And with a certain irony, the cryptic Chymical Weddings of the Rosicrucians will clarify the complex term harnelmiatznel, i.e. “the upper part is connected to the lower part, and it joins together in the middle.” If our beloved brothers in the Quest of Truth carefully analyze, they will discover that there is a valuable source in the roots of life that reveals our cherished philosophy, which is impoverished by weak impulses of an inferior nature. However, once the fire is calmed and sublimated, this philosophy contributes to the alchemical union with the invisible and pervasive celestial agent. Now, which is this external element needed in the celestial agriculture? Gurdjieff in Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson states:
At the present time, very many of these monasteries exist there, and the large number of monks who enter them do indeed strictly abstain from the ejection, in the habitual way, of the 'being-exioëhary,' or 'sperm,' formed in them, but of course this abstinence of theirs never gives any sensible result. And this is because the thought never enters the heads of these hapless contemporary 'monks' that, although it is indeed possible to perfect themselves by means of this substance, this can proceed only if the second and third being-foods are intentionally absorbed and consciously digested in one's presence, which is possible only for one who has already accustomed all the parts of his presence to fulfill consciously both 'sacred being partkdolg duties,' that is, 'conscious labor' and 'intentional suffering.'This second being-food, in the Taoism, is connected with the macrocosmic outer alchemical agent. So, the terrestrial elements joined with the celestial ones result in a new more refined and subtle compound. Consequently, it should be stored and protected. If this union does not exist, the person is exposed to the Wheel of Fortune: to the ups and downs, or, according to modern ufology explanations, to the forcible extractions of their emotions. That is, the emerging reactivity in the terrestrial vicissitudes causes an energetic distortion in the humanity asleep due to their lack of emotional homeostasis that nourishes archontic forces: those hidden paws that design and trigger these swingings through the Hyperdimensional Matrix Control System (HMCS). The fluctuation and instability in the daily life, currently known as hyperdimensional manipulation, can swing from a steady regimen to an unexpected change in the Loosh harvest. It is produced by cataclysms or catastrophic events, mostly caused, although the natural apocalyptic events do their part.
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| Wheel of Fortune at Siena Cathedral dome floor dedicated to the Assumption of Mary (Kundalini): it should be noticed that there are two Masonic columns in the frontispice in the Gothic style (13th century.) |
Also known as the First Regime of the Mercury of the Sages, this process was a well-kept secret in the Monastic and Hermetic orders; thus, in the Alchemy of the Middle Ages it was related with the hidden phrases “verbum dimissum” or “custodiat arcanum,” since it was orally disclosed from teacher to student in what was known as an uninterrupted Catena. Our highly esteemed Fulcanelli´s concise words in his work Dwellings of the Philosophers fully reassert: “And the differentiation of these two mercuries, one the agent of renewal, the other of procreation, constitutes the most difficult study that the science has reserved for the neophyte.” The rudder of our detailed research has guided us in this way, through which we had found the existence of two schools of original thoughts in the internal alchemy. These clarify the esoteric methods that contribute in the solve et coagula process. Even though we well understand that there will be a third school, the method in the circulation of Qi should coincide.
This regime, also described as the microcosmic orbit or little celestial revolution, begins the circulation in the lower abdominal region by the internal work of "the sacral pump" to extract the orgone from the Humid Radical in a levorotatory movement, contrary to the dextrorotatory one predetermined by the biology of the organism. It should be understood that the resulting channels, supplies and compounds are not visible, being of non-baryonic and ethereal density matter; and, in the specific case of Qi/Prana, of an even more subtle nature. However, as the regimen moves forward, the novice craftsman could have sufficient evidence of the circulation through an increase of body temperature during the process.
According to the alchemical treatises on Infans Solaris (in which we found funny similarities with the teaching of Daoism and Buddhism) during the final stages, the opening of the insight makes it possible to clearly see the etheric vessels and channels, together with the inorganic entities that live in the following density. The missing young alchemist Nicholas Collette in his book The Universal Medicine warns us about this:
This shock comes from the pituitary gland (center of the nervous system) becoming overcharged. The reason your visions become ever clearer as you drift deeper down into your meditation is because you are charging yourself up with the astral energy the elixir has stored in your system. It waits there to be activated and put to use through the skill of the operator. It will not perform on its own, but must be guided by the mind, and that is why one man may consume such an elixir and gain nothing, while the other will have his mind opened to a world beyond this one; the world of the Spirit.The Taoist school of thought holds that in the discipline: Chi-Kung (Qi Gong), the orgone should move through the back during the ascending stage or positive fire (microcosmic orbit, Yang orientation). So, once the orgone goes through the Governing Vessel (GV) or Yang channel, it reaches the brain and starts its descending stage or negative fire (Yin orientation), moving from the Conception Vessel or Yin channel to the actual lower Dantian. In the essential book Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality from the adept Lu K'uan Yü, we read:
And if that man be not sufficiently prepared, he will be unable to endure the horror of what his new eyes will behold. Because while there are so many beautiful celestial beings that live between our world and that of the bodyless spirits, there are even more that are hideous daemons that become ever stronger by the fear they insight in man, and will persist to feed on that energy if you do not know how to regain control of your senses and pull back your fear, to replace it only with bravery and faith in God. In that moment your entire aura will be lit up with extremely bright white light which only you can perceive, and those hideous entities will be burned to death by the light of God. Because though they appear to be spirits, they are in fact alive, but clothed with a body far less dense and more subtle than our own physical frame. And this terrifying fact is why the Stone is called the Stone of the Wise and the Philosopher's Stone. You must have the mind to endure the trials of Nature and all her inhabitants.
When the generative and vital forces start vibrating (in the lower tan t’ien cavity under the navel) you should breathe in—this is to close (ho) the respiratory mechanism (so that the air goes down to exert pressure on the lower abdomen); and at the same time by rolling your eyes up you should follow the ascent of generative force and vitality from the bottom to the top of the head [...]
When you breath out, you should open (p'i) the respiratory mechanism so that the air goes out of the body (to relax pressure on the lower abdomen); at the same time your eyes should follow the descent of generative force and vitality from the top to the bottom [...]
All this is generally called the ascent of positive and descent of negative fire; while inhalation, shutting [the sacral pump], ascent and opening [the sacral pump], exhalation, descent are the phases of the alchemical process.
The essential generative power (Jing) and fresh air (Qi/Prana) are the two components that take part in the First Regime of Mercury. They are respectively guided and controlled by the sacral pump exercise (also known as blacksmith’s bellows) that takes place in the center of the body’s Yin and Yang (Perineum or Huiyin); and by the circular movement of the eyes oriented to the four cardinal points.The microcosmic orbit and the Governing Vessel and the Conception Vessel, in which the Jing and Qi/Prana sublimation process (the conscious harnelmiatznel): A, G, D, J are the four cardinal points in the orbit; while A→ B, A→ C, A→ E, A→ F are the four phases of the ascending stage of the positive fire (Yang) to the Control Channel. G→ H, G→ I, G→ K, G→ L are the four phases of the descending stage of the negative fire (Yin) to the Function Channel, located in M. The central O is the philosophical furnace. (3)
The regular and synchronized movement that takes place both in the ascending stage solve or positive fire, and later, in the descending stage coagula or negative fire is coordinated with two psychic centres: the House of the Earthly Realm located in the navel area (the Lower Dantian) and the House of the Spirit Realm located in the head (the Upper Dantian) together with the House of the Human Realm located in the centre of the chest area (the Middle Dantian). Consequently, a Small Heavenly Circulation is completed and the alchemic union is stored in the cinnabar field or actual Lower Dantian. The Taoist Zhao Bichen adds information on the spin of the Wheel of the Law in his work Treatise on Alchemy and Taoist Physiology:
Just as our blacksmith’s bellows is; i.e., the truth breath respiration. The closing and opening are done by the union of the external and the internal breathing (through the coccyx). The closing is provoked by the inhalation, generating the truth breath (the essence). Then, it circulates progressively through Zi, Mao, Wu and Yu. This means “to spin the Wheel of the Law”, which is made of the function and control channels. The opening takes place in the exhalation together with a circular movement of the eyes; when you start to exhale, the eyes go from left to right, beginning from the bottom (from Zi to Mao; then, from Wu to Yu). The Wheel of the Law puts Yang in motion. These are the Revolutions of the Wheel of the Law in the opening and closing. There is opening and closing of the blacksmith’s bellows in harmony with the external breathing; this is the reason why we refer to four both internal and external inspiration-expiration cycles.Buddhist teachings have a subtle difference with Daoist ones; Buddhist embryonic breathing uses the sacral pump in the opposite way Taoism does. Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming clarifies this matter in his work Embryonic Breathing:
“Normal Abdominal Breathing" (Zhen Fu Hu Xi) is also commonly known as "Buddhist Breathing" (Fo Jia Hu Xi). After you have completed the above training, you then learn how to control your abdominal muscles and coordinate them with the breathing. When you inhale, it expands, and when you exhale, it withdraws. You should practice until the entire process becomes smooth and the entire body remains relaxed. Naturally: your mind must first concentrate on your abdomen at the beginning in order to control the abdominal muscles. After practicing for some time, you will end the entire breathing process becoming natural and smooth. This means that you are now ready to build up Qi at the Lower Dan Tian (Xia Dan Tian).
Once you have reached this level, you should then coordinate your breathing with the movements of your Huiyin (Perineum and anus). When you inhale, relax the Huiyin and anus, and when you exhale hold them up. Remember, you are gently holding up the Huiyin and anus, not tightening them. When you hold them up, they can still remain relaxed. If you tighten them up, you will impede the Qi circulation. When you tense them, you also cause tension in the abdomen and stomach, which can generate other problems. At the beginning, naturally you will need to use your mind to control the muscles of the abdomen. However, with practice, you will realize that your mind does not have to be there to make it happen. That means you are regulating it without regulating.
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| Pingala (Sun and ascendant) Ida (Moon and descendant), Sushumna is the central bellied flask |
In anatomical terms, Taoism and Buddhism suggest the projection of the channels on the sagittal plane from the back to the craniocaudal axis, and then from the forehead to the abdomen. On the other hand, Hinduism directs those channels onto the extension of the coronal plane. Although it may seem contradictory, if these vessels and channels are only perceived through the development of an internal vision and they are analyzed from a tetra-dimensional view (available through the Fourth Density), an arbitrary origin of coordinates will be considered when trying to project them in the three traditional dimensions.
Curiously, within the numerous Hindu diagrams the two lateral channels do not have a linear distribution but an intertwined one (in three points that Fulcanelli associates with the dreadful Calvary nails mentioned in the metaphor of the Stations of the Cross of our beloved Redeemer when they interweave with the channel Sushuma; these points are called granthis or psychic knots) both ending in the cranium, precisely in the space between the eyebrows. Unlike Buddhist and Daoist treatises, the internal breathing triggered by the “sacral pump” exercise (which Hindu equivalent is the Mula Bhanda) is performed together with two muscle contractions: the Jalandhara Bandha (throat region) and the Udiyana Bandha (abdominal region). Regarding the former muscle contraction, Olivia Cattedra and Maité Fernández de Bobadilla refer to it in their work El Hatha Yoga en el Yoga (Chapter VI, Teoría y práctica del Hatha Yoga):
Mula Bandha is concerned with the perineal contraction (pelvic floor) together with the contraction of the gluteal muscles and the abdomen. In this case, Mula Bandha is mainly used in relation to abhyantara kumbhaka (the mindful holding of the breath after inhalation). Discrete use of this bandha not only generates movement of pranic energy in specific areas of the body (sacropelvic and abdominal), but it is also a very useful technique that favours the lumbosacral spine position, consequently extending the dorsal region and opening the thorax.We can highlight two important aspects from Daoist teachings. On the one hand, that hypersalivation seems to be related to the Jalandhara Bandha due to the position of the tongue (which is in contact with the soft palate so the two main vessels, control and function, are joined). On the other, the mindful holding of the breath after inhalation that takes place in the perineal contraction triggers Harnelmiatznel, i.e., the sublimation process itself. Whereas the microcosmic orbit has two washing and ablution points (the cardinal points Mao and Yu while the inhalation and exhalation take place respectively), the abhyantara kumbhaka as a Pranayama technique focuses on the peak of the breathing cycle.
Consequently, the trained eye will notice a very important thing: energy circulates on a levorotatory way, i.e. there is a counterclockwise rotation (from the right to the left), in the Wheel of Fortune (analyzing the image of the Pantokrator, that occupies the space in the central dome of the church, in the half-dome of the apse, or on the nave vault), in the microcosmic orbit and in the routing produced by the Hindu Pranayama. The right channel is always the ascending direction, while the left one is always the descending.
In the next installment, we will analyze the remaining elements of this procedure, particularly the difficulties and risks of the Candidate throughout the Temper of the Athanor and the processes of regularization and control of the inconsistent initial fires of the philosophical furnace; for this good reason this stage is known as Nigredo (blackness).
