Fire
& Water
Mixing Fire and water is one of the absolute principles of Alchemy and is actually more fundamental than the old medieval goal of turning base metals into gold. We are talking about joining two opposites, about creating oneness again from a duality. And as you can see from this old 18th century painting of the Alchemist at work in his studio creating oneness from a duality is not possible in the physical world, even though many people tried very hard to achieve this goal, they either gave up, or died, in a form of eccentric madness, or they eventually discovered that they needed to project themselves above the physical. Into the dimension above this physical reality, the spirit realm, known to Alchemy as the Etheric or Ether Realm, the Seas Above. Even to this day we find it very difficult to believe in this step, but we also find very few alchemists still experimenting in such a laboratory, alchemy is now called chemistry and has become a very one-sided science that mixes already well known chemicals into marketable potions with the goal of earning ordinary dollars.
The symbol for Fire in alchemy is the red upward pointing triangle. The spiritual element of Fire, stolen from the gods by Prometheus and given to humanity. Fire is so intimately connected with the Warmth ether that they are really one and the same thing making this the closest element to the world of spirit, the etheric world. In earlier times our own inner fire, our blood, burnt much more strongly than today, we could survive much more easily in the harshly colder climates of the ice-ages by being much more in tune with nature herself. Now we have lost contact with our true nature we have become reliant on an external warmth, Fire.
The symbol for Water in alchemy is the blue downward pointing triangle. Water supports the vitality of all life on earth, and everything that loses its solidity and becomes liquid loses its individuality, flowing back into the whole. The water element has the ability to reunite matter into the flowing rivers and the vast seas of this world. Water contains the feminine aspects of reunification, creation and enfolding. Allowing us to solve problems and disputes, create community and build our homes in a healthy and protective way. Our planet when seen from space shows us a face of more than 75% water, a wonderful blue oasis of life in our current planetary system. A bio-system in perfect balance creating the home for a huge diversity of life-forms swimming in the oceans, soaring the moisture laden airwaves or living by the rivers, lakes and inland seas of the continents.
If we join Fire with Water we create this double triangle, or diamond form, known in alchemy as the Cosmic Egg, the creation point of our universe in the womb of the worlds, at the beginning of time and space. The cosmic egg is space, and you see the seas above, the spiritual ether of fire, and the seas below, the worldly ether of water. These two seas stayed separate, although joined, the original duality. The tension field generated at the boundary of these two etheric seas is where our visible material world has evolved. We are the sons and daughters of the Father above, Spirit-Fire, and the Mother below, Earthly-Waters, the original Fire and Water, Light and Darkness.
If we join Fire and Water at the points instead of their bases we create this hourglass form known in alchemy as the Holy Grail. Yes, this is the true Holy Grail that everyone would like to find, not just the Alchemist. You can see that the fire is underneath, just like the special heating furnaces in the alchemists studio we saw in the painting above. The water, or fluid being heated is in the bowl above, this is where alchemy begins. Not only do we need the right ingredients in the bowl, we also need exactly the right sort of fire in the furnace below. . . then we create the true gold, Sunlight. . . Living Spirit.
So our final drawing becomes the Philosophers Stone, Solomon's Seal, the Star of David, the Heart of the Flower, the Sun. The reason why this very simple symbol raises so much dust in this world is because of its immense power. You can see it here for yourself, it is the one true end goal of all alchemy, hiding in full view, it is the mixing of Fire and Water, the heart of the Flower of Life. It is the solution to creating oneness in nature, to finding balance. We need to create a third aspect, from the Living Fire of the Spirit (Love) and the Living Water of the Soul (Light) we create Life in physical matter. All of Life contains the Fire (Love) of the Father and the Light (Wisdom) of the Mother. Love, Light and Life.
