Grand Rosicrucian Alchemical Formula
reproduction by J. Augustus Knapp for The Secret Teachings of All Ages
In the center of the picture is the figure of philosophic equilibrium and the accomplishment of the magnum opus. The double-bodied lion emphasizes to the initiated the necessity for the final union of all diversified parts; also that light and darkness (symbols of all natural opposites) are two bodies with a single head. Upon this strange creature which he has fabricated by his art and which symbolizes the reconciliation of apparently irreconcilable elements, stands the alchemistic philosopher. The stars upon his robe reveal the luminous nature of the purified and regenerated adept, and with the maces (the illumined intellect) he destroys the illusion of light and darkness and uniting the various scattered parts of the cosmos, fashions therefrom the philosophic androgyne. In the Hermetic Museum this plate is accompanied by the following quotation:
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens established, and their hosts by the breath of His mouth. The spirit of the Lord hath filled the world. All things are satisfied with They goodness, O Lord. Thou turnest away They face, they are troubled. Thou turnest away Thy Spirit, they die and return again to their dust. Thy sendest forth Thy Spirit and they are created, and renewest the face of the earth. Thy glory is for everlasting.
In the above plate is set forth the complete key to the regeneration of the metals, the transmutation of earthliness into celestial splendor, and the mystery of generation which has been so sadly and ignorantly misinterpreted by the sciolists of the twentieth century.
-Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages