This is a little reflexion about people's understanding of Hermetical Art and Alchemy. And the lack of comprehension we sometime have to face. This is why :
Keep this advice in mind from the Mutus Liber, meditate and Pray the Superior Force, and know to
STAY SILENT.
Today, you are taken for a silly man if you speak outloud about Alchemy... the most part of the time you receive little smiles, and most part of the time people don't even understand what you are talking about - at all - "You do what ? isn't it illegal ? you made chemistry studies ?".
They try to understand it by making link with what they know, physic, chemistry etc, but how could they ? You understand Alchemy by doing it, not even by studying the subject in books. Alchemy is an experience of Life and a Life experience.
The spiritual subject is not very well known, and the Hermetical subject, even less, and if you mix these two together, how can you expect from non initiated persons a little of understanding of what you do, or seek ?
You could even talk with a non lab Alchemist, he would not understand the core of it. He never felt the action of the Secret Fire in a matter, he never encountered the living Archetype you triggered in the vessel.
Then, why trying to communicate if you feel that the most part of the message will be lost ?
Frankly, speaking about alchemy today is taking risks for your social relationship and success. You can be taken for a psychotic : "I gazed into the Black Opus Vessel and I saw in my mind's eye..." you can be sure that people will laught. And when you think objectively "every body is laughing at me and it makes me feel a little sad" don't dare saying that outloud, otherwise you could be taken for paranoid and depressive !
You take your conclusions very quick in this case.
Finally, if you do not share with other friends/alchemists (operative of course, otherwise they are NOT alchemists), you can be frustrated and feel a kind of lonelyness.
When you try to open the mind of your relatives, or they deny - in most case, it is implicit, they answer nothing, or they listen (just listen it is not heard) and it is ... unfruitful. When you talk to your mother about regeneration you can have answer like "ha, if it could remove my wrinkles"...
Nobody is prophet in its own country wright ? Well, the man who said that is a genious, but certainly a disappointed genious :)
Even when you told them the potencies of certain tinctures - and it is big deal, and even when they believe in you and what you say, they still ask no basic questions like "How do you do that ? What is it ? How does it works ? Why ? How many time ? I could do that myself ? Is it hard to do ? Could you explain me ? "
And even when someone say "I will try that (if you guide me)", and you say okay, ... six month after, still nothing happend. If you ask for a reason : "Oh I had no time/money for that", or "when would you like me to do that ?" so you see, the complexity of the alchemical subject is a question a inner fire. When you are ready, you go, that's all.
You could show them hundred of photos of the Magnum Opus, at the end you are asked "and you make what with that ?"... not ready. Open, but not yet ready.
Even when someone hear about and beleive, he can still not be ready, the mind do to comprehend. The mind do not really grasp, the fire is not there, no "ding" in the mind, no "aha" !
Sometime it can be sad. Because being ready can never occur.
There is also the fact that sometime, you have to face negative responses to the work you do -even if you didn't ask for. That's why it is best to not show any curent work, until it is finished, otherwise you can be disapointed if you care too much about other's though. Thing that should not occur.
