Cagliostro generally presided in that capacity) breathes upon her face
from the forehead to the chin, and then says, ‘I breathe upon you on
purpose to inspire you with the virtues which we possess, so that
they may take root and flourish in your heart, I thus fortify your
soul, I thus confirm you in the faith of your brethren and sisters,
according to the engagements which you have contracted with them. We
now admit you as a daughter of the Egyptian lodge. We order that you be
acknowledged in that capacity by all the brethren and sisters of the
Egyptian lodges, and that you enjoy with them the same prerogatives as
with ourselves.’
“The Grand Master thus addresses the male candidate: ‘In virtue of the
power which I have received from the Grand Copt, the founder of our
order, and by the particular grace of God, I hereby confer upon you the
honour of being admitted into our lodge in the name of Helios, Mene,
Tetragrammaton.’
“In a book, said to be printed at Paris in 1789, it is asserted that
the last words were suggested to Cagliostro, as sacred and cabalistical
expressions by a pretended conjuror, who said that he was assisted
by a spirit, and that this spirit was no other than the soul of a
cabalistical Jew, who by means of the magical art had murdered his own
father before the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
“Common masons have been accustomed to regard St John as their patron,
and to celebrate the festival of that saint. Cagliostro also adopted
him as his protector, and it is not a little remarkable that he was
imprisoned at Rome on the very festival of his patron. The reason for
his veneration of this great prophet was, if we are to believe himself,
the great similarity between the Apocalypse and the rites of his
institution.
“We must here observe that when any of his disciples were admitted into
the highest class, the following execrable ceremony took place. A young
boy or girl, in the state of virgin innocence and purity, was procured,
who was called the pupil, and to whom power was given over the seven
spirits that surround the throne of the divinity and preside over the
seven planets. Their names according to Cagliostro’s book are Anaël,
Michaël, Raphaël, Gabriel, Uriel, Zobiachel, and Anachiel. The pupil
is then made use of as an intermediate agent between the spiritual and
physical worlds, and being clothed in a long white robe, adorned with a
red ribbon, and blue silk festoons, he is shut up in a little closet.
From that place he gives response to the Grand Master, and tells
whether the spirits and Moses have agreed to receive the candidates
into the highest class of Egyptian masons....
“In his instructions to obtain the moral and physical regeneration
which he had promised to his disciples, he is exceedingly careful
to give a minute description of the operations to which they are to
submit. Those who are desirous of experiencing the moral regeneration
are to retire from the world for the space of forty days, and to
distribute their time into certain proportions. Six hours are to be
employed in reflection, three in prayer to the Deity, nine in the holy
operations of Egyptian Masonry, while the remaining period is to be
dedicated to repose. At the end of the thirty-three days a visible
communication is to take place between the patient and the seven
primitive spirits, and on the morning of the fortieth day his soul will
be inspired with divine knowledge, and his body be as pure as that of a
new-born infant.
“To procure a physical regeneration, the patient is to retire into the
country in the month of May, and during forty days is to live according
to the most strict and austere rules, eating very little, and then
only laxative and sanative herbs, and making use of no other drink
than distilled water, or rain that has fallen in the course of the
month. On the seventeenth day, after having let blood, certain white
drops are to be taken, six at night and six in the morning, increasing
them two a day in progression. In three days more a small quantity of
blood is again to be let from the arm before sunrise, and the patient
is to retire to bed till the operation is completed. A grain of the
_panacea_ is then to be taken; this panacea is the same as that of
which God created man when He first made him immortal. When this is
swallowed the candidate loses his speech and his reflection for three
entire days, and he is subject to frequent convulsions, struggles, and
perspirations. Having recovered from this state, in which, however, he
experiences no pain whatever, on the thirty-sixth day, he takes the
third and last grain of the panacea, which causes him to fall into a
profound and tranquil sleep; it is then that he loses his hair, his
skin, and his teeth. These again are all reproduced in a few hours, and
having become a new man, on the morning of the fortieth day he leaves
his room, enjoying a complete rejuvenescence, by which he is enabled
to live 5557 years, or to such time as he, of his own accord, may be
desirous of going to the world of spirits.”
CONCERNING THE LODGE OF FREEMASONS DISCOVERED AT ROME.
The final chapter of the Italian life of Cagliostro, which appeared
before the death of its subject, contains a curious and interesting
account under the above title. The lodge was situated in the quarter
of the city called the Holy Trinity of the Mountain. It was visited on
the night of Cagliostro’s capture, but the members had been evidently
forewarned; they had taken precautions as to their personal safety,
had removed the symbols of their craft and the greater part of their
books and papers, which perhaps, says the writer, contained secrets
of great importance. The Inquisition claims to have a true insight,
notwithstanding, into the origin, establishment, and other particulars
of this lodge, drawn in part from the depositions of “a multitude of
well-informed persons.”
The founders were seven in number, five Frenchmen, an American, and
a Pole, all of whom had been previously initiated into other lodges.
It assumed the title of the Lodge of the Reunion of True Friends,
and the first meeting took place on November 1, 1787. Proselytes
were immediately made, and included candidates who had not been
received into any other society. Its numbers rapidly increased, and
to establish it with all the necessary formalities approbation was
procured from the Mother Lodge at Paris, and a deputy was sent to
reside in that city as its representative. Its letters were transported
by special messengers. Mention is made in the register of archives
kept under three locks, in which the statutes, the mysteries, and
the symbols transmitted from Paris were preserved, with all the most
interesting speeches delivered within the lodge. However, the Egyptian
lodge is affirmed to have been in this instance devoid of special
characteristics. The list of its officers was as follows:--
1. The Venerable, or Grand Master.
2. The Superintendent, or Deputy Grand Master.
3. The Terrible.
4. The Master of the Ceremonies.
5. The Treasurer.
6. The Almoner.
7. The Secretary.
8. The Orator, or Export Broker.
The entire Lodge was composed of two chambers, or halls. The first
was called the Chamber of Reflections. A death’s head was placed on a
table, and above it were two inscriptions in French, which contained
an arcane significance. The second apartment was called the Temple;
it was adorned according to the various rites performed in it. On
all occasions it was provided with a throne, on which the Venerable
constantly sat. Some emblems of masonry adorned the walls--among them
were the sun, moon, and planets. On the two sides of the throne several
magnificent pillars were placed, and opposite to these the brotherhood
were arranged in order, each of them wearing his leathern apron, and
a black ribbon in the form of a deacon’s stole about his neck, while
in his hands, which were covered with a pair of white gloves, he
brandished a naked sword, a hammer, or a compass, according to the
different formalities prescribed by the institution.
With the secret signs and passports, the Inquisition does not seem to
have been acquainted.
INDEX.
Abraham the Jew, 99
Adfar, an Arabian adept of Alexandria, 53
Alain of Lisle, 67
Albertus Magnus, 57
Alcahest, 157
Alchemy--Diversity of opinion on the object of alchemical science, 9;
the avowed object, 10;
the aim said to be concealed, 11;
symbolism of the science, 11;
distinction between alchemy and chemistry, 21;
alchemy as a factor in the progress of the physical sciences, 27;
physical nature of the alchemical aim established by the lives and
writings of the adepts, 29;
side issues of alchemical theories, 32;
application of alchemy to the extension of life, 65;
modification of the human body by alchemy, 65;
alchemy the science of the four elements, 93;
the Seal of God set on the secret of alchemy, 165
Alfarabi, 48
Alipili, 22, 23
Altotas, 221, 234
Ancient War of the Knights, 43
Anima Magica Abscondita, 21
Anonymous adept, 184
Antimony, Basil Valentine’s preparation for the study of, 17;
the Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, 121
Aphrodite Urania, 37
Apono, Peter d’, 88
Aquinas, St Thomas, 61
Argent Vive--Reduction of metals into sophic Argent Vive, 87;
the Medicine of all Metals, 90;
the first thing to be ascertained in alchemy is the significance of
this term, 92
Arnold de Villanova, 88
Ars Lulliana, 68
Avicenna, 51
Azoth, or The Star in the East, a forthcoming work on the psychic
potencies which enter into the higher act of transmutation, on the
mysteries of spiritual chemistry, and on the possibilities of
practical transcendentalism, 37
Bacon, Roger, 63
Balsamo, Joseph, Travels, Adventures, and Imprisonments, 220
Basil, Valentine, 120
Belin, Albert, 186
Berigard of Pisa, 148
Bird, William, unknown adept, 150
Böhme, Jacob, 161
Bono, Peter, 118
Borri, Guiseppe Francesco, 208
Botticher, John Frederich, neophyte, 212
Braccesco, Giovanni, 151
Busardier, unknown adept, 182
Butler, 168
Cagliostro, Count Allesandro, name assumed by Balsamo, 230
Calcination, an alchemical process, 13, 19
Canons of Espagnet, 19
Charnock, Thomas, 148
Chemistry, said to have no connection with alchemy, 14;
distinction between alchemy and chemistry, 21, 25;
a counter view, 44
Contemplation, a preparation for alchemical practices, 18
Cremer, John, pseudo-abbot of Westminster, 83
Dalton, Thomas, 133
Dee, John, 153
Delisle, 216
D’Espagnet, Jean, 170;
on the obstacles which beset the alchemist, 39
Diana Unveiled, 180
Dissolution, an alchemical process, 12
Dominic, St, said to have been an adept, 58
Dubois, descendant of Flamel, 114
Dunstan, St, Book of, 154, 155
Egyptian Masonry, 245, 250, and Appendix II.
Elias the Artist, 193
Eliphas Lévi, 82
Elixir, the White and Red, 195
_Étoile Flamboyante_, 59
Eugenius Philalethes, 21, 31, 189
Exaltation, an alchemical process, 32
Fabre, Pierre Jean, 200
Ferarius, 92
Figuier, Louis, alchemical critic, 27, 63
Fioravanti, Leonardi, 153
Flamel, Nicholas, 95
Fontaine, John, 129
Galip, 55
Geber, 44
Generation of Metals, 38, 48, 133
Goëtic magic, 65
Gold, 10, 28, 140
Grand Magisterium, 57, 123
Grand Secret and Grand Act, 170, 189
Great Art, 130
Grimoire, 60
Gustenhover, 181
Helmont, J. B. Van, 166
Helvetius, John Frederick, 201
Hermetic--Aim of Hermetic science, 29;
true method of Hermetic interpretation, 30;
supreme secret of Hermetic philosophy, 66;
the Hermetic art a gift of God, 68
Heydon, John, 210
Hitchcock--His Remarks on Alchemy and the Alchemists, 10, 14, 23, 30
Interpretation of Hermetic theories, &c.--Hermetic typology, 10;
the moral method, 13;
the Psychic method, 122
Invocation as a preparation for the practice of alchemy, 17
Isaac of Holland, 123
Jean de Meung, 90
Johannes de Rupecissa, 119
John XXII., Pope, 93
Kalid, an initiated monarch, 54
Khunrath, Henry, 159;
treats of spiritual alchemy, 33, 36
Lascaris, 211
Lavures, alchemical operations, 112
Light--Veritable light of alchemy, 15;
vision in the Divine Light, 16;
light the First Matter of the Magnum Opus, 38
Magic Chain, 22
Magnum Opus--The first Matter of the Magnum Opus in its psychic aspect
to be revealed in a forthcoming work, AZOTH, OR THE STAR IN THE
EAST, 37;
processes for the accomplishment of the Magnum Opus, 42;
these described by Arnold, 90;
the composition of the Stone is the accomplishment of the Magnum
Opus, 152;
manner of the accomplishment of the Magnum Opus described in “The
Adventures of an Unknown Philosopher,” 186
Maier, Michael, 58, 87, 160
Man--The concealed subject of every adept, 11;
the mystic vase of election, 14
Manuel, Domenico, 215
Mary of Alexandria, 36
Matter, the first matter of the Magnum Opus, said to be gold, 28;
defined as a fifth element, 39;
one only and self-same thing, 40;
its true nature not disclosed by the adepts, 41;
its informing spirit variously adaptable, 43;
a duplex nature, 53;
contained in silver and gold, 87;
the seed of every metal can be reduced into the first matter, 93;
figured in the book of Rabbi Abraham, 103;
found by Nicholas Flamel, 106;
mercury the true first matter, 118;
the matter of the philosophical stone a viscous water, 119;
said to be Saturn, or lead, 124;
is found everywhere, 136;
may be discovered by studying the best books of the philosophers,
145
Medicine--Properties of a universal medicine attributed to the Stone,
13;
the Stone a medicine for metals and man, 32;
life is prolonged by the stone, 123;
application of the tincture as a medicine for the human body, 148
Mercury--Identified with the supernatural, 11;
obstacles to its discovery, 39;
sophic mercury described by Avicenna, 52;
mercury the water of metals, 129;
a matchless treasure, 197
Morien, 53
Morning Star, 36
New Birth, 11, 12
Norton, Thomas, 130
Obereit, John Hermann, 219
One Thing Needful--The exaltation of the cognising faculty, 15
Orizon Æternitatis, mystical term of Paracelsus, 36
Palingenesis, 92
Philalethes, Eirenæus, 187;
on the Aqua Philosophorum, 22
Picus de Mirandola, 136
Psychic Chemistry--A Scheme of Absolute Reconstruction, 36;
accomplished by the Divine Power in the Soul, 22;
general observations on spiritual alchemistry, 32-37
Regnauld, Brother, 63
Rhasis, 46
Richthausen, his transmutations with stolen powder, 183
Ripley, George, 134;
his description of the Stone, 41;
supposed to have initiated Thomas Norton, 130
Romance of the Rose, 90
Rose Nobles, 82, 84, 86
Rosicrucians--Had other alchemical objects than metallic
transmutations, 36;
the associates defended by Michael Maier, 160;
initiation offered by the Rosicrucians to Sendivogius, 179
Sendivogius, Michael, 175;
“The New Light of Alchemy” falsely ascribed to this neophyte, 21, 31
Separation an alchemical process, 12, 17
Sethon, Alexander, 171
Son of the Sun, 37
Sophistication of metals, 62
Starkey, George, 165, 195, 197, &c.
Stone of the Philosophers--Said to be a symbol of immortality, 13;
analogous in its nature to the state of primeval man, 31;
Transmutation accomplished by its means, 38;
in appearance a subtle, brown, and opaque earth, 132;
dark, disesteemed, and grey in colour, 165;
the seed out of which gold and silver are generated, 201
Subject of Alchemy--According to Hitchcock, 13;
according to George Starkey, 24
Suggestive inquiry concerning the Hermetic Mystery, 9, 14, 17, 24, 30,
34
Sulphur (Sophic)--Said to symbolise Nature, 11;
sophic sulphur and the conscience, 12;
difficulties in its discovery, 39;
described by Avicenna, 52
Transmutation--Doubts as to the significance of the term, 9;
identified with spiritual conversion, 13;
the physical theory of Transmutation, 38, &c.;
possibility of the fact, 33
Transmutations performed by adepts and their emissaries, 84, 94, 106,
118, 133, 136, 148, 156, 167, 168, 177, 178, 181, 183, 184, 185,
196, 201-208, 212-216, 217, 218
Trévisan, Bernard, 124;
honoured by Philalethes, 194
Tschoudy, Baron, 39
Typology--Possibility of an infinite variety of interpretations of any
sequence of typology, 29
Urbigerus--His alchemical aphorisms, 40
Vase of the Philosophers--Identified with man, 14;
its true nature unexplained by adepts, 41;
described by Geber, 46
Vaughan, Thomas, 187
Wisdom Faculty, 15
Wood of Life, 152
Zachaire, Denis, 140
_Turnbull & Spears, Printers, Edinburgh._
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=THE REAL HISTORY OF THE ROSICRUCIANS.= Founded on their own
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“Dr Hartmann’s ‘Magic,’ as compared with ‘Light on the Path,’ is a
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