Splendor Solis – The Parables

And because of this they have called me Hermes Tristmegistus
since I have the three parts of the wisdom and
Philosophy of the whole universe.
My speech is finished which I have spoken concerning the solar work.
The Emerald Tablet

---

The “solar work”refers to the Dry Path of Initiation (also called the masculine, rational, or Dorian path).  According to Oswald Wirth in The Tarot of the Magicians, on the Dry Path, Theory (study and preparation) precede Practice (application).  The Parables describe the Dry Path of Initiation of the Divine Spark.

To recapitulate the journey of our Divine Spark so far:

• Plate 1:  The Divine Spark does not exist separate from the Divine.
• Plate 2:  The Divine Spark exists as a Unity, Fire and Water (Soul and Spirit) united as Air and sent on a quest to learn about existence in the Material World. (Kether)
• Plate 3:  The Divine Spark becomes aware of its Duality. (Chokmah)
• Plate 4:  The Divine Spark discerns (separates) its Fire and Water. (Binah)

Plates 2-3-4 are the Trinity of Unity, Awareness, and Discernment.  The Trinity of Unity, Awareness, and Discernment are mirrored in the first Plates of the Parables (“as above, so below”).

• Plates 2-3-4: The Trinity itself is a Unity. 
• Plate 5: The Divine Spark becomes aware of the Trinity and itself, creating a Duality and a Tetrad. 
• Plate 6: The Divine Spark discerns its Earth (as separate from its Fire and Water).

Revisiting Wirth’s description of the Dry Path of Initiation (Theory before Practice) with Herakles as our Divine Spark, we can see a parallel with the Herakles’ myth.  Herakles studied (Awareness) under Chiron the Centaur.  Chiron, considered the wisest of the Centaurs, was taught by Apollo and Artemis.  Linus, brother of Orpheus, tutored Herakles in music.  After Herakles killed Linus in a fit of rage, he was sent to the mountains.  After killing Linus, Herakles must choose (Discern, or judge) which Path he will follow. 

Herakles chooses the Path of Virtue and eventually completes the Twelve Labors.  The Twelve Labors are actions and represent Herakles efforts to purify his Material Body.  One of the final Labors he completes is retrieving the Golden Apple of the Hesperides, which represents Initiation.   Consider the next five Plates and remember the Knight’s breastplate from Plate 3.

• Plate 7: Nigredo
• Plate 8: Albedo
• Plate 9: Citrinitas
• Plate 10: Rubedo
• Plate 11: Nigredo

Relating these Plates to Herakles:

• Plate 7:  Nigredo—Herakles being burned by the Shirt of Nessus.
• Plate 8:  Albedo—Herakles’ body being burned (eventually to ash) on the funeral pyre.
• Plate 9:  Citrinitas—Herakles being struck by a thunderbolt and then taken to Olympus.
• Plate 10: Rubedo—Herakles being reborn.
• Plate 11: Nigredo—Herakles marrying Hebe.

Relating these Plates to Alchemy processes:

• Plate 7: Calcination Nigredo—Herakles being burned by the Shirt of Nessus.
• Plate 8: Separation (by Fire, since this is the Solar Path) Albedo—Herakles’ body being burned to (white) ash on the funeral pyre.
• Plate 9: Distillation Citrinitas—Herakles being struck by a thunderbolt and then taken to Olympus.
• Plate 10: Sublimation Rubedo—Herakles being reborn.
• Plate 11: Coagula Nigredo—Herakles marrying Hebe.

The Plates also align to the Sephirah, which align to the Planets.

• Plates 2-3-4: Kether-Chokmah-Binah, The Heavens-Constellations-Saturn
• Plate 5: Chesed, Jupiter
• Plate 6: Geburah, Mars
• Plate 7: Tiphareth, Sun
• Plate 8: Netzach, Venus
• Plate 9: Hod, Mercury
• Plate 10: Yesod, Moon
• Plate 11: Malkuth, Earth

Considering the Planets and the Plates:

• Plate 5: Jupiter – Awareness
  The plate is an image of dualities:  sunshine and rain; the Sun in the sky, the Moon in the water
• Plate 6: Mars – Discernment
  The plate is an image of finding the Golden Bough.
• Plate 7: Sun – Initiation (on the Solar Path)
  The plate is an image of the Young King holding the Golden Apple.
• Plate 8: Venus
  The plate in an image of the Young King stepping out of a dark mud-filled pit.  The ‘angel’ on Plate 8 has wings of white peacock feathers.  Peacocks are a symbol of Hera, the Fountain of Souls, so the image represents the Soul separating from the Body.
• Plate 9: Mercury
  The plate is an image of a Hermaphrodite. (Hermaphroditus was the child of Hermes (Mercury) and Aphrodite (Venus).)
• Plate 10: Moon Saturn
  The plate is an image of the golden head separated from the body.
  This plate aligns with Herakles’ rebirth, so it aligns better with Saturn.
• Plate 11: Earth Moon
  The plate is an image of the King is a heated bath.
  This plate is the start of the Lunar (or Humid) Path, so it aligns better with the Moon.

The Parables describe the process of separating the Soul from the Body.  Or, more specifically, separating the Soul of the Body from the Body.  Splendor Solis’ describes the Dissolution of the Body:

“The Spirit dissolves the body, and in the Dissolution extracts the Soul of the Body, and changes this body into Soul, and the Soul is changed into Spirit, and the Spirit is added again to the Body, for thus it has stability.”

In the discussion of Plate 8, the three Bodies of a Divine Spark were identified as the Desire/Astral Body (Spirit of Soul), Vital/Etheric Body (Body of Soul), and the Dense/Material Body (Body of Body).  The Vortices are present in all three Bodies; the Centers are present in the Etheric and Material Bodies.  (The Secret of the Five Rites and Magic Monday)  Heindel believed the Centers, which are where the Material Body and the Etheric Body are most closely bound together, were located at the hands, the feet, and the head.  This aligns with Levi’s Pentagram:

During the Solar Path, the Centers move to align with the Vortices.

• Plate 5: Jupiter moves from the Head to the Liver
• Plate 6: Mars moves from the Hand to the Genitals
• Plate 7: Sun moves from the Chest to the Pituitary
• Plate 8: Venus moves from the Hand to the Genitals
• Plate 9: Mercury moves from the Chest to the Throat
• Plate 10: Saturn moves from the Feet to the Knees

When Herakles chose Virtue and completed his Labors (Plate 6), he crossed the Veil of Ignorance (his Soul was now “Conscious”). His subsequent work resulted in him purifying his Vital (Etheric) Body, which is transmuted into his Intellectual Soul (which is transmuted to Spirit and “added again to the Body”).

And next we’ll explore the Plates of the Flasks… the Humid Path.