel]

To say that I, as a human being, despite being composed of different PHYSICAL elements, have the same "essence" as an ounce of sand, or wood, or anything?
>N<

Talk about burning away your ego, hunh? It gives you a whole new perspective on life when you realize that, just like that piece of wood, your a carbon based life form.

[spectre]

I watched a video of a Christian pastor who was criticizing other Christians that always want it the easy or soft way, praise God and pray for blessing but at the same time diminish the role of Christ's plight and brokenness (a symbol similar to the mortification in Alchemy).

He said that the brokenness was essential and that Christ was controversial because of this broken-aspect and because his truth irritated the soft interior of men, he irritated their soul.

He made the analogy with the clam that makes a pearl. Its soft interior (soul) is irritated by the sand (truth) but as it struggles with the sand it will produce a pearl in the end.

I think it's an excellent analogy that can be applied to Alchemy. The sand is the Prima Materia, which contains a hidden spirit, the Pearl is the culmination of the Great Work. The irritation of the soft-clam is the starting point; its mortification or nigredo, what the pastor called necessary brokenness and suffering.