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Boyle, Elias Ashmole and others of his day—produced a work in 1667 entitled Secrets Revealed. In this treatise, he discussed the nature of the Philosophers’ Stone, which was commonly thought to transmute base metal into gold. Setting the record straight, Philalethes made the point that the Stone was itself made of gold, and that the Philosophers’ art was in perfecting this process: Our Stone is nothing but gold digested to the highest degree of purity and subtle fixation... Our gold, no longer vulgar, is the ultimate goal of Nature. Another relief portrays the treasurer, Sobekhotep, presenting a conical loaf to Pharaoh Amenhotep III. In this respect, however, Sobekhotep is described as "He who brought the noble and pre- cious stone to his majesty", and he is called "The Great One over the secrets of the House of Gold". In all cases where the mfkzt powder of projection is allied to gold, bread and light and classified as a "stone", it is also related to fire. Interestingly, these things are all brought together in the Old Testament book of Job, which states (28:5-6): As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; and under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires, and it hath the dust of gold. In another treatise entitled A Brief Guide to the Celestial Ruby, Philalethes pronounced: It is called a Stone by virtue of its fixed nature; it resists the action of fire as successfully as any stone. In species it is gold, more purer [sic] than the purest; it is fixed and incom - bustible like a stone, but its appearance is that of a very fine powder. action of fire as successfully as any stone. In species it is Another biblical text, from the book of Exodus, discusses this gold, more purer [sic] than the purest; it is fixed and incom - mysterious combination—but in a form which moves one step bustible like a stone, but its appearance is that of a very fine nearer to the "bread" connotation by describing the white powder powder. as a type of food. It appears in the story of Moses and the Israelites at Mount Horeb in Sinai, when Moses is disturbed to Some time earlier, in the 15th century, the French alchemist find that his brother Aaron has collected the gold rings from the Nicolas Flamel wrote in his Last Testament, dated 22 November Israelites and forged from them a golden calf as an idol of wor- 1416, that when the noble metal was perfectly dried and digested ship. The account relates that Moses took the golden calf, burned it made a fine "powder of gold", which is the Philosophers' it with fire, transposed it into a powder and fed it to the Israelites. Stone. This story has long baffled theologians because heating or burning gold with fire does not, of course, produce powder; it The Light of the Ancient World produces molten gold. Later in the Returning to ancient Egypt, we story, however, it is explained that the find further references to mfkzt at fine powder could be wiped with various sacred locations. One of frankincense and made into white these relates to the treasures of The account relates that bread cakes, which the old Septuagint duced ina bas-relief atthe Temple | MOses took the golden calf, ee ethics mixed and mingied of Karnak. In the metals section, burned it with fire, with accounts of fire on the mountain, tee area number otcone sired | transposed it into a powder J ti smesinparanes ins Ar being made of gold, but carry the and fed it to the Israelites. which sent out deadly spears of light- rather odd description, "white bread". ning from between the wings of the cherubim which surmounted its lid. It was at Karnak where, in about In keeping with the bread of the pres- 1450 BC, Pharaoh Tuthmosis III ence, these bolts of Ark-light were founded his metallurgical fraternity of Master Craftsmen, with 39 similarly referred to as "the presence" (seemingly, the presence members on the High Council. They were called the Great White of God), and the Greeks called it the electrikus. Brotherhood—a name which, it was said, derived from their pre- Back in old Babylonia, the enigmatic white powder was called occupation with a mysterious white powder of projection. an-na, meaning "fire-stone", and when made into conical cakes it The powder features again in an Alexandrian document called was shem-an-na—denoting cone-shaped or highward fire-stone. the Jter Alexandri ad Paradisum. This is an old parable of According to the Bible, the Israelites referred to the bread-pow- Alexander the Great's journey to Paradise: the kingdom of Ahura der as manna, which sounds somewhat similar. It is explained by Mazda, the Persian god of light. The account features the Flavius Josephus in his Ist-century Antiquities of the Jews that ‘adise Stone, which had numerous magical proper- the word manna was actually a question, meaning "What is aid to outweigh its own quantity of gold—although, it?"—and the book of Exodus confirms this, stating "They called when transposed to a powder, even a feather could tip the scales it manna because they knew not what it was". against it! This is totally in line with mfkzt revelations from the Egyptian The powder's association with light was discovered again by Book of the Dead (alternatively called the Papyrus of Ani). This the archaeologist Sir William Flinders Petrie in 1904. 18th-dynasty scroll from Thebes, acquired by the British Researching the mountain wilderness of Sinai for the Egypt Museum in 1888, is extensively illustrated and is around 76 feet Exploration Fund, he discovered a hitherto unknown Egyptian (over 23 metres) in length. In this ancient ritualistic work, the temple at the summit of Mount Serabit (better known as Mount bread of the presence is associated with a pharaoh who seeks the Horeb, from the Bible account of Moses and the Ark of the "terminal enlightenment" and, at the completion of each stage of Covenant). Here in this complex of halls and shrines, there were his journey, asks the repetitive question, "What is it?" numerous inscriptions relating to mfkzt, accompanying a variety Other similar texts date back to the 3rd millennium BC, and it of hieroglyphs for light. Also, in line with the Karnak reliefs, is clear from the Mount Serabit reliefs in Sinai that the Egyptian presentations of conical bread-cakes were apparent in the Serabit —_ kings were ingesting the white manna of gold from around 2180 wall carvings. One of these was a representation of Tuthmosis BC. However, only the metallurgical adepts of the mystery IV in the presence of the goddess Hathor. Before him were two schools (the Master Craftsmen) knew the secret of its manufac- offering-stands topped with lotus flowers, and behind him a man ture, and the ultimate High Priest of Memphis held the title of bearing a conical object described as "white bread". Great Artificer. Some time earlier, in the 15th century, the French alchemist Nicolas Flamel wrote in his Last Testament, dated 22 November 1416, that when the noble metal was perfectly dried and digested it made a fine "powder of gold", which is the Philosophers' Stone. Moses took the golden calf, burned it with fire, transposed it into a powder and fed it to the Israelites. 54 * NEXUS _ The account relates that www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2003