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June 16, 2004
More Apartment X-Windows
We just got back from buying a lot of shit for the apartment. Alex is staying at her old apartment tonight so she can pack. I'm over at the folk's place tonight to finish (re)packing and whatnot.
Last night I finished the Alef-Bet For Adults book so now I can somewhat convert written Hebrew into the proper sounds. Of course, that depends on if I have been reading and understanding properly which it's possible I have not. I don't really have any Hebraic authorities around at the moment to correct me.
For those that don't know, I've decided that after 5 or so years of semi-serious Kabbalah study and interest, it's time to give up the pretending and get serious about conversion. Half of you have been calling me a Jew all these years anyway, though it wasn't (and isn't) correct. There aren't any conversion classes or Hebrew classes going on at the moment in Albuquerque as far as I can tell, so it will be a long while before the next development on this front.
A few weeks ago I finished the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I strongly recommend this book to everyone; it's short, easy to read, and has a great plot and message. Damn near anyone might like it.
Reading The Alchemist, one might notice references to something called “The Emerald Tablet of Hermes.” Looking around online, I was able to find a page with several translations of it. Apparently it did exist, and in so many different forms and translations that very little about it is clear.
One of the translations provided on that page is a so-called “Hypothetical Chinese Original” with a reference. This version is quite interesting because it mentions the Tao. If this version is the original version (or provably similar to it), then it would implicate China as the original source of alchemy—not just the chemistry, but also the equally fascinating philosophy of alchemy. A Taoist basis for alchemy would imply a Taoist basis for Rosicrucianism, and that is something quite remarkable and amusing to me, as someone who has studied both to some extent.
I intend to dig up this reference and see if they provide a hypothetical Chinese original or if they provide a translation of the hypothetical Chinese original. If it is the former, Jarrod has already agreed to translate it for me in the same fashion as he has translated some sections of the Tao Te Ching, which would be fabulous.
I hope you guys take a look at the translation, it's really quite fascinating. It seems to be the origin of the famous “as above; so below” aphorism.
Posted by FusionGyro at June 16, 2004 03:52 AM