Angels in Vermilion: The Philosophers' Stone, from Dee to DMT

«Zosimos was an Egyptian priest and artisan principally concerned with the dying or "tincturing" of metals for the same to be used in temple statuary and paraphernalia. Although, metallurgy was admittedly not his sole concern in regards to the royal art.» — según Newman, Zósimo era sacerdote y artesano egipcio ocupado sobre todo en el teñido de metales para estatuaria y utensilios de templo, aunque la metalurgia no fue su único interés

«For example, psychedelic historian, Chris Bennett, emphasizes that “surviving translations of Zosimos' work have the ancient sage identify references to cannabis» — el dato que Newman toma del historiador psicodélico Chris Bennett: las traducciones conservadas de Zósimo traerían referencias a vinos y cervezas infusionadas con cannabis; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *cannabis-infused*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente

«A self-proclaimed student of the earliest known practitioner of the royal art, Maria Prophetissima, Zosimos' alchemy was clearly that of the operative variety.» — según Newman, Zósimo se declaraba discípulo de María Prophetissima —a quien presenta como la practicante más antigua que se conoce— y su alquimia era de la variedad operativa

«However, according to Shannon Cooper Grimes, Ph.D., author of the groundbreaking study, Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt, even at such an early date, there was already an underlying speculative, that is, a mystical or metaphysical, element to his and his master's work. This spiritual element, though, for a time, gradually fell by the wayside as alchemy became, over the years, even more materialistic in its pursuits and focus. Exceptions, however, include Bolos of Mendes, Synesius, Olympiodorus, and Stephanos of Alexandria, all of whom considered alchemy also to be a spiritual pursuit.» — la posición que Newman atribuye a Shannon Cooper Grimes, autora de *Becoming Gold*: ya en fecha tan temprana había un elemento especulativo, místico o metafísico, bajo el trabajo de Zósimo y su maestra, elemento que después se fue perdiendo salvo en Bolos de Mendes, Sinesio, Olimpiodoro y Estéfano de Alejandría

«Through the centuries, the "stone" came to be associated less with the "tincturing" of metals for statuary and more with the dubious notion of actually transmuting base metals, such as lead, tin, iron, copper, and mercury, into the higher metals, silver and gold "higher" because, while they may tarnish, unlike the other planetary metals, they do not rust, corrode or patinize. By the time of the Middle Ages, this superficial interpretation had fully taken root and become commonplace among alchemical practitioners.» — la genealogía que Newman traza del término: con los siglos la piedra pasó de teñir metales para estatuaria a la noción de transmutar metales bajos en plata y oro, y esa lectura superficial se volvió corriente en la Edad Media

«The thirteenth-century German Catholic Dominican friar and bishop, Saint Albertus Magnus, for example, claimed to have been present at just such a suspicious transmutation. Even so, at least two centuries prior, we still see Islamic alchemists, such as the polymath, Avicenna, carrying Zosimos» — los dos testimonios que Newman contrapone sin arbitrar: Alberto Magno declaró haber presenciado una de esas transmutaciones y, dos siglos antes, Avicena sostenía lo contrario; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«Those of the chemical craft know well that no change can be effected in the different species of substances, though they can produce the appearance of such change.» — la frase de Avicena que Newman cita: los del oficio químico saben que no puede efectuarse cambio alguno entre especies distintas de sustancias, solo producirse la apariencia del cambio

«It was around the time of the end of the Middle Ages that alchemy began to recover its metaphysical flavor. As the late Dan Merkur, a past faculty member of the Toronto Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and visiting scholar in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto, wrote in his remarkable study, Gnosis: An Esoteric Tradition of Mystical Visions and Unions,» — según Newman, la alquimia recupera su sabor metafísico hacia el final de la Edad Media, y para sostenerlo recurre a Dan Merkur y su estudio *Gnosis*

«The founders of Greek alchemy, Maria the Jewess and Zosimos of Panopolis, were most certainly mystics, but two early instances do not constitute a tradition. There are no claims to revelation in the writings of other Hellenistic alchemists. Neither is mysticism to be found in the works of Arabic alchemy that I have been able to consult. Mysticism is not demonstrable in Western alchemy prior to the Late Middle Ages.» — la tesis de Merkur que Newman reproduce entera: María la Judía y Zósimo fueron místicos, pero dos casos tempranos no hacen tradición, y el misticismo no es demostrable en la alquimia occidental antes de la baja Edad Media

«That Merkur did not find evidence of mysticism in the works of Arabic alchemy is not surprising. Many Arabic texts on alchemy have yet to see translation. Notably, there is clear mention of a "Red Sulphur" in the works of Ibn» — la objeción que Newman le pone al propio Merkur: que no hallara misticismo en la alquimia árabe no le extraña, porque muchos textos árabes siguen sin traducción, y señala el azufre rojo en Ibn ʿArabi

«By the time of the Renaissance, thanks in part to the innovations and expansions of Paracelsus, serious practitioners of alchemy, while still maintaining an interest in metallic ores as well as gem stones, began to turn their attention toward the hidden and medicinal virtues of various plants.» — según Newman, con el Renacimiento y por obra de Paracelso los practicantes serios vuelven la atención hacia las virtudes ocultas y medicinales de las plantas

«Distinct from the light of the Holy Spirit, which is to be read in the holy scripture, Paracelsus postulated a lumen naturae that may be read only in the "Book of Nature."» — la distinción paracelsiana que Newman expone: aparte de la luz del Espíritu Santo, que se lee en la escritura, hay un *lumen naturae* que solo se lee en el libro de la naturaleza

«There are, therefore, two kinds of knowledge in this world: an eternal and a temporal. The eternal springs directly from the light of the Holy Spirit, but the other directly from the Light of Nature.» — la formulación de Paracelso que Newman cita: dos clases de conocimiento, uno eterno que brota de la luz del Espíritu Santo y otro temporal que brota de la luz de la naturaleza

«According to another Swiss enthusiast of alchemy, it is this light of nature that "illuminates consciousness." With this revelatory insight to guide him, Paracelsus revolutionized a number of proto-pharmaceutical techniques for extracting various drugs from different plant substances. Similarly, he is also accredited with the rediscovery of the medicinal properties of opium and with the creation of laudanum.» — Newman remite a otro suizo aficionado a la alquimia —la nota da a Jung— para la idea de que esa luz de la naturaleza ilumina la consciencia, y adjudica a Paracelso el redescubrimiento del opio medicinal y la creación del láudano

«Following the work of our Swiss physician, there was a notable shift in interest among practitioners of the art from the so-called "dry path" of alchemy, or work with minerals and metals, to the "wet path," or work with spagyrics or plant alchemy. In fact, even where the transmutation of base metals was still of primary interest, the philosophers' stone, by which that transmutation was believed to be effected, was still thought to be found in the plant kingdom.» — el desplazamiento que Newman describe como central para su tesis: del camino seco —minerales y metales— al camino húmedo o espagiria vegetal, hasta el punto de buscar la piedra misma en el reino vegetal

«Many descriptions of the stone have been given over the centuries, a number of which were collated by the fictitious French alchemist, Fulcanelli, in his sophomore effort, Dwellings of the Philosophers. The transmission is as follows. The quote must be given at length.» — Newman presenta a Fulcanelli como alquimista francés ficticio y toma de *Dwellings of the Philosophers* la recopilación de descripciones de la piedra que va a citar íntegra

«If this is true, we would argue that it was the rediscovery of alcohol distillation by Raymond Lully, a disciple of Arnold de Villa Nova, author of the celebrated Rosarium philosophorum (attr. thirteenth century), during the Late Middle Ages and, chiefly, the emergence of the Swiss alchemist and physician, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, better known by his moniker, Paracelsus» — la réplica condicionada con que Newman contesta a Merkur: si eso es así, el resurgimiento místico vendría del redescubrimiento de la destilación del alcohol por Raimundo Lulio y, sobre todo, de la irrupción de Paracelso; el pasaje adjudica de paso el *Rosarium philosophorum* a Arnaldo de Vilanova

«The expression [Red Sulphur'] is often used in Sufi vocabulary as a metaphor indicating the excellence of the spiritual level attained by the» — primera mitad de la lectura que Newman toma de la arabista Claude Addas: en vocabulario sufí el azufre rojo es metáfora del grado espiritual del santo; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie de la plana

«saint, or wali; Ibn 'Arabi himself is often referred to by his disciples as [such]. [...] The 'red sulphur' which [...] the pilgrim sets out in search of in the city of the Messenger' is none other than the inheritance' reserved for whoever attains to the Station of Muhammed.» — continuación de la misma cita de Addas en la plana siguiente: el azufre rojo que el peregrino busca en la ciudad del Mensajero sería la herencia reservada a quien alcanza la estación de Mahoma

«First, let us say that, according to the scared language, the term philosopher's stone, means the stone which bears the sign of the sun. The solar sign is characterized by its red coloration, which can vary in intensity, as Basil Valentine says, 'Its color ranges from rosy red to crimson red, or from ruby to pomegranate red'; [...] So much for color» — primera pieza de la recopilación que Newman cita de Fulcanelli: la piedra filosofal es la que lleva el signo del sol, y ese signo es la coloración roja, que Basilio Valentín gradúa del rojo rosado al carmesí; el impreso escribe *scared* donde se espera *sacred*

«Its fusibility is such, indeed, that all authors have compared it to that of wax; it melts in the flame of a candle, they repeat; some, for this reason, have even given it in the name of great red wax.» — tercera pieza: la fusibilidad se compara con la de la cera, hasta el nombre de gran cera roja

«We hear the same from Heinrich Khunrath when he writes in his Ampitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae, 'At last, when the Work will have passed from ashy color to [...] brittle as glass; taking on a saffron color when it is reduced to powder, yet red as ruby when it remains in one unadulterated mass (this color is the signature of perfect» — cuarta pieza: Khunrath describe el paso del color ceniciento al azafranado en polvo y al rojo rubí en masa entera, y llama a ese color la firma de la fijación perfecta; el impreso da *Ampitheatrum* por *Amphitheatrum*

«from an innkeeper, the philosopher's stone found in the tomb of a bishop who was said to have been very rich; it was red [...] but without any odor.» — continuación de la misma frase al otro lado del corte de chunk: la piedra procedente de la tumba del obispo era roja y sin olor

«Meanwhile, Berigard of Pisa says that a skillful man gave him a gros (3.82 grams) of a powder whose color was similar to that of the red poppy and which had the odor of calcined sea salt. [...] This powdered product came, says Khunrath, from a red mass.» — la variación cromática que Fulcanelli documenta: Berigard de Pisa recibió un polvo del color de la amapola roja y con olor a sal marina calcinada, que Khunrath hace venir de una masa roja

«In a transmutation performed by Seton in July 1602, in front of Dr Jacob Zwinger, the powder used was, according to Dienheim, [...] of a color appearing lemon yellow. A year later, during a second projection at the house of a goldsmith, Hans de Kempen in Cologne, August 11, 1603, the same artist used a red stone.» — los dos ensayos de Setonio que Fulcanelli data: el de julio de 1602 ante Jacob Zwinger con polvo amarillo limón y el del 11 de agosto de 1603 en Colonia con piedra roja

«According to several trustworthy witnesses, this stone, directly obtained in powder form, could take on a color as bright as that of a stone formed in a compact mass. This instance is rather rare, but it can happen and is worth mentioning.» — la reserva que la propia fuente introduce: el caso de un polvo tan brillante como la masa compacta es raro, aunque puede ocurrir

«In this way, an Italian Adept, who, in 1658, realized the transmutation in front of the Protestant minister, Gros, at the house of a goldsmith (named Bureau) from Geneva, used, according to those who were in attendance, a red» — otro testimonio de la serie: un adepto italiano que en 1658 transmutó ante el ministro protestante Gros, en casa del orfebre Bureau de Ginebra, con un polvo rojo

«Schmeider described the stone that Boetticher obtained from Lascaris as a substance having the appearance of a fire-red colored glass.» — según la recopilación, Schmeider describió la piedra que Boetticher obtuvo de Lascaris como una sustancia con aspecto de vidrio rojo fuego

«The Cosmopolite, whom Louis Figuier believes to be the alchemist» — segunda pieza de la recopilación de Fulcanelli, cortada por el pie de plana: el Cosmopolita, que Louis Figuier identifica con un alquimista cuyo nombre llega en la plana siguiente

«known under the name of Seton, and others under the name of Michael Sendivogius, describes in this passage its translucent appearance, its crystalline form, and its fusibility: If one were to find', he said, 'our subject in its last state of perfection, made and composed by nature; if it were fusible, like wax or butter, and its redness, its diaphanous nature or clarity appeared on the outside; it would be in truth our blessed stone.» — continuación: el Cosmopolita sería Setonio, y para otros Michael Sendivogius; la descripción va por la traslucidez, la forma cristalina y la fusibilidad, con la condición que la propia cita mantiene en potencial

«Around 1585, the English adventurer Edward Kelley, surnamed Talbot, had acquired» — la pieza que sostiene la cadena entera del libro: hacia 1585 Edward Kelley, apodado Talbot, habría adquirido la piedra; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, donde el marcador de plana se reemite sin cambiar de número

«As for the sample given by Lascaris to Dierback, it was examined under Counselor Dippel's microscope and appeared composed of a multitude of small grains or crystals which were red or orange;» — la muestra de Lascaris a Dierback, examinada al microscopio del consejero Dippel, aparecía compuesta de una multitud de granos o cristales rojos o anaranjados

«Jean-Baptiste Helmont, relating his experience in 1618 in his laboratory at Vilvorde near Brussels, writes, I have seen and touched the philosopher's stone more than once; its color is like powdered saffron, but [...]] shining like pulverized glass.» — el testimonio de Jean-Baptiste van Helmont, fechado en 1618 en su laboratorio de Vilvorde: dice haber visto y tocado la piedra más de una vez, de color como azafrán en polvo

«In the category of tinctures, i.e., liquids obtained by solutions oily metallic extracts, we have the account of Godwin Herman Braun from Osnabrueck who achieved the transmutation in 1701, using a tincture having the appearance of an oil, rather fluid and of a brown color» — la última entrada de la recopilación: la transmutación de Godwin Herman Braun en 1701 con una tintura de aspecto oleoso, fluida y de color pardo

«Perhaps the finest description comes from the German physician and alchemist, John Frederick Schweitzer, usually known by his pen name, Helvetius, who wrote in his book, Vitulus Aureus (1677), that the stone is as,» — según Newman, la mejor descripción vendría de John Frederick Schweitzer, conocido como Helvecio, en su *Vitulus Aureus* de 1677

«a brilliant carbuncle [...] altogether smooth, translucid as crystal, compact and exceedingly weighty. It is easily fused in fire, as resin, and after the flight of artificial quicksilver, just as wax. [It is] fragile as glass, in a powder saffron-coloured, but in a solid mass, red like the ruby. Its purple colour is the mark of perfect fixation and fixed perfection... [It is] a red powder (with almost a saffron tinge), liquid like resin, transparent like crystal, fragile like glass, is of a rubinate colour, and of great specific gravity.» — la descripción de Helvecio que Newman cita: carbunclo brillante, translúcido como cristal, fusible como resina, frágil como vidrio, azafranado en polvo y rojo rubí en masa, con el púrpura por marca de la fijación perfecta

«Whether in the form of a stone, a powder, an elixir, or a tincture, the common theme running through all these descriptions, like Ariadne's red thread winding through King Minos' labyrinth, is the lapis' characteristic ruddy, tawny hue.» — la constante que Newman extrae de todos esos testimonios: sea piedra, polvo, elixir o tintura, el hilo común es el tono rojizo del *lapis*

«Preceded by nigredo, ‘blackening, and albedo, 'whitening, this» — la secuencia de fases en que Newman inscribe ese color, precedido por nigredo y albedo; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«"Morning Redness" or "Aurora," as one German theosopher praised it, alludes to the rubedo or 'red' and final stage of the alchemical magnum opus. It signifies the completion of the alchemist» — según Newman, ese rojo de aurora que un teósofo alemán celebró alude a la rubedo, fase final de la magna obra; una nota consigna que algunas autoridades intercalan una cuarta fase, la citrinitas

«By the time of the Age of Enlightenment, alchemy had largely fallen out of vogue, and the "stone that is not a stone" became the stuff of myth or, at best, of metaphor. Purged of its metaphysical component, the once "royal art" was refashioned by the "Enlightened" as ‘chemistry, and the remainder was consigned to the realm of pseudoscience.» — la periodización que Newman propone: con la Ilustración la alquimia cae en desuso, la piedra que no es piedra queda como mito o metáfora y el arte regio se rehace como química, con el resto mandado a la pseudociencia

«In spite of that fact, the arcane discipline did live on in a number of Counter-Enlightenment mystics and secret societies, including Pyotr Ivanovich Melissino's Russian Rite of Freemasonry, Alessandro di Cagliostro's Egyptian Rite Freemasonry, Jean-Marie Ragon's Les Trinosophists, and others, where the true nature of the stone was revealed by degrees or grades, often under the penalty of death.» — la excepción que Newman consigna: la disciplina sobrevive en místicos y sociedades secretas de la Contrailustración —el rito ruso de Melissino, el rito egipcio de Cagliostro, los Trinosofistas de Ragon—, donde la naturaleza de la piedra se revelaba por grados y bajo pena de muerte

«Under solemn oathes of secrecy, it was gradually revealed to wide-eyed candidates that the philosophers' stone is nothing less than the vermilion, entheogenic extract of certain psychedelic species of acacia.» — la tesis central del libro, enunciada aquí en forma afirmativa: a los candidatos se les habría revelado que la piedra filosofal no es otra cosa que el extracto bermellón y enteogénico de ciertas especies psicodélicas de acacia; el impreso escribe *oathes*

«While it would be another hundred years before the Hungarian chemist and psychiatrist, Stephen István Szára, would inject himself intramuscularly with DMT extracted from acacia, thus discovering the entheogenic potential of the compound, as we demonstrated in our book, Alchemically Stoned: The Psychedelic Secret of Freemasonry, the hallucinogenic effects of DMT and the acacia were well known to certain Masonic circles throughout the eighteenth and even nineteenth centuries.» — el desfase cronológico que Newman admite y a la vez usa: Stephen István Szára se inyectó DMT de acacia cien años después, pero él sostiene —remitiendo a su libro anterior— que los efectos ya se conocían en ciertos círculos masónicos

«Yet, Lascaris had given Dominico Manuel (Gaetano) a powder similar to» — penúltima entrada de la serie cromática, cortada por el pie de plana: Lascaris habría dado a Dominico Manuel un polvo cuyo color se nombra en la plana siguiente

«vermilion, the color of cinnabar. That of Gustenhover was also very red.» — continuación: ese polvo era semejante al bermellón, color del cinabrio, y el de Gustenhover era también muy rojo; una nota del libro precisa que el pigmento bermellón deriva del cinabrio, sulfuro de mercurio

«Among alchemists, the motif of the transmutation of base into higher metals is often projected into the realm of spiritual analogy, where it becomes a trope for the entheogenic revelation of the alchemist himself, who then becomes the object of transformation. Obviously, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine does not have the potential to transmute actual base metals into silver or gold. It does, however, have the power to transmute baseline consciousness into transcendent illumination or enlightenment. Indeed, for along with the stone, the alchemist too is "perfected."» — la traducción que Newman propone del motivo de la transmutación: el DMT no convierte metales, pero sí la consciencia de base en iluminación, y el alquimista mismo pasa a ser el objeto de la transformación

«To quote the profound Christian mystic, Valentin Tomberg, "Just as all base metals can be transformed into silver and into gold, so are all the forces of human nature susceptible to transformation» — la frase de Valentin Tomberg que Newman usa como apoyo: así como todo metal bajo puede transformarse en plata y oro, todas las fuerzas de la naturaleza humana son susceptibles de esa transformación; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada a nota

«Marked with the creation of the Theosophical Society, the Martinist Order, the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, following the birth of Spiritualism in the “Burned-over District" of upstate New York in the 1840s, the nineteenth century saw a widespread revival of the occult in both Europe and the Americas, resurrecting along with it a public interest in the arcane subject of alchemy.» — el marco que Newman da al siglo XIX: tras el nacimiento del espiritismo en el Burned-over District, la fundación de la Sociedad Teosófica, la Orden Martinista, la Hermandad Hermética de Luxor y la Golden Dawn revive el interés público por la alquimia

«Unfortunately, due to the accumulated ignorance of the matter during that time, the nature of the stone, then obscured by two centuries of widespread disregard and neglect, was further obfuscated by the poor and oftentimes reaching interpretations and explanations attached to it by those who styled themselves "adepti" and "magistri" of the art.» — la objeción que Newman le hace a ese mismo revival: dos siglos de desatención habrían dejado la naturaleza de la piedra aún más oscurecida por las interpretaciones forzadas de quienes se llamaban adeptos y maestros

«One example of this tendency is the sexual model regularly applied by nineteenth-century occult practitioners. Seeing in the substances and operations of alchemy a reflection of the natural processes of menstruation, orgasm, and coitus, perhaps on account of the various emerging free-love movements of the time, many of the Victorian era occultists were wont to project their own sexuality into the work.» — el ejemplo que Newman escoge: el modelo sexual de los ocultistas decimonónicos, que veía en las operaciones alquímicas un reflejo de la menstruación, el orgasmo y el coito, quizá por los movimientos de amor libre de la época

«I was ten months in search of the astral mineral' that had to have the 'red Virgin' pure and entire and I did not find that mineral. What I wanted and searched for was the subtle magnetism that one exchanges, the human 'salt' [...] and to find it and obtain it, I was ready to sacrifice myself, to dishonor myself! [...] I was still in search of my 'salt' and human 'mineral' and the Virgin' was still there in the full sense of the word. [...] My researches into the 'red Virgin' and the human 'salt' having necessitated physiological investigations that were certainly not for my age, my imagination was coldly depraved. I looked for the subject.» — la carta de Blavatsky que Newman reproduce: dice haber buscado diez meses el mineral astral y la sal humana, y describe sus investigaciones fisiológicas en primera persona

«Blavatsky's prudish sentiments echo those of Thomas South, father of Mary Anne Atwood, the latter the author of the celebrated title, A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery, several years earlier when he revealed in a letter to fellow theosopher, Christopher Walton, that, "[Your wife] is likely to be far the best vessel you have ever seen or heard of for enlightening you... [The] secret is most awful and to those who have by any means intellectually or spiritually ever attained a knowledge of it, conscience has at once hermetically sealed... [No] one ever dared to reveal it openly...» — el paralelo que Newman traza: el pudor de Blavatsky se haría eco del de Thomas South, padre de Mary Anne Atwood, en una carta a Christopher Walton donde llama al secreto de lo más terrible

«This relatively late model of interpretation culminated in the "Affectional Alchemy" of African American Rosicrucian Spiritualist, Paschal Beverly Randolph, and, especially, in the derivative sex magick rituals of the English occultist, Aleister Crowley. Known colloquially as "the Great Beast 666," Crowley referred to the combined menses and semen as "Eixir Rubeus," the 'Red Elixir, abbreviated as "El. Rub." in the Beast» — el remate de esa línea según Newman: la alquimia afectiva de Paschal Beverly Randolph y los rituales de magia sexual de Aleister Crowley, que llamaba *Elixir Rubeus* a la mezcla de menstruo y semen; el impreso da *Eixir Rubeus*

«Since the nineteenth century occult revival, the philosophers' stone has drifted even further into virtual obscurity. The purpose of this work, then, is to reconnect Renaissance alchemy with its entheogenic roots. So far as we're aware, the entheogenic model of alchemical interpretation is the only one which at once satisfies all of the requirements demanded in the literature of the philosophers' stone. Without it, the riddles presented within the pages of the various manuscripts oftentimes degrade and devolve into little more than surrealistic nonsense. It's high time, then, that the entheogenic model be given a proper treatment. Thus, do we submit the present contribution.» — la declaración de propósito del libro: reconectar la alquimia renacentista con sus raíces enteogénicas, sosteniendo que el modelo enteogénico es el único que satisface a la vez todas las exigencias de la literatura de la piedra

«A good illustration of this propensity may be found in a letter from Russian occultist, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, to her friend, Prince Alexander M.» — la ilustración que aporta: una carta de Blavatsky al príncipe Alexander M. Dondukov-Korsakov; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie y el apellido del destinatario aparece en la plana siguiente

«In his book, The Theosophical Enlightenment, Joscelyn Godwin, a Professor at Colgate University, commented on South's reticence, "I can only interpret [the contents of South's letter] as a hint at the practice of sexual alchemy... I may be wrong in my surmise, but I can» — la lectura que Newman toma de Joscelyn Godwin: solo puede interpretar la carta de South como una insinuación de alquimia sexual, y lo dice reservándose el error; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«think of nothing else that would have evoked from a liberal-minded early Victorian such awed discretion.» — cierre de la misma frase de Godwin en la plana siguiente: no se le ocurre otra cosa que arrancara semejante discreción a un victoriano de mente liberal

«While sexual imagery has always been an important aspect of the alchemical corpus, its symbolism must not be confused with the things symbolized. As the German theologian,» — la distinción que Newman marca contra el modelo sexual: la imaginería del corpus alquímico no debe confundirse con lo simbolizado; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«Johannes Valentinus Andreae, indicated in his third installment of the Rosicrucian manifestos, the "Wedding" here concerned is a "Chymical" one.» — el apoyo con que la cierra: Johannes Valentinus Andreae señaló en el tercero de los manifiestos rosacruces que la boda de que se trata es química; una nota admite que las prácticas sexuales sí tienen papel en la alquimia interna, reservada para el capítulo cinco

«ounded in London in 1717, the Masonic fraternity was described by the Scottish Freemason, William Preston, as a "peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.» — la definición de la fraternidad masónica con que abre el capítulo uno, atribuida a William Preston: sistema peculiar de moral, velado en alegoría e ilustrado por símbolos; la capitular ornamental deja la F suelta en la capa de texto

«As the Hungarian chemist and psychiatrist, Stephen István Szára, discovered in 1956, many species of acacia are possessed of the powerful hallucinogenic compound, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, better known as DMT, the so-called "Spirit Molecule."» — el dato químico sobre el que se apoya la identificación: Szára señaló en 1956 que muchas especies de acacia contienen N,N-dimetiltriptamina

«In the pages which follow, we'll explore how, over two centuries prior to the discovery of the psychedelic effects of DMT, the Royal Society's fascination with the "Angelic Actions" of Elizabethan adviser, Dr. John Dee, and his alchemist assistant, Sir Edward Kelley, led to the creation of an entheogenic brand of alchemical Freemasonry. There, candidates for initiation were administered psychedelic doses of DMT via a psychoactive species of acacia.» — el programa del capítulo, enunciado como recorrido histórico: la fascinación de la Royal Society por las acciones angélicas de Dee y Kelley habría llevado a una masonería alquímica enteogénica en la que se administraban dosis psicodélicas de DMT por medio de una acacia psicoactiva

«However, before we get into that territory, let us first see how the gentle craft of Freemasonry has dovetailed in the past with the» — la transición con que Newman pospone su tesis para reponer antes la convergencia histórica; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«royal art of alchemy - and coincidentally, with the Royal Society. The convergence of Freemasonry with alchemy goes at least as far back as the 1640s, when the alchemists, Sir Robert Moray and Elias Ashmole, were among the first to be made Speculative Masons.» — la fecha con que Newman ancla esa convergencia: los años cuarenta del siglo XVII, cuando los alquimistas Robert Moray y Elias Ashmole están entre los primeros hechos masones especulativos

«One of those symbols is the sprig of» — el símbolo del que parte el capítulo, cortado por el cambio de plana: uno de esos símbolos es la rama de acacia

«acacia, said to have marked the grave site of the Masonic Grand Master, Hiram Abif, who was the allegorical chief architect and master of works at the construction of King Solomon» — continuación en la plana siguiente: esa rama habría marcado la tumba de Hiram Abif, arquitecto alegórico y maestro de obras en la construcción del templo de Salomón

«More important perhaps is the fact that Moray himself was actually employed as an alchemist by Charles II, who gave Moray a room in the Palace of Whitehall. There, the reclusive pauper engaged in extensive alchemical experimentation until the end of his life in 1673» — el dato que Newman considera más importante: Carlos II empleó a Moray como alquimista y le dio una habitación en el palacio de Whitehall, donde experimentó hasta su muerte en 1673

«One of his recorded experiments at Whitehall was the extraction of lead from stone and then the transmutation of that lead into silver. In this endeavor, as his report to the Royal Society reflects, Moray was at least partially successful.» — el experimento registrado que Newman recoge: extracción de plomo de una piedra y transmutación de ese plomo en plata, con éxito al menos parcial según el informe del propio Moray a la Royal Society

«The antiquary and biographer of Elizabethan adviser, Dr. John Dee, Elias Ashmole published a collection of alchemical manuscripts in 1650, Fasciculus Chemicus, which was written by one Arthur Dee, the son of Dr. John Dee, while serving as a court physician to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Russia.» — según Newman, Elias Ashmole publicó en 1650 el *Fasciculus Chemicus*, colección de manuscritos alquímicos escrita por Arthur Dee, hijo de John Dee, mientras servía de médico de corte al zar Alexéi Mijáilovich

«Two years later, he published his more important work, Theatricum Chemicum Britannicum, an extensively annotated compilation of alchemical poems in the English language, among them being Sir Edward Kelley's Worke Kelley being Dee's personal skryer or seer. We'll return to Dee and Kelley in later chapters.» — la segunda publicación de Ashmole que a Newman le importa: el *Theatricum Chemicum Britannicum* de 1652, compilación anotada de poemas alquímicos ingleses donde figura el *Worke* de Edward Kelley, el vidente de Dee

«Another convergence of Freemasonry with alchemy occurred in the early 1720s, nearly a century after Ashmole and Moray, when French-born British clergyman, John Theophilus Desaguliers (1683-1744), served as the third Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge in London.» — la segunda convergencia que Newman data: los primeros años veinte del siglo XVIII, con John Theophilus Desaguliers como tercer gran maestro de la Gran Logia de Londres

«A Fellow himself, Desaguliers acted as research assistant to Sir Isaac Newton in the Royal Society, each of whom are known to have been alchemically inclined, if not actual practicing alchemists.» — el vínculo que Newman subraya: Desaguliers fue asistente de investigación de Isaac Newton en la Royal Society, y de ambos se sabe que tenían inclinación alquímica, si no práctica

«Moreover, research by Audrey T. Carpenter has uncovered a letter wherein the Duke of Chandos urged Desaguliers to persuade the alchemist, Baron Silburghe, who claimed to have been successful in the transmutation of base metals into gold via quicksilver, into giving up some of his alchemical secrets.» — el segundo apoyo, tomado de la investigación de Audrey T. Carpenter: una carta en que el duque de Chandos urge a Desaguliers a sonsacar sus secretos al barón Silburghe, que decía haber transmutado metales bajos en oro por el mercurio

«At the very least, these associations demonstrate that Desaguliers and Newton, like Ashmole and Moray before them, harbored more than a passing interest in the royal art.» — la conclusión que Newman se permite, deliberadamente mínima: esas asociaciones muestran que Desaguliers y Newton, como Ashmole y Moray antes, tenían más que un interés pasajero por el arte regio

«Prior ro Desaguliers' election as Grand Master, there was no mention of a sprig of acacia anywhere in the rituals of Freemasonry. Rather, the reference was to a sprig of cassia (Cinnamonum cassia), a cinnamon-like plant native to southern China. While possessed of both eugenol and coumarin, a stimulant and sedative, respectively, cassia alone does not qualify as a hallucinogen.» — el hecho ritual sobre el que gira el capítulo: antes de Desaguliers los rituales masónicos no mencionaban acacia sino casia, planta que por sí sola no califica de alucinógeno; el impreso escribe *Prior ro* por *prior to*

«Following Desaguliers' stint as Grand Master, cassia became acacia in virtually every Masonic Lodge in Europe. According to Masonic historian, Dr. David Harrison, Desaguliers was behind that change.» — el cambio y su adjudicación: tras el mandato de Desaguliers la casia pasó a ser acacia en casi toda logia europea, y el historiador masónico David Harrison lo atribuye a él

«Harrison points out in his groundbreaking book, The Genesis of Freemasonry, that, along with fellow clergyman, James Anderson, Desaguliers was instrumental in the development of the Master Mason degree as we have come to know it, bringing with him the curious symbol of the sprig of acacia and, inexplicably and unannounced, adding it to an already colorful mix of Masonic symbols.» — el detalle que Newman toma de *The Genesis of Freemasonry* de Harrison: Desaguliers, junto con James Anderson, fue decisivo en la forma del grado de maestro masón y añadió allí el símbolo de la rama de acacia sin explicación ni anuncio

«As stated above, acacia is a genus of nearly one thousand species of tree, some one hundred of which are known to contain concentrated amounts of the powerful psychedelic compound, DMT.» — la premisa botánica del argumento: la acacia es un género de cerca de mil especies, un centenar de las cuales contienen cantidades concentradas de DMT

«Ayahuasca, also known as yage, depending on the dialect, is a ceremonial beverage prepared by combining DMT-containing plants, such as Psychotria viridis and/or Diplopterys cabrerana, with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor-containing liana, Banisteriopsis cappi. DMT is not normally orally active due to the presence of monoamine oxidase in the gut. However, when combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (or MAOI), it becomes so.» — la explicación farmacológica en que se apoya toda la reconstrucción posterior: el DMT no es activo por vía oral por la monoaminooxidasa del intestino, y sí lo es combinado con un inhibidor de esa enzima

«The effects are profoundly psychedelic and last for up to six hours after drinking. Ayahuasca use was first documented by Spanish Christian missionaries to South America in the sixteenth century and was eloquently described by them as "the work of the devil.» — el dato de recepción que Newman consigna: los misioneros españoles del siglo XVI documentaron el uso de la ayahuasca y lo describieron como obra del diablo

«Yopo, on the other hand, also known as epena, is a ritualistic snuff that is prepared by combining the DMT-rich seeds of the acacia-like Anadenanthera colubrina or Anadenanthera peregrina with calcium carbonate that has been created from the calcinated shells of crustaceans, thereby rendering the snuff absorbable by the mucous membranes in the nasal cavity.» — la preparación del yopo según Newman: semillas ricas en DMT de *Anadenanthera* mezcladas con carbonato de calcio obtenido de conchas calcinadas, para que el rapé se absorba por la mucosa nasal

«Radiocarbon testing of materials recovered at Inca Cueva, a site northwest of Humahuaca in the Puna border of Jujuy Province, Argentina, suggests that the use of yopo seeds as as hallucinogen is over 4,000 years old.» — la datación que Newman aporta: el radiocarbono de materiales de Inca Cueva, en Jujuy, sugiere que el uso de semillas de yopo como alucinógeno tiene más de cuatro mil años

«Amazingly, in a document thought to be in the possession of the Royal Society, yopo was actually documented by none other than Christopher Columbus during his second voyage to the Americas in 1493-1496, where he remarked upon a reddish, cinnamon-colored powder that the natives were in the habit of blowing up one another» — el documento que Newman enlaza con la Royal Society: Cristóbal Colón habría descrito en su segundo viaje un polvo rojizo, color canela, que los nativos se soplaban por las fosas nasales

«In fact, in early 2016, a recipe for the production of the philosophers' stone, taken from the American alchemist,» — el hallazgo con que Newman apuntala el interés alquímico de Newton: en 2016 apareció en una colección privada una receta de la piedra tomada de un alquimista estadounidense; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie y el nombre llega en la plana siguiente

«George Starkey, and written in Newton's own hand, was discovered in a private collection.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: el alquimista es George Starkey y la receta está escrita de puño y letra de Newton

«DMT has been used in a ceremonial context among a» — la premisa etnográfica del argumento, cortada por el pie de plana: el DMT se ha usado en contexto ceremonial entre varios grupos indígenas

«drinking tribes of Amazonia and the yopo-snuffing peoples in the Caribbean.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: las tribus amazónicas que beben ayahuasca y los pueblos caribeños que inhalan yopo; la cita arranca después del guion de fin de renglón de *ayahuasca-drinking*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente

«Sir Robert Moray, the first president of the Royal Society, was the willed recipient of the alchemical library and journals of Welsh alchemist, Thomas Vaughan, aka Eugenius Philalethes, upon the latter's death in 1666.» — según Newman, Robert Moray, primer presidente de la Royal Society, heredó por testamento la biblioteca y los diarios alquímicos de Thomas Vaughan, alias Eugenius Philalethes, a la muerte de éste en 1666

«Although, when its use among the Maypure Indians of Orinoco was first reported by the explorer, A. Von Humboldt, in 1801, he identified the source of the reddish powder as Acacia niopo.» — la divergencia de fuentes que Newman consigna sin armonizar: al reportar el yopo entre los maypure del Orinoco en 1801, Humboldt identificó la fuente del polvo rojizo como *Acacia niopo*, no como *Anadenanthera*

«While ayahuasca is not traditionally prepared from a species of acacia, the latter has certainly been known to have been used in a multitude of inebriating and even entheogenic contexts.» — la reserva con que Newman abre el inventario etnobotánico: la ayahuasca no se prepara tradicionalmente con acacia, pero la acacia sí se conoce en muchos contextos embriagantes y aun enteogénicos

«In Mexico, for example, the roots of Acacia angustifolia are added to pulque, a fermented beverage prepared from the agave cactus. In West Africa, the leaves and bark of Acacia campylacantha are added to dolo, a brew prepared from sorghum, pennisetum, and honey. Dolo is said to impart strength in its drinker and lift the mood.» — primeros ejemplos de ese inventario: en México las raíces de *Acacia angustifolia* se agregan al pulque, y en África occidental hojas y corteza de *Acacia campylacantha* al dolo, cerveza de sorgo, mijo y miel

«In India, Indonesia, and Malaysia can be found Acacia catechu, from which is concocted a substance used as an additive to betel quids. Betel quids are consumed by putting a small ‘quid' in the mouth between the gum and cheek, similar to how chewing tobacco is consumed, and, depending on the mixture, acts as either a stimulant or a sedative.» — segundo tramo del inventario: de *Acacia catechu* se prepara un aditivo para el betel, que según la mezcla actúa como estimulante o sedante

«In India, too, are two more species of acacia (A. nilotica and A. farnesiana) from which are prepared traditional aphrodisiacs and muscle relaxants. In South America, a brew called balche is prepared from the bark of Acacia cornigera.25 And, in Australia, a wide variety of acacia leaves are burned as a sacred and medicinal smoke.» — tercer tramo: afrodisiacos y relajantes musculares de *A. nilotica* y *A. farnesiana* en la India, el balché de *Acacia cornigera* en Sudamérica y el humo sagrado de hojas de acacia en Australia

«Even here in America, ever since the creation of laws surrounding the use of sassafras root (a precursor to MDMA) in foods, the root bark of a species of acacia, albeit not a psychoactive variety, has been a key ingredient in some soft drinks, including the world famous Biloxi, Mississippi-based Barq» — el remate contemporáneo del inventario: desde la regulación del sasafrás, la corteza de raíz de una acacia no psicoactiva es ingrediente de algunos refrescos, entre ellos la cerveza de raíz Barq’s de Biloxi, Mississippi

«So, how exactly did a French-born British clergyman-cum-Newtonian scientist and Masonic Grand Master come to deposit an alien symbol of such entheogenic potency as the sprig of acacia into the already workable initiation rituals of a reformed medieval stonemasons guild? To answer that, we'll first need to turn back toward Elizabethan England, where a pair of daring visionary alchemists were prepared to go to basically any means necessary to elicit intercourse with what they perceived to be angelic, heavenly entities.» — la pregunta con que Newman cierra el capítulo uno y arma el resto del libro: cómo un clérigo newtoniano y gran maestro masón depositó un símbolo de esa potencia enteogénica en los rituales de un gremio medieval reformado; para contestarla remite a la Inglaterra isabelina y a dos alquimistas visionarios

«rom visions of magical beings of light to encounters with trans-dimensional, alien-like spirits, one of the most common experiences reported by users of DMT and other entheogenic compounds is that of contact with what is repeatedly described as angelic entities.» — la observación con que abre el capítulo dos: entre las experiencias más comunes de quienes usan DMT está el contacto con lo que se describe una y otra vez como entidades angélicas; la capitular deja la F suelta en la capa de texto

«All spiritual disciplines describe quite psychedelic accounts of the transformative experiences... [Encounters] with [...] angelic entities [...] and a loving presence underlying all of reality-these experiences cut across all denominations. They also are characteristic of a fully psychedelic DMT experience.» — la cita de Rick Strassman que Newman usa como bisagra: los encuentros con entidades angélicas y con una presencia amorosa atraviesan todas las confesiones y son característicos de una experiencia plena de DMT

«Holy books aside, perhaps the most famous example of angelic close encounters comes from the private diaries of astrologer, alchemist, and occultist, Dr. John Dee, suspected English spy and personal adviser to Queen Elizabeth I.» — la elección del caso: para Newman el ejemplo más célebre de encuentro angélico está en los diarios privados de John Dee

«Though a seasoned astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher, Dee's primary interest was that of discourse with angels. Unable to see or hear the angels himself, Dee was in the habit of employing the aid of a seer or skryer.» — según Newman, el interés primero de Dee era el trato con ángeles, y como no podía verlos ni oírlos recurría a un vidente

«It was in this capacity that, in 1582, Dee hired one, Edward Kelley (aka Edward Talbot), an occultist, alchemist, and suspected charlatan of ill repute that was pilloried before having his ears cropped for the crime of 'coining;' that is, forgery "which involved counterfeiting silver or gold coins with adulterated metals.» — la contratación que abre el episodio: en 1582 Dee toma a Edward Kelley, también llamado Edward Talbot, ocultista y presunto charlatán a quien se le habían cortado las orejas por falsificar moneda

«Where Dee had hired other skryers in the past for the purpose of initiating angelic communication, all to no avail, Kelley was apparently amazingly successful in the endeavor, producing immediate and remarkable results. For the following seven years, until 1589, Dee regularly held intensive séance-like sessions with the angels, Kelley always acting in the capacity of seer.» — el contraste que Newman marca: los videntes anteriores no dieron resultado y Kelley sí, y a partir de ahí Dee sostuvo sesiones con los ángeles durante siete años, hasta 1589

«While it was clearly Dee who benefited most from the two men's relationship and arrangement, it was actually Kelley who sought Dee out. Indeed, at some point before going into Dee's employ, Kelley had come in possession of a strange alchemical manuscript, called The Book of Dunstan, and a small amount of mysterious red powder, identified by Kelley as the magical philosophers' stone of alchemical lore.» — la inversión que Newman propone frente a la lectura corriente: fue Kelley quien buscó a Dee, ya en posesión de un manuscrito alquímico llamado *The Book of Dunstan* y de una pequeña cantidad de polvo rojo que él identificaba con la piedra filosofal

«It was Kelley's suspicion that the manuscript held the key to both the preparation of more of the red powder and how to prepare from said powder an elixir that, "was accessible only to a very few alchemists. Just as molecules of metal are transformed under great increase of temperature, so the emotional elements in human nature undergo an increased intensity of» — la hipótesis que Newman atribuye a Kelley: el manuscrito daría la clave para preparar más polvo rojo y, con él, un elixir; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«vibrations, which transforms them and makes them spiritual. [The] secret of the Philosopher's Stone enabled a man's soul to attain unity with the divine spirit.» — continuación de la misma cita al otro lado del corte: el secreto de la piedra permitiría al alma alcanzar la unidad con el espíritu divino

«And, it was Kelley's sincere but secret hope that Dee, already an accomplished alchemist, might assist him in deciphering the contents of the Dunstan manuscript.» — el motivo que Newman atribuye a Kelley: esperaba en secreto que Dee, alquimista consumado, lo ayudara a descifrar el manuscrito de Dunstan

«Saint Dunstan, who referred to the philosophers' stone as the "food of angels," 29 was renown as a practicing alchemist. And, there is more than one manuscript attributed to his name.» — el dato que ancla la figura: Dunstan llamaba a la piedra filosofal alimento de los ángeles y era reputado alquimista practicante, con más de un manuscrito a su nombre

«Famous for his accomplishments as both a craftsman and a goldsmith, Dunstan was dubbed the saint patron of alchemy in the court of Hermetic sympathizer, Rudolf II the same court wherein Kelley served as private alchemist to the emperor.» — la coincidencia que Newman subraya: Dunstan fue nombrado patrono de la alquimia en la corte de Rodolfo II, la misma en que Kelley sirvió de alquimista privado del emperador

«According to Charles John Samuel Thompson's The Mystery and Romance of Alchemy and Pharmacy (1897), "[St. Dunstan] is said to have been a man of distinguished birth, who in his young days lived a life of great self-indulgence, even for that period of peculiar morality. At length, he was seized with a dangerous illness which threatened to terminate his career; but at the last extremity an angel appeared, bringing a medicine which speedily restored him to health. Hastening to the nearest church to return thanks, he was stopped by the devil with a pack of black dogs, whom however he speedily put to flight. In order to expiate his former irregularities, he now secluded himself in the abbey of Glastonbury, where he occupied a cell in which he could neither stand upright nor stretch his limbs in repose, and mortified his flesh exceedingly. Here he studied alchemy and magic, in which arts he soon became well versed. While in this cell, he is said to have had the most extraordinary visitations, and among others the devil was constantly thrusting his head in at the window and taunting the saint, while immersed in his studies. At length, one day, wearied out, Dunstan lost all patience, and seizing his red-hot tongs from the little furnace in which he conducted his chemical operations, caught the devil by the nose, and held him firmly, while the bellowings of Satan, says the historian, filled the whole neighbourhood for many miles round.» — la vida de Dunstan que Newman cita de *The Mystery and Romance of Alchemy and Pharmacy* de Thompson: el ángel que le trae la medicina, la celda de Glastonbury, el estudio de la alquimia y el diablo agarrado por la nariz con tenazas al rojo

«Ashmole's account even has Kelley acquiring the manuscript and powder from the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, where St. Dunstan served as Archbishop.» — la versión divergente que Newman consigna sin arbitrar: en el relato de Ashmole, Kelley obtiene manuscrito y polvo en las ruinas de la abadía de Glastonbury

«Tis generally reported that Doctor Dee, and Sir Edward Kelly were so strangely fortunate, as to finde a very large quantity of the Elixir in some part of the Ruines of Glastenbury-Abbey, which was so incredibly Rich in vertue [...] that they lost much in making Projection, be way of Tryall; before they found out the true weight of the Medicine.» — la cita de Ashmole: se dice que Dee y Kelly hallaron gran cantidad de elixir en las ruinas de Glastonbury, tan rico en virtud que perdieron mucho al probar la proyección antes de dar con el peso justo

«Kelley waited a year or longer, gaining the good doctor's trust while dazzling him with angelic apocalypses, before he unveiled the red powder and Book of Dunstan before Dee. We know from the latter's diaries of the period that the yarn Kelley spun at the time for Dee, whose ambition to communicate with angelic beings no doubt subdued his skepticism and rendered him naive and gullible, was that he and another man, one John Blokey (or John Husey), had been led to the mysterious objects at Northwick Hill, near Blockley in the Cotswolds, by a "spiritual Creature" (read angel).» — la escena que Newman reconstruye desde los diarios de Dee: Kelley esperó un año o más antes de mostrar el polvo rojo y el libro, y contó que una criatura espiritual los había llevado a los objetos en Northwick Hill

«They had found these items by the direction and leading of some such a spiritual Creature, who then told them to return to Dee for an exposition of the meaning of the scroll, which was written in strange characters. The scroll contained the names of ten places where the Danes had buried treasure in England, the powder was a form of the philosopher's stone, and the book was written by the tenth-century archbishop of Canterbury, St. Dunstan, and contained the secrets of the philosopher» — el relato de Kelley tal como Newman lo cita: el rollo daría diez lugares donde los daneses enterraron tesoro, el polvo sería la piedra filosofal y el libro sería de san Dunstan

«This colorful explanation was no doubt titillating to Dr. Dee. However, it was also most likely a lie. The more probable explanation is that Kelley acquired the powder and manuscript from an innkeeper while traveling through Wales.» — el juicio que Newman emite sobre ese relato: le parece muy probablemente una mentira, y da por más plausible que Kelley comprara polvo y manuscrito a un posadero en Gales

«One night, the innkeeper brought out a tattered old book. He was accustomed to showing his customers, as a curiosity, an unintelligible old manuscript. He showed it to Kelly, who was quite well aware of the profit sometimes to be derived from old papers, and inquired the origin of the manuscript. It appeared that a few years before, during the religious wars, some Protestant soldiers had rifled the grave of a Catholic bishop, who, during his lifetime, had been a very rich man. In the grave they found this manuscript and two ivory balls, one red and the other white. [...] Even as the innkeeper was showing Kelly the manuscript, his children were playing with the» — la versión del posadero que Newman reproduce: unos soldados protestantes habrían saqueado la tumba de un obispo católico rico y hallado allí el manuscrito y dos bolas de marfil, una roja y otra blanca

«As the story goes, thinking the ivory balls worthless, one of the soldiers tossed the white ivory ball aside, thereby breaking it on the hard ground to reveal a strange white powder contained inside that, what wasn't blown away by the ensuing wind, was completely lost to the moist soil. Seeing this, the unnamed soldier thought it better to take the red ball of ivory back with him and see if he might sell it in town. It was in this manner that the innkeeper came to be in its possession, who then sold the relics to Kelley.» — el desenlace de esa versión: la bola blanca se rompió y su polvo se perdió con el viento y la tierra húmeda, y la roja llegó por venta al posadero y de ahí a Kelley

«As to the composition of these mysterious red and white powders, with what must have been a remarkable flash of insight into these mysteries - for, he did not cite his source(s) in this case - the Swiss psychiatrist, C.G. Jung, declared, "Originally [the white powder] was 'gum arabic... Thus [Heinrich] Khunrath declares that the 'red' gum is the resin of the wise' - a synonym for the transforming substance.» — la identificación que Newman toma de Jung, señalando expresamente que Jung no cita su fuente: el polvo blanco era goma arábiga, y Khunrath llama a la goma roja resina de los sabios

«Gum Arabic, otherwise known as acacia gum, is produced from the saps of a number of acacia species, most predominantly, Acacia senegal and Acacia nilotica, both of which are known carriers of dimethyltryptamine. DMT, on the other hand, is found within the crimson-purple inner root bark of various species of acacia. The one is produced from one part of the tree, the other, from another. Insofar as most authorities on alchemy agree that both the white and the red powders originate from one and the same prima materia, it should be obvious what that matter must be.» — el paso decisivo del argumento: la goma arábiga sale de la savia de acacias que también contienen DMT, y el DMT de la corteza interior de la raíz; si ambos polvos vienen de una misma prima materia, para Newman esa materia es la acacia

«Do not be fooled, gentle reader, by the use of the term 'gum' here. As anyone who has dabbled in incense-making knows well, gum arabic is regularly sold in a white powder form - just as DMT (also often found as a white powder), when crudely extracted from acacia, is commonly found instead in the form of a reddish orange-pink goo or 'gum. In fact, when he first encountered actual DMT crystals, the psychedelic philosopher, Terence McKenna, in his rap, Alien Dreamtime, reported that the tryptamine stone resembled "orange mothballs.» — la aclaración con que sale al paso de una objeción previsible: la goma arábiga se vende en polvo blanco y el DMT extraído en crudo aparece como una goma rojiza, y McKenna describió los cristales como bolas de naftalina anaranjadas

«If, as Jung suggests, the white powder does indeed answer to gum arabic, it is perhaps clear then that the red powder, identified by Khunrath as “red gum" or the "resin of the wise,” must correspond to the ruddy, DMT-rich layer of bark inside the roots of Acacia senegal, Acacia nilotica, and other related species that produce both gum arabic and DMT.» — la conclusión condicionada que Newman escribe con su propio *si*: si el polvo blanco es goma arábiga, el rojo tendría que ser la capa rica en DMT de la corteza de raíz de *Acacia senegal*, *nilotica* y afines

«The notion of two mystical substances being produced from a single tree isn't without precedent. Consider, for example, the mythical tree of» — el precedente que Newman invoca para la idea de dos sustancias místicas salidas de un solo árbol: el árbol del Edén

«As Mark Hoffman observes in his paper, Conjuring Eden: the Entheogenic Vision of Paradise, Art and "The Tree' (Hebrew ETZ), in fact, is not translated by the ordinary words for 'tree' in Greek (dendron) and Latin (arbor) but literally by 'wood' (xylon, lignum), stick, timber, and only secondarily a living» — el apoyo filológico que Newman toma de Mark Hoffman: el hebreo ETZ no se traduce por los términos griegos y latinos de árbol sino literalmente por madera, palo, leño, y solo en segundo término por árbol vivo

«The "wood" of life and the "wood" of the knowledge of good and evil could therefore theoretically have both come from one and the same tree. Similarly, the Hebrew word usually translated as “fruit” (PRI) could just as well imply a ‘product, i.e., a substance 'produced' from 'wood. Moreover, like vegetable starches, gum arabic serves to this day as a foodstuff in many parts of the world and may actually sustain the human body for extended periods. In that respect, gum arabic is a veritable 'product' of the 'wood' that gives life. DMT, however, is 'produced' from the 'wood' which imparts knowledge; that is, it's found in a different part of the acacia altogether: the roots.» — la lectura que Newman deriva de ahí: las dos maderas podrían venir de un mismo árbol, la goma arábiga como producto que alimenta y el DMT, sacado de otra parte de la acacia, como el que imparte conocimiento

«Coincidentally, in his Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro actually identifies the biblical tree of Eden as a species of» — el dato que Newman presenta como coincidencia: en el rito egipcio de Cagliostro el árbol del Edén se identifica con una especie de acacia

«What Cagliostro here describes is nothing short of the entheogenic potential of acacia wood. We'll hear more from Cagliostro in a later chapter.» — la lectura que Newman hace de esa fórmula: describiría el potencial enteogénico de la madera de acacia

«Before taking his vows as a Benedictine monk, Dunstan had been accused of all manner of heresy, including the practice of sorcery» — el retrato de Dunstan que Newman traza antes de sus votos benedictinos: acusado de toda suerte de herejía, incluida la hechicería; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«and pagan magic. In spite of these accusations, Dunstan would go on to enjoy a career as the Archbishop of Glastonbury. He was apparently also prone to both licentiousness and hallucinatory visions.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: pese a esas acusaciones Dunstan llegó a arzobispo de Glastonbury, y era propenso a la licencia y a visiones alucinatorias

«"The acacia is the primal matter [...] My child, you are receiving the primal matter [...] Learn that the Great God created before man this primal matter and that he then created man to possess it and be immortal. Man abused it and lost it, but it still exists in the hands of the Elect of God and from a single grain of this precious matter becomes a projection into infinity.» — la fórmula ritual de Cagliostro que Newman cita: la acacia es la materia primera, creada antes que el hombre, perdida por su abuso y conservada en manos de los elegidos de Dios

«Kelley provides us with yet a further clue regarding the nature of this red powder in his poem, Metrical Treatise on Alchemy. Chiding the pseudo-alchemists and puffers for their inadequate learning in the royal art, Kelley ironically instructs his reader to "Go burne your Bookes and come and learn of me.» — la pista adicional que Newman busca en el propio Kelley: su *Metrical Treatise on Alchemy*, donde ridiculiza a los sopladores y les manda quemar sus libros

«All you that faine philosophers would be, And night and day in Geber's kitchen broyle, Wasting the chips of ancient Hermes' Tree, Weening to turn them to a precious oyle, The more you work the more you loose and spoile; To you, I say, how learned soever you be, Go burne your Bookes and come and learn of» — los versos de Kelley citados enteros: los que se dicen filósofos gastan las astillas del árbol de Hermes creyendo volverlas aceite precioso, y cuanto más trabajan más pierden

«Kelley's smug arrogance aside, one cannot help but wonder as to which "Tree" and to what "precious oyle" prepared therefrom our alchemist-cum-skryer may be referring.» — la pregunta con que Newman convierte esos versos en indicio: de qué árbol y de qué aceite precioso estaría hablando Kelley

«We know that psychoactive compounds truly did play a rather significant role in both alchemy and in Dee's séances. As Bennett observes in his magnum opus, Liber 420: Cannabis, Magickal Herbs and the Occult,» — la afirmación con que Newman pasa de la conjetura al dato, apoyada en *Liber 420* de Chris Bennett: los compuestos psicoactivos tuvieron papel en la alquimia y en las sesiones de Dee

«In Dee's own accounts of his invocations, or 'Actions' as he referred to them, there are numerous references to smoke, indicating the possibility of some sort of fumigation, as well as references to the use of potions and ointments. [...] In Dee's record of these Actions, we read how 'smoke filled the place' and an invoked entity states, I smell the smoke: proceed Syr, in your purpose' and these could indicate sufumigation. Other references indicate some sort of elixir in use... 'taste of this potion yay the savour onely of the vessel worketh most extremely agaynst the maymed drowsiness of ignorance. Yf the hand be heavy, how weight and ponderous shall the whole world be?» — el pasaje de Bennett que Newman reproduce: en los registros de las Acciones hay referencias reiteradas al humo —que apuntarían a sufumigación— y a pociones y ungüentos, incluida la entidad que dice oler el humo

«In one account from John Dee's Actions With Spirits, (1581-1583) there is a lament about the lack of drugs for an operation, and with the use of ointments in their place: I haue forgotten all my druggs behind me. But since I know that some of you are well stored with sufficient oyntments, I do intend to visit you onely with theyr help. You see, all my boxes are empty? [Edward Kelly] he showeth a great bundell of empty [apothecary] boxes.' This brings a response from the figure invoked: How cometh it, you pretend to come j for a favorable diuine power and all your boxes are empty.' The exchange over the lack of drugs also indicates that drugs were not an unusual part of these skrying sessions, as Kelley says he forgot' them, as if he usually had them.» — el pasaje que Bennett aporta y Newman hace suyo: en una Acción de 1581-1583 Dee lamenta haber olvidado sus drogas y Kelley muestra las cajas de botica vacías, lo que para el argumento indica que las drogas no eran raras en esas sesiones

«"Ointments" may be a reference to the purported flying unguents or witches' salves allegedly in use in fifteenth and sixteenth-century England, many of which professed to contain mandrake, deadly nightshade, jimson weed, henbane, and even monkshood and foxglove.» — la identificación que Newman propone para los ungüentos: los llamados unguentos voladores o ungüentos de bruja, con mandrágora, belladona, estramonio, beleño, acónito y dedalera

«Remarkably, that Dee and Kelley habitually employed the use of drugs during their "Actions" has been picked up on by a number of authors, including Ben Johnson, author of The Alchemist (1610), a satirical play which makes a number of references to Dee's use of elixirs, potions, drugs, and a “sacred medicine” that “will work some strange effect, if he but feel it,» — la serie de autores que, según Newman, recogieron el uso de drogas por Dee y Kelley, empezando por *The Alchemist* de Ben Johnson (1610) y su medicina sagrada de efecto extraño; el impreso escribe *Ben Johnson*

«M. Kineholz, an ex-police officer who, in Opium Traders and Their Worlds, Vol.1 (2008), connects Dee and Kelley with a narcotic incense composed of “olibanum, storax, dictamus, opium, and hashish,» — segunda de esas voces: M. Kineholz, expolicía, vincula a Dee y Kelley con un incienso narcótico de olíbano, estoraque, díctamo, opio y hachís

«and most importantly, Gustav Meyrink, author of Der Golem (The Golem, 1914), a novel that makes "cloaked references to psychoactive drugs, in the language of alchemy,» — la voz que a Newman más le importa: Gustav Meyrink, cuyo *Der Golem* haría referencias encubiertas a drogas psicoactivas en lenguaje alquímico

«and especially Der Engel vom westlichen Fenster (The Angel of the West Window, 1927), which tells the tale of a delusional man who, after inheriting a cache of Dee's papers from a relative, comes to believe that he is in fact a reincarnation of the Elizabethan magus. Acting on this grandiose psychological inflation, the protagonist of the story pursues initiation at the hands of an adept who presents our hero with a familiar red ivory sphere containing "flaky purple granules” and a “grayish-red powder.» — la novela de Meyrink de 1927 que Newman resume: el protagonista se cree reencarnación del mago isabelino y un adepto le entrega una esfera de marfil rojo con gránulos púrpura y un polvo gris rojizo

«Meyrink referred to two alchemical drugs. They are kept in 'two small ivory spheres, the one red and the other white' [...] The colour coding referenced the red king and white queen, or sun and moon, of the alchemical wedding. The white sphere and its powder do not play a role in the novel. The 'red ivory sphere' contains the royal powder,' the 'Red lion, which consists of flaky purple granules' [...] It can be used to transform base metals into gold [...] but when it is prepared as an incense [...] it has a psychoactive effect. 'Inhaling the red smoke' enables them to step out' of their bodies and cross the threshold of death; there, through marriage with their female 'other half, which in their earthly existence almost always remains hidden, they acquire unimaginable magical powers such as personal immortality as the wheel of birth comes to a standstill; in short they achieve a kind of divine status which is denied other mortals as long as they are ignorant of the secret of the» — la lectura de Dan Merkur que Newman reproduce: las dos esferas de marfil codifican al rey rojo y la reina blanca, y el polvo rojo, quemado como incienso, tendría efecto psicoactivo y permitiría salir del cuerpo

«If nothing else, what all of these fictionalized accounts indicate is a long-standing tradition directly associating Dee and Kelley with the use of what Aleister Crowley, an English magician who, interestingly, not unlike Meyrink's hero, claimed to be the reincarnation of both Kelley and Cagliostro, called "strange drugs."» — la conclusión medida que Newman saca de ese material: los relatos ficcionalizados indican una tradición de larga data que asocia a Dee y Kelley con lo que Crowley llamaba drogas extrañas, y de paso consigna que Crowley se decía reencarnación de Kelley y de Cagliostro

«To make matters worse, not long after the two men shared partners, the aged Dee's young wife became pregnant. As Dee was sixty at the time and Kelley was only thirty-two, it doesn't take much to determine that the likely father of the child was Sir Edward.» — la inferencia que Newman deja explícita: al quedar encinta la joven esposa de Dee, de sesenta años, frente a un Kelley de treinta y dos, el padre probable sería Kelley

«Kelley would eventually go on to be the court alchemist for Emperor Rudolf II, who knighted him "Sir Edward Kelley of Imany and New Luben” on Feb. 23, 1590. But, failing to produce alchemical gold for the emperor, Kelley was imprisoned and, attempting to escape, fell from a high window to his demise.» — el final de Kelley que Newman consigna: alquimista de corte de Rodolfo II, armado caballero en febrero de 1590, encarcelado por no producir oro y muerto al caer de una ventana en un intento de fuga

«We leave the reader with a haunting excerpt from Meyrink's novel, Der Engel vom westlichen Fenster (The Angel of the West Window, 1927), which finely illustrates the smoky, narcotic air that surrounded the angelic activities of Dee and Kelley.» — la razón por la que Newman cierra el capítulo con la novela: le sirve para ilustrar el aire narcótico y humoso que rodeaba las actividades angélicas de Dee y Kelley

«Without further ado he handed me the red sphere. After a brief search I soon found where the two halves were screwed together. - Was this not one of the spheres of John Dee and his apothecary, Kelley? - The sphere opened up: in the hollow was a greyish-red powder, about enough to fill a walnut shell. [I] took the onyx bowl I use as an ashtray [and] poured some spirit from the scaling-lamp [...] into the bowl, lit it, took the half of the red sphere with the powder and poured it onto the flame. Soon the alcohol had burnt off. Slowly the remains in the bowl began to glow and smoulder. A cloud of greenish-blue smoke formed and rose curling up» — primera parte del pasaje de Meyrink que Newman cita: la esfera roja se abre, el polvo gris rojizo se echa sobre el alcohol encendido y da un humo verdiazul; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«from the onyx bowl. [The adept] or the devil in person or whoever it was - grasped me from behind by the hair with irresistible force and forced my face down into the onyx bowl and the incense rising from the red powder. A bitter-sweet aroma rose through my nostrils, and I was in the grip of an indescribable trepidation, I was wracked by death throes of such long-lasting, excruciating violence that I felt the mortal terror of whole generations flow through my soul in an unceasing, icy stream. Then my consciousness was obliterated.» — segunda parte: el adepto le hunde la cara en el humo, sobreviene un aroma agridulce y una angustia indescriptible hasta que se le borra la consciencia

«I have retained almost nothing of what I experienced 'on the other side.' And I think I am justified in adding 'Thank God!, for the torn-off scraps of memory which swirl through my dreams like leaves in a storm are so steeped in horror that it seems a blessing not to be able to understand them in detail. All I have is a vague, dark memory of having seen and passed through worlds such as those Frau Fromm described when she spoke of the depths of the sea steeped in a dull greenish glow where she claims she met Black Isis. I, too, met something awful there. I was fleeing, terrified, from - I think it was from black cats with gleaming eyes and gaping mouths shining white; my God, how can one describe half» — tercera parte: el narrador dice no retener casi nada del otro lado, y agradece no entender en detalle los jirones de memoria

«And as I was fleeing, numb with nameless terrors one last saving thought surfaced: If only you could reach the tree! If only you could reach the Mother, the Mother [...] of the red and blue circle is that it? you would be saved.' I believe I saw the Baphomet in the distance, high above glassy mountains, beyond impassable swamps and painful hazards. I saw Elizabeth, the Mother waving to me from the tree I cannot remember what the gesture signified, but at the sight of her my racing heart was gradually soothed and the numbness left me. I woke feeling I had spent hundreds of years in the green depths.» — cuarta parte: la huida termina con el árbol y la Madre, y una visión lejana del Baphomet sobre montañas vidriosas

«Three minutes. That is sufficient,' said [the adept] in a tone, his features haggard, as he put his watch into his waistcoat pocket. I will never forget the puzzlingly disappointed expression on his face as he said to me: 'So the Devil didn't take you, after all. That indicates a sound constitution.. Congratulations, anyway. I think from now on you will be able to use this coal with a certain degree of success. It is charged, that I have been able to establish.' I bombarded him with questions about what had happened to me. It was clear I had been through one of the hallucinatory experiences that have always played an important role in supposed magic practice.» — cierre del pasaje: para el adepto solo pasaron tres minutos, y el narrador concluye que había atravesado una de las experiencias alucinatorias que siempre tuvieron papel en la supuesta práctica mágica

«Kelley and Dee finally parted company when, according to Kelley, the archangel Uriel, during one of Dee and Kelley» — la ruptura según Newman: Kelley dijo que el arcángel Uriel intervino durante una de las Acciones; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *drug-fueled*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente

«instructed the two men to share all of their possessions their wives included. After much protest, Dee finally conceded. However, the adultery proving too much for the pious Dee, shortly thereafter he closed their sessions permanently.» — continuación: el mandato era compartir todas sus posesiones, esposas incluidas, y tras ceder Dee el adulterio le resultó excesivo y cerró las sesiones para siempre

«In Strasbourg, in the seventeenth century, was published a famous collection of alchemical treatises, Theatrum Chemicum, which contained a famous prophecy from the Swiss physician and alchemist, Paracelsus» — la fuente de la profecía con que abre el capítulo tres: un *Theatrum Chemicum* estrasburgués del siglo XVII, que Newman distingue expresamente del *Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum* de Ashmole

«God will permit a discovery of the highest importance to be made; it must be hidden till the advent of Elias Artista. There are still many [...] arcana which exhibit transmutations, though they are known to few. And although these may by the Lord God be made manifest to anyone, still, the rumour of this Art does not on that account at once break forth, but the Almighty gives therewith the understanding how to conceal these and other like arts even to the coming of Elias Artista, at which time there shall be nothing so occult that it shall not be revealed.» — la profecía de Paracelso que Newman cita: un descubrimiento de la mayor importancia quedará oculto hasta la venida de Elías Artista, cuando nada habrá tan oculto que no se revele

«The Welsh alchemist, Thomas Vaughan, who published a copy of the Rosicrucian manifestos in 1652, echoed Paracelsus when he reiterated, "The entire Universe is to be transmuted and transfigured by the science of this [Elias the] Artist into the pure mystical gold of the Spiritual City of God...» — el eco que Newman recoge en Thomas Vaughan, editor de los manifiestos rosacruces en 1652: el universo entero sería transmutado por la ciencia de ese artista en el oro místico de la ciudad espiritual de Dios

«The most famous perhaps being Francis Bacon, many men have been proposed - and proposed themselves as the coming "Elias the Artist." One such who thought himself the answer to the prophecy was French Cabbalist and astronomer, Guillaume Postel.» — la serie de candidatos que Newman enumera para el papel de Elías Artista, con Francis Bacon como el más célebre y Guillaume Postel entre quienes se postularon a sí mismos

«Something of a Gnostic theosopher, Postel was wholly devoted to a fifty-year-old Viennese woman, known as Madre Zuana or Mother Johanna, whom he had met as her confessor and believed her to be the "new Eve," an avatar of the Christian goddess-like figure, Sophia. After hearing of her many remarkable visions, Postel became convinced that Madre Zuana was a powerful prophetess and that he, Paracelsus' prophesied "Elias Artista," was her spiritual son.» — el episodio que Newman reconstruye: Postel tuvo por nueva Eva y avatar de Sofía a la vienesa Madre Juana, se convenció de que era profetisa y de que él, el Elías Artista de Paracelso, era su hijo espiritual

«She asked Postel to be her spiritual director and father - and her son, while she was in turn his holy mother. She was for Postel the holy Virgin and the holy Shekhinah; she, he says, the angelic pope. She is the moon who reflects the sun; she foretells the restitution of all things.» — la cita que Newman toma de Arthur Versluis para esa relación: ella era para Postel la santa Virgen y la Shekhinah, la papisa angélica, la luna que refleja al sol

«Postel's corresponding doctrine of the "new Eve" - that "the Virgin [the new Eve] must be of the substance of Christ [the new Adam], since the old Eve came from the old Adam" - would be highly influential on the ideas of a formative Jakob Böhme, who was to be responsible for reintroducing a form of Postel's teachings back into European countries.» — la línea de influencia que Newman traza: la doctrina postelina de la nueva Eva pesaría sobre el joven Jakob Böhme, que reintrodujo esas enseñanzas en Europa

«More significant, perchance, is the fact that, while he was being educated on the continent, Guillaume Postel was mentor to none other than a young John Dee. Like Böhme, Dee would be instrumental in transmitting Postel's revelations. Jason Louv, author of John Dee and the Empire of Angels: Enochian Magick and the Occult Roots of the Modern World, notes, "Postel is centrally important to the development of» — el dato que a Newman le parece más significativo: Postel fue mentor del joven John Dee, que como Böhme resultó decisivo en la transmisión de sus revelaciones; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«Dee's thought in that he gave the younger man a why. [...] Postel initiated Dee into his grand eschatology. Postel believed himself to be 'Elias Artista, the alchemical messiah, a mythological figure central to the beliefs of natural philosophers during the Renaissance [...] As such, Postel was the proponent of a new, universalist religion that would unite the warring religious factions of Christendom, as well as Judaism and Islam, in a single Hermetic whole based upon the Gospel and the uniting force of love.» — la lectura de Jason Louv que Newman reproduce: Postel dio a Dee un porqué e iniciándolo en su escatología, la de una religión universalista que uniera cristianismo, judaísmo e islam en un todo hermético fundado en el evangelio y el amor

«Postel's ideas would live on in his student John Dee, who sought their universal key in his Monas Hieroglyphica. They would be echoed in his angelic conversations in the 1580s [...] The seed was planted by Postel, but it would take three decades to bear fruit in the work of his most brilliant student.» — continuación de la cita de Louv: las ideas de Postel siguieron en Dee, que buscó su clave universal en la *Monas Hieroglyphica*, y se hicieron eco en las conversaciones angélicas de la década de 1580

«Although Postel's seed ideas may have bore fruit in the work of John Dee, it would be another Elias altogether who might reap the benefit of those fruits: the Lichfield-born Elias Ashmole.» — el giro con que Newman pasa a su siguiente eslabón: los frutos de Postel en Dee los cosecharía otro Elías, el nacido en Lichfield, Elias Ashmole

«Also from Lichfield was the unnamed "canon" who gave one Thomas Dalton, said to have "possessed a larger quantity of the Red Medicine than has ever been obtained by any other Englishman," his red powder» — la nota al pie con que Newman refuerza la coincidencia de Lichfield: de ahí era también el canónigo anónimo que dio su polvo rojo a Thomas Dalton, de quien el *Ordinal of Alchemy* de Thomas Norton dice que tuvo más medicina roja que ningún otro inglés

«In his book, The Magus of Freemasonry: The Mysterious Life of Elias Ashmole - Scientist, Alchemist, and Founder of the Royal Society, Honorary Fellow of Exeter University, Tobias Churton, citing the events surrounding Ashmole's christening, entertained the notion that Ashmole himself answered to Paracelsus' prophecy of the coming "Elias Artista." Reportedly inspired from “on high," at Ashmole's christening, which occurred at the church of St. Mary the Virgin, upon being asked by the rector what the infant's name should be, the boy's yeoman godfather, Thomas Ottey, who served as sacrist of the cathedral, uncontrollably and abruptly blurted out the name, "Elias!"» — la conjetura que Newman toma de Tobias Churton: por el episodio del bautizo, en que el padrino Thomas Ottey soltó de golpe el nombre Elías, Ashmole mismo respondería a la profecía paracelsiana

«Godfather Ottey's utterance came as no less a surprise to him as it did to the baptismal assembly; Ashmole later described the phenomenon as ‘a more than ordinary impulse of the Spirit.» — la cita de Churton: el propio Ashmole describió después el episodio como un impulso del espíritu más que ordinario

«If Thomas Ottey was unaware as to why he should be the sponsor of the boy child's new name," Churton writes, "Elias himself would come to understand the import of his name very well." Just as C.H. Josten wrote of Elias Artista, Ashmole would go on to become “a great alchemist who would reform and renew the world by his art.» — el remate de Churton, con el paralelo que aporta C. H. Josten: Ashmole llegaría a ser el gran alquimista que reformaría y renovaría el mundo por su arte

«While he himself was not known to have been a practicing, operative alchemist, Ashmole was certainly an alchemical enthusiast. And, he believed that alchemy was the key to Kelley's discourse with angelic spirits.» — la matización que Newman introduce sobre Ashmole: no consta que fuera alquimista operativo, sino entusiasta, y tenía la alquimia por clave del trato de Kelley con los espíritus angélicos

«The former work was written by John Dee's only surviving son, Arthur Dee, who became an accomplished alchemist in his own right. As a young boy, Arthur recalled being present at one of Kelley's demonstrations of the stone, which no doubt made a lasting impression.» — el detalle biográfico que Newman añade sobre el *Fasciculus Chemicus*: lo escribió Arthur Dee, único hijo superviviente de John Dee, que de niño estuvo presente en una demostración de la piedra por Kelley

«The second title, an extensively annotated compilation of alchemical poems in the English language, contains another tract connected to Dee, labeled Sir Edward Kelley's Worke. As we saw in the previous chapter, Sir Edward Kelley's "Worke” likely involved the production of plant alkaloids.» — la lectura que Newman propone del *Worke* de Kelley recogido en el *Theatricum Chemicum Britannicum*: habría consistido en la producción de alcaloides vegetales

«Not surprisingly, in The Origins of Tantra, Drugs and Western Occultism (1990), O.T.O. ritual discloser, Francis King, said of Theatricum Chemicum Britannicum: "I think [Ashmole refers] to processes designed to extract hallucinogens from plant [...] substances." He may be correct.» — el apoyo que Newman busca en Francis King, divulgador de los rituales de la O.T.O.: la compilación de Ashmole remitiría a procesos para extraer alucinógenos de sustancias vegetales, y Newman se limita a decir que puede tener razón

«For the present, it is sufficient to point out that, in the 'Prolegomena' of Theatrum Chemicum Brittanicum, Ashmole writes of the "Angelicall Stone,"» — el paso al término que da nombre al libro: en los prolegómenos del *Theatrum Chemicum Brittanicum* Ashmole escribe de la piedra angélica

«As we shall see, this belief, that "the Angelicall Stone [...] affords the Apprition of Angells, and gives a power of conversing with them," would make a significant impact on the interests and activities of Robert Boyle and the Royal Society.» — la consecuencia que Newman anuncia: esa creencia habría pesado en los intereses de Robert Boyle y de la Royal Society

«Theatricum Chemicum Britannicum also contains a work by the alchemist and astrologer, William Backhouse (1593-1662), entitled The Magistry. Backhouse would eventually go on, in 1651, to adopt Ashmole as his spiritual heir, serving as his alchemical initiator and mentor until Backhouse's death in 1662.» — el eslabón siguiente de la cadena: William Backhouse, autor de *The Magistry* en la misma compilación, adoptó a Ashmole en 1651 como heredero espiritual y fue su iniciador alquímico hasta su muerte

«1653, Ashmole recorded in his diary that his spiritual father was "lying sick in Fleetstreete over at: St. Dunstan's Church, & not knowing whether he should live or dye." Believing himself to be on his deathbed, Ashmole recorded that Backhouse was moved to reveal to him, "in Silables," the secret of the true philosophers» — el episodio del lecho de muerte: en mayo de 1653 Ashmole anotó que Backhouse, creyéndose moribundo en Fleet Street, se movió a revelarle por sílabas el secreto de la piedra

«While Ashmole left no indication in his writings of what this revelation may have consisted, the location at which it was given may provide a clue. For, it was St. Dunstan, in whose church an ill Backhouse lay, whose book Kelley acquired along with his strange, tawny powder.» — la pista que Newman construye a falta de contenido: Ashmole no dejó dicho en qué consistía la revelación, pero la iglesia donde yacía Backhouse era la de san Dunstan, el santo cuyo libro adquirió Kelley

«Did Backhouse reveal to Ashmole the true identity of Sir Edward Kelley's angelic powder? How could he have known? Well, according to Arthur Versluis, a Professor and Department Chair of Religious Studies in the College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University, "Backhouse's father, Samuel, had had connections with John Dee and Edward Kelley.» — la pregunta que Newman se hace y la respuesta parcial que toma de Arthur Versluis: el padre de Backhouse, Samuel, tuvo conexiones con Dee y Kelley

«That said, one wonders if Backhouse's deathbed episode was not orchestrated for the benefit of Ashmole as some sort of alchemical initiation.» — la duda que Newman deja abierta: si el episodio del lecho de muerte no habría sido montado como iniciación alquímica para Ashmole

«The motif of a dying alchemist imparting the secret of the philosophers' stone to an unwitting student is not without precedent in the literature. William Godwin's 1799 novella, St. Leon: A Tale of the Sixteenth Century, for instance, tells the narrative of one, Count Reginald de St. Leon, a wealthy French aristocrat, who one day happens upon an expiring stranger - presumably a Rosicrucian alchemist that imparts to - him the secret of the alchemists' famed elixir vitae.» — el motivo literario con que lo contrasta: en la novela *St. Leon* de William Godwin, de 1799, un moribundo presumiblemente rosacruz transmite el secreto del elixir de la vida

«Similarly, in William Hardison Ainsworth's Faustian novel, Auriol: or, The Elixir of Life, published in 1844, a sixteenth-century character, named Auriol Darcy, is injured and taken to the house of his grandfather, one "Dr. Lamb." An alchemist on the precipice of discovering the elixir vitae, Dr. Lamb begins to seize uncontrollably and suddenly dies. His grandson, Auriol, seeing this opportunity, thoughtlessly and foolishly drinks the magical potion. This act results in a psychotic break with reality that leaves the protagonist living out his days in an insane asylum.» — el segundo ejemplo, tomado de la novela *Auriol* de Ainsworth, de 1844: el nieto bebe la poción del alquimista muerto y acaba sus días en un manicomio

«As we'll learn in the following chapter, the motif of an adept seizing and expiring before having the stone taken by a lesser appears also in the account of Wenzel Seyler, an Augustinian monk who is said to have lifted an alchemical "red powder" off a dying friar.» — el puente que Newman tiende del motivo literario al relato histórico: el mismo esquema aparece en la historia de Wenzel Seyler, monje agustino que habría tomado un polvo rojo de un fraile agonizante

«In 1672, Ashmole was finally able to acquire Dee's personal diaries from a London confectioner, called "Mr. Jones." Discovered in a secret drawer in the bottom of an old chest, Jones' maid is said to have used no less than seven of the pages as kindling for the hearth before her employer realized their value.» — la peripecia de los diarios de Dee según Newman: Ashmole los consiguió en 1672 de un confitero londinense, hallados en un cajón secreto, después de que la criada quemara siete hojas

«Even so, in the four years between 1672 and 1676, Ashmole furiously began translating and working practically with what remained of Dee's complex system of angel magic. Of these experiments, Louv relates, our prophesied "Artist" indeed recorded some success in making things "go bump in the night.» — lo que Newman consigna de esos cuatro años, citando a Louv: Ashmole tradujo y trabajó prácticamente con el sistema de magia angélica de Dee y registró algún éxito

«As Dee's biographer, Ashmole was responsible for relaying the story of Kelley's red powder to Robert Boyle, his Fellow in the Royal Society, which substance the pair believed was behind Dee and Kelley's miraculous angelic visions. Boyle, as we shall see, was already preoccupied with an alchemical "red powder." It is therefore to the proto-chemist, Robert Boyle, and to the Royal Society which he founded, that we now turn.» — el enlace con el capítulo siguiente: como biógrafo de Dee, Ashmole habría transmitido a Robert Boyle la historia del polvo rojo de Kelley, sustancia que ambos tenían por causa de las visiones angélicas

«P.D. Newman "the Angelicall Stone [...] affords the Apprition of Angells, and gives a power of conversing with them, by Dreams and Revelations: nor dare any. Evill Spirit approach the Place where it lodgeth.» — la definición de Ashmole que Newman cita entera al abrir la plana: la piedra angélica procura la aparición de ángeles y el poder de conversar con ellos por sueños y revelaciones, y ningún espíritu maligno osa acercarse al lugar donde se aloja; el impreso da *Apprition* por *Apparition* y el encabezado corrido queda pegado al arranque de la cita

«obert Boyle is often recalled today as the father of modern chemistry. In addition to his earth-moving theory that elements constituted "perfectly unmingled bodies" which were constantly colliding and in motion, Boyle is perhaps best» — la presentación de Boyle con que abre el capítulo cuatro: padre de la química moderna y autor de la teoría de los cuerpos perfectamente no mezclados; la capitular deja la R suelta en la capa de texto

«known for Boyle's Law, a physical law describing the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas when the temperature is kept constant in a closed system. A founder of the Royal Society, which was created for the purpose of promoting the scientific method, Boyle was elected a Fellow in 1663 and was eventually elected its President in 1680 - although he declined the position.» — los datos institucionales que Newman repone: la ley de Boyle, la fundación de la Royal Society, su elección como Fellow en 1663 y la presidencia de 1680, que declinó

«However, what Boyle is not remembered for is his fascination with and pursuit of "incorporeal spirits" and "hallucinogenic drugs." Indeed, it would appear that, after Ashmole presented Kelley's tale, the entire Society became fascinated with psychoactives.» — el giro del capítulo: lo que no se recuerda de Boyle, dice Newman, es su interés por los espíritus incorpóreos y las drogas alucinógenas, y sostiene que la sociedad entera se interesó en los psicoactivos tras el relato de Ashmole

«For example, in 2010, the Royal Society put on display a list of items Boyle wanted to acquire for the society to study. To our surprise, among those items were listed:» — el documento que Newman aporta: en 2010 la Royal Society expuso una lista de objetos que Boyle quería adquirir para su estudio

«Potent Druggs to alter or Exalt Imagination [...] procure innocent sleep [and] Pleasing Dreams [...] exemplify'd by the Egyptian Electuary and by the Fungus mentioned by the French Author hallucinogenic drugs.» — la entrada de esa lista que Newman cita: drogas potentes para alterar o exaltar la imaginación y procurar sueño inocente y sueños placenteros, ejemplificadas por el electuario egipcio y el hongo del autor francés

«Chris Bennett explains, "[Egyptian Electuary is] a likely reference to Egyptian hashish electuaries such as majoon or dawamesk. The [...] Fungus mentioned by the French Author' may allude to a reference to an agaric mushroom in a possible entheogenic context recorded by Rabelais [...] 'Agaric' is a species of mushroom that includes known psychoactive strains, such as Fly Agaric.» — la identificación que Newman toma de Chris Bennett: el electuario egipcio remitiría a preparados de hachís como el majún o el dawamesk, y el hongo del autor francés a la agárico mencionada por Rabelais

«Furthermore, in 1670 and later in 1689, alchemist, natural philosopher, architect, and polymath, Robert Hooke, whom Boyle recommended be the Curator of Experiments at the Royal Society in 1662, delivered two lectures to the Royal Society on the psychoactive and physical effects of hashish.» — el segundo apoyo institucional: Robert Hooke, propuesto por Boyle como curador de experimentos, dio dos conferencias a la Royal Society, en 1670 y 1689, sobre los efectos del hachís

«As Harrison points out, "[Hooke's] friend, sea captain Robert Knox, brought back from his travels a 'strange intoxicating herb like hemp' from one of his trips and gave it to Sir Isaac Newton» — la vía de suministro que Newman toma de Harrison: el capitán Robert Knox trajo de sus viajes una extraña hierba embriagante parecida al cáñamo y se la dio a Hooke

«It is a certain plant which grows very common in India... Tis call'd, by the Moors, Gange; by the Chingalese Comsa; and by the Portugals, Bangue. The Dose of it is about as much as may fill a common Tobacco-Pipe, the Leaves and Seeds being dried first, and pretty finely powdered. [It taketh] away the Memory and Understanding; so that the Patient understands not, nor remembereth any Thing that he seeth, heareth, or doth, in that Extasie... After a little Time he falls asleep, and sleepeth very soundly and quietly; and when he wakes he finds himself mightily refresh'd, and exceeding hungry.» — la descripción del cáñamo que Newman cita de esa conferencia: llamada *gange* por los moros, *comsa* por los cingaleses y *bangue* por los portugueses, quita memoria y entendimiento y deja al paciente hambriento al despertar

«Ergo, the Royal Society was investigating "hallucinogenic drugs," including hashish and magic mushrooms, virtually since its inception. And, we can be fairly certain that Ashmole was ultimately responsible.» — la conclusión que Newman extrae y la adjudicación que se permite: la Royal Society investigaba drogas alucinógenas casi desde su fundación, y él tiene por bastante seguro que Ashmole fue el responsable último

«We know from his correspondence with the English philosopher and clergyman, Joseph Glanvill, that Boyle was already keenly interested in the alchemical activities of one, Wenzel Seyler, a projector at the imperial court of Leopold I.» — la fuente del episodio siguiente: la correspondencia de Boyle con Joseph Glanvill muestra su interés por las actividades alquímicas de Wenzel Seyler en la corte imperial de Leopoldo I

«According to Johann Joachim Becher's Magnalia naturae, Seyler was an Augustiaian monk at Brünn in Moravia. While scheming of a way to escape the monastery, Seyler came into possession of a mysterious wax ball that would magically roll toward hidden treasure.54 Unable to make the ball work, Seyler enlisted the aid of an elder monk, who immediately understood its function. Rolling the ball in the parish, the pair noticed that it went straight toward an old pillar positioned in the abbey of the church. Later, during a renovation, the pillar was removed, uncovering an old chest that had been walled up inside the structure.» — el relato de Becher que Newman resume: Seyler, monje agustino en Brünn, obtuvo una bola de cera que rodaba hacia el tesoro oculto, y con ayuda de un monje viejo dio con un cofre emparedado en un pilar

«been hoping for gold. But the old monk soon deciphered the manuscript and thus learned the identity and the use of the red powder - which was, of course, the Philosopher's Stone [...] Soon thereafter the monk had a seizure, and as he lay dying, Seyler stole the stone from him and fled the monastery.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: el monje viejo descifró el manuscrito, identificó el polvo con la piedra filosofal, y al sobrevenirle un ataque Seyler se lo robó y huyó del monasterio

«Although, the Irish mathematician, St. George Ashe, claimed in a letter to the Royal Society, dated July 9 / 19, 1691, "This red powder (for Seyler did not know how to prepare it) was obtained from the prior of an Austinian convent, who obtained it from one ‘Count Sellich' who was privy councillor to Rudolf II, who in turn» — la versión divergente que Newman consigna sin armonizar: en carta a la Royal Society de julio de 1691, St. George Ashe hacía venir el polvo del prior de un convento agustino, y éste del conde Sellich, consejero de Rodolfo II; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«purported to have gotten it from Edward Kelley, the English skryer and friend of John Dee.» — el último eslabón de esa versión: el conde Sellich lo habría obtenido de Edward Kelley, el vidente inglés amigo de John Dee

«As with Kelley's conflicting accounts, there is some confusion as to how the red powder was by Seyler acquired. That Ashe ties its acquisition directly back to Kelley is interesting in any case. For, while Boyle was investigating Seyler's red powder, Ashmole was busy making sense of Kelley's - only for the pair to learn later that the two substances may indeed have been one and the same.» — la reserva con que Newman trata esa cadena: como en los relatos contradictorios sobre Kelley, no hay claridad sobre cómo llegó el polvo a Seyler, y le parece de interés que Ashe lo remita a Kelley

«Robert Boyle seems to have shared this sentiment. In his essay, Dialogue on the Converse with Angels Aided by the Philosopher's Stone, Boyle confesses,» — el paralelo que Newman traza: Boyle habría compartido la creencia de Ashmole, y lo expone en su ensayo *Dialogue on the Converse with Angels Aided by the Philosopher’s Stone*

«[It] seems somewhat unaccountable and therefore incredible that a little powder that is as truly corporeall as pouder of poste or of brick should be able to attract or invite incorporeall and intelligent beings that have neither need nor use of gold[,] to converse familiarily with those that perhapps by chance or fraud have made themselves possessors of a few drams or ounces of Transmuting pouder[;] for what affinity or congruity can there be betwixt the stupid and inanimate Elixir and a rationall and immortal spirit that these happy beings should delight to hover about it, and for its sake should be quite contrary to the custome if not also to the politie of those blessed spirits [to] discover themselves in a sensible way to the chymist that carries it about him and converse familiarly with a sinfull and perhaps too, an ignorant mortall from whose conversation what advantage can we suppose they can expect to reap?» — la objeción que el propio Boyle se plantea, citada entera: le parece increíble que un polvo tan corpóreo como el de ladrillo atraiga a seres incorpóreos e inteligentes, y se pregunta qué afinidad puede haber entre el elixir inanimado y un espíritu racional e inmortal

«Merkur elaborated in his 2014 article, Drugs and the Occult, ע "Robert Boyle adopted Ashmole's trope, stating it was 'possible or lawful [...] by the help of a red powder which is but corporeal and even an inanimate thing to acquire communion with incorporeal spirits." "In [Ashmole,] for purposes of mystification, [the powder] is additionally called the red stone.» — la lectura de Merkur que Newman recoge: Boyle adoptó el tropo de Ashmole al hablar de adquirir comunión con espíritus incorpóreos por medio de un polvo rojo que es solo corpóreo

«The] stone," Merkur perceptively added, “was psychoactive." "Ashmole explicitly asserted that the angelical [stone was] psychoactive. [It] affords the Apparition of Angells.' [...] The ethereal experience was induced by [...] 'the Red-Stone.» — el paso que Newman celebra en Merkur: que la piedra angélica era psicoactiva, y que la experiencia etérea la inducía la piedra roja

«It is clear that Boyle's interest was piqued. And, like our Elizabethan magus and Lichfield antiquary, while completely invested in the fledgling scientific method, Boyle was more than a little interested in communication with what he termed "incorporeal spirits."» — el balance con que Newman cierra el tramo: como Dee y Ashmole, Boyle estaba a la vez comprometido con el método científico incipiente e interesado en la comunicación con lo que llamaba espíritus incorpóreos

«They took the box, and upon opening it, Seyler was bitterly disappointed» — la cita de ese relato, cortada en el límite de chunk, donde el marcador de plana se reemite sin cambiar de número: al abrir el cofre Seyler quedó amargamente decepcionado

«find only a cryptic manuscript and four parcels of red powder; he had been hoping for gold.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: dentro solo había un manuscrito críptico y cuatro paquetes de polvo rojo, y él esperaba oro

«Jason Louv pointed out in his book, John Dee and the Empire of Angels: Enochian Magick and the Occult Roots of the Modern World, that Kelley's powder indeed could have been a drug. "The pharmacopeia of Elizabethan England is far removed from us," says Louv, "but whatever its contents, England's alchemists surely had first pick.» — la posibilidad que Newman toma de Jason Louv: la farmacopea isabelina queda lejos de nosotros, pero los alquimistas ingleses tenían primera elección de su contenido

«However, it is really immaterial whether or not Kelley's red powder was actually a drug. To be sure, Dee's diaries indicate something far more complicated was afoot than simple drug use alone. What is important is that Ashmole and Boyle believed that Kelley's powder was a drug. Moreover, they believed that this drug was responsible for Dee and Kelley's regular and miraculous "Angelic Actions."» — el desplazamiento con que Newman salva la falta de prueba: le resulta indiferente si el polvo de Kelley era una droga, porque lo que importa es que Ashmole y Boyle creyeron que lo era y que causaba las Acciones angélicas

«Boyle's insight into and fascination with Kelley's red powder represents perhaps one of the earliest scientific inquiries into what we now term 'altered states of consciousness' (ASC), placing the founder and Fellow of the Royal Society at the fore of the developing discipline of psychology, a mental, behavioral science that wouldn't officially be established for another century.» — la lectura historiográfica que Newman propone: el interés de Boyle por el polvo rojo sería de las primeras indagaciones científicas en lo que hoy se llaman estados alterados de consciencia

«It is from this pharmacognicistic, inquisitive background that John Theophilus Desaguliers, research assistant to Sir Isaac Newton in the Royal Society, emerged when he was elected to serve as the third Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge in London the same man whom, it is believed, is responsible for injecting the psychedelic sprig of acacia into Masonic ritual.» — el enlace con el capítulo siguiente: de ese trasfondo saldría Desaguliers, a quien se cree responsable de inyectar la rama psicodélica de acacia en el ritual masónico; el impreso escribe *pharmacognicistic*

«ntheogenic alchemical elixirs may have been at the heart of Freemasonry since the fraternity's inception in 1717. For, a mere two years later, in 1719, alchemist, philosopher, clergyman, and engineer, John Theophilus Desaguliers. (1683-1744), was elected third Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge in London.» — la tesis del capítulo cinco, enunciada en potencial: los elixires alquímicos enteogénicos podrían haber estado en el corazón de la masonería desde 1717, dos años antes de la elección de Desaguliers; la capitular deja la E suelta en la capa de texto

«As noted, before Desaguliers' election, there was no mention of a sprig of acacia anywhere in the rituals of Freemasonry. Instead, the earliest rituals make reference only to a sprig of cassia, a cinnamon-like plant native to China.62 However, following Desaguliers' stint as Grand Master, as is evidenced in the various exposures of the era, cassia became acacia in virtually every Lodge in Europe. As Desaguliers was instrumental in rewriting the Master Mason degree in the 1720s,63 it is not unlikely that he was behind this particular alteration as well.» — la inferencia con su grado intacto: como Desaguliers fue decisivo en la reescritura del grado de maestro en los años veinte, a Newman no le parece improbable que estuviera también tras el cambio de casia a acacia

«According to an article published in the summer of 2004 issue of The Plumbline, the quarterly bulletin of the Scottish Rite Research Society, "the Acacia of Freemasonry is supposed to be the Mimosa nilotica [reclassified as Acacia nilotica and later again as Vachellia nilotica] of Linnaeus, an evergreen shrub, which grew in abundance in Palestine.» — la identificación botánica que Newman toma de un artículo de *The Plumbline*, boletín de la Scottish Rite Research Society: la acacia de la masonería sería la *Mimosa nilotica* de Linneo, reclasificada como *Acacia nilotica*

«Not only is this particular species known to be a rich source of DMT, but the common name of Acacia nilotica, as well as of the perfume prepared from A. Nilotica and related species of acacia, is "cassie," which is of course phonetically quite similar to cassia. In fact, Acacia farnesiana, another DMT-containing species, was once known as "Farnesian Cassia."» — el argumento fonético que Newman construye encima: esa especie es rica en DMT y su nombre común, y el del perfume que de ella se saca, es *cassie*, muy cercano a *cassia*

«If cassia was in fact meant to suggest cassie, then the implication may be that there indeed never was a switch from cassia to acacia, and that cassie, i.e., Acacia nilotica, or cassia was the intended substance all along.» — la consecuencia que Newman extrae, marcada como condicional: si *cassia* quería decir *cassie*, nunca habría habido cambio de casia a acacia y la sustancia buscada habría sido siempre la misma

«Acacias would therefore have become cassia. However, phonologists also refer to something called paragoge anaptyxis, which is the addition of the sound of a vowel to the end of a word. Thus, by Mackey's logic, cassie could just as well become cassia, injecting the sound of the letter a into the pronunciation of the final syllable of a word wherein it previously was absent, thereby turning cassie into cassi-a.» — la vuelta que Newman le da al argumento de Mackey: por paragoge o anaptixis, *cassie* pudo igualmente volverse *cassia*, con lo que la derivación funcionaría en el sentido contrario

«Contemporaneous with Desaguliers' reworking of the Master Mason degree, in December of 1723, a Masonic exposure appeared in the London-based newspaper, The Post Boy, that remains one of the more curious examples of the literary genre. Its flowery, alchemical language is consistent with the chemical pursuits of Desaguliers et al. Moreover, it makes reference to a "Grand Elixir" as part of the ne plus ultra of Masonic attainment.» — la pieza documental del capítulo: una divulgación masónica aparecida en *The Post Boy* de Londres en diciembre de 1723, cuyo lenguaje alquímico Newman halla acorde con los intereses químicos de Desaguliers y que menciona un gran elixir

«Q. What qualifies a Man for the Seventh Order [of Masonry]? A. Thefe five Things. Firft, Conqueft over Nature. Secondly, the Compofition of the Grand Elixir. Thirdly, The Maftery of the great Work. Fourthly, the Chaining of the Golden Dragon. Fifthly, the Enjoyment of the Silver Lady, &c.» — la pregunta final de esa divulgación, citada tal como la imprime el facsímil con ſ larga: cinco cosas califican para el séptimo orden, entre ellas la composición del gran elixir, el encadenamiento del dragón dorado y el disfrute de la dama de plata

«The alchemist is said to work with Nature, gently assisting in Her processes, rather than dominating and controlling Her. Therefore, the "Conqueft over Nature" is likely an allusion to the conquest over one's own lower nature; to the subduing of the passions, as it is said in Freemasonry. The "Compofition of the Grand Elixir," we'll return to below. "Maftery of the great Work" is analogous to the perfection of the ashlar in Freemasonry and to the production of the philosophers» — la lectura que Newman propone de las tres primeras: la conquista de la naturaleza sería la de la propia naturaleza inferior, y el dominio de la gran obra equivale a la perfección del ashlar y a la producción de la piedra

«In alchemy, special emphasis is laid upon metals and their transmutation into silver and gold, which were seen as the perfection of the metals. Unlike the so-called "base metals," silver and gold do not corrode, rust, or patinize. The motif of the transmutation of base metals into silver and gold was further extended into the realm of spiritual metaphor, where it became an analogy for the illumination or enlightenment of the alchemist himself. Further, silver and gold were treated as complementary opposites, likened to the moon and the sun, respectively; to a silvery, lunar queen and a golden, solar king, engaged in a perpetual hierogamy or hieros gamos.» — el marco con que Newman explica las dos últimas: plata y oro como opuestos complementarios, luna y sol, reina lunar y rey solar en hierogamia perpetua

«As the alchemist and Freemason Count Alessandro di Cagliostro wrote in the rituals of his Egyptian Rite, “It is thus that you may bring about the marriage of the Sun and Moon."67 "The sun and the moon are theosophical concepts," notes Merkur. "The union of these two hypostases constituted the alchemical marriage.» — los dos apoyos que aporta: Cagliostro escribe en su rito egipcio que así se obra el matrimonio del sol y la luna, y Merkur llama a esa unión de hipóstasis el matrimonio alquímico

«Peter Levenda rightly associates this sacred marriage ritual with that of another pair of complimentary opposites: Shiva and Shakti. Indeed, like China, long before Western Europe, India was possessed of its own rich alchemical tradition, which understandably left discernable marks on Western alchemy.» — la conexión que Newman toma de Peter Levenda: ese matrimonio sagrado se asocia al de Shiva y Shakti, y la India tuvo una tradición alquímica propia que dejó marcas en la occidental

«Thomas Vaughan left his alchemical journals to Sir Robert Moray, the first president of the Royal Society and one of the first Speculative Freemasons. Therefore, it is likely that Desaguliers and perhaps even the author of Post Boy exposure was familiar with Thomas and Rebecca Vaughan's peculiar brand of Western tantric alchemy.» — la nota al pie con que Newman cierra el círculo: Vaughan dejó sus diarios a Moray, primer presidente de la Royal Society y de los primeros masones especulativos, de donde le parece probable que Desaguliers conociera esa alquimia tántrica occidental

«Intimately connected with ayurveda and tantric yoga, Indian alchemy, like Western alchemy, was centered upon a coniunctio or union of opposites: god with goddess, sun with moon, linga with yoni, etc.» — la definición que Newman da de la alquimia india: como la occidental, centrada en una *coniunctio* de opuestos, dios con diosa, sol con luna, linga con yoni

«the Moon is said to represent the depletion of Shiva's seed, while the waxing phase represents his accumulation of seed. [...] To the Tantric alchemists, the Sun - Shakti - depletes the seed of the Moon, Shiva. In biological terms, Shiva resides in the cranial vault, asleep. Shakti, as the coiled serpent Kundalini, rests at the level of the lowest cakra at the base of the spine. [...] The various practices known as Kundalini yoga, however, are designed to [...] coax [Shakti's] subtle essence to rise up the spinal column (or its subtle equivalent, the susumna pillar) to the level of the cranial vault [...] as the serpent goddess Kundalini mates with Shiva...» — continuación al otro lado del corte: el menguante representa el agotamiento de la semilla de Shiva y el creciente su acumulación, y el yoga kundalini haría subir la esencia sutil de Shakti hasta la bóveda craneal

«In linguistics, the omission of a sound from a word (such as the omission of the initial a from acacia, leaving cassia) is called elision. Mackey argued in his Encyclopedia» — el apoyo lingüístico que Newman invoca: la elisión, la omisión de un sonido —la *a* inicial de *acacia*, que dejaría *cassia*—, y el argumento que Mackey sostiene en su *Encyclopedia*

«The Indian influences had been watered down considerably by the time alchemy had reached seventeenth century England via the trade routes that existed between China, India, Central Asia, and the Levant over the course of some two thousand years or more. But where the cultural content of Indian alchemy would have been diluted with the passage of» — la cita de Levenda: las influencias indias llegaron muy diluidas a la Inglaterra del siglo XVII por las rutas comerciales; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«In the alchemical context, Shiva represents the Moon and Shakti, the Sun. The waning of» — la cita de Levenda sobre esa correspondencia: en el contexto alquímico Shiva es la luna y Shakti el sol; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«time and geographical distance, the essential practical content would have been preserved, much the same way algebra was taught in American secondary schools is empty of its Arab content, even though it had its origin in the Middle East...» — continuación de la cita de Levenda en la plana siguiente: el contenido práctico se habría conservado, como el álgebra enseñada en las escuelas estadounidenses conserva su origen sin su contenido árabe

«the original inclusion of cassia in the Master Mason degree was but an error that likely arose "from the very common habit [...] of sinking the sound of the letter a in the pronunciation of any word of which it» — el argumento de Mackey citado: la inclusión de la casia en el grado de maestro habría sido un error nacido del hábito de perder el sonido de la letra *a* en la pronunciación de una palabra; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana y la frase termina con *constitutes the initial syllable* en la 86

«It is in this context which the "Chaining of the Golden Dragon" and the "Enjoyment of the Silver Lady" should be understood. Whereas in Tantric alchemy, Shiva represented the moon and Kundalini Shakti, the sun, in Western alchemy, it is the Rex who represents the sun and the Regina, the moon.» — la inversión que Newman señala entre las dos tradiciones: en la alquimia tántrica Shiva es la luna y Kundalini Shakti el sol, mientras que en la occidental el Rex es el sol y la Regina la luna

«While the essential practical content of Tantric alchemy has been preserved in the West, the particular cultural content, e.g., Shiva and Shakti, has virtually vanished. Ergo, the "Chaining of the Golden Dragon" is a masculine analogue to the coaxing of the solar serpent goddess, Kundalini Shakti, from Her resting place, and the "Enjoyment of the Silver Lady," a feminine analogue to the sexual union which takes place in the lunar cranial vault, once associated with the god, Shiva, but here transformed into the "Silver Lady."» — la lectura que Newman propone de las dos fórmulas del *Post Boy*: encadenar el dragón dorado sería el análogo masculino de despertar a Kundalini, y disfrutar de la dama de plata el análogo femenino de la unión en la bóveda craneal

«As the Swiss psychiatrist, C.G. Jung, wrote in his monumental alchemy study, Mysterium Coniunctionis, enantiodromia, the exchange of attributes between two opposites, is actually quite common in alchemical literature.72 Cf. the red lion turned white with the gluten or tears of the eagle, and the white eagle turned red with the blood of the lion, etc. etc.» — el respaldo que Newman busca en Jung: la enantiodromía, el intercambio de atributos entre dos opuestos, es frecuente en la literatura alquímica, como el león rojo vuelto blanco y el águila blanca vuelta roja

«The choice of the cranial vault as the dwelling place of Shiva is interesting. Aside from the injunction in Liber Platonis that the true vas hermeticum, the sacred vessel wherein the alchemical transmutation is said to take place, is the human skull, also located in the "cranial vault" is the pineal gland, suggested by Dr. Rick Strassman in his book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, to be the possible source for endogenous DMT production.» — la coincidencia que Newman aprovecha: el *Liber Platonis* manda tener por verdadero *vas hermeticum* el cráneo humano, y en la bóveda craneal está la glándula pineal que Strassman propuso como fuente del DMT endógeno

«More recent research points to the lungs 74 as the possible place of origin, lending credence to the notion that yogic techniques such as pranayama or breathing exercises may occasion psychedelic, mystical experiences.» — la corrección que Newman recoge de investigación más reciente: el origen estaría en los pulmones, lo que a su juicio daría verosimilitud a que técnicas yóguicas de respiración ocasionen experiencias místicas

«This means that the stone of the philosophers can be produced both within and without the human organism; that is, there is an internal and an external form of alchemy. In China, internal alchemy is referred to as neidan, while external alchemy is referred to as waidan. Closely aligned with the practices of qi-gong and tai chi, neidan concerns the manipulation of the nervous, limbic, and endocrine systems for the production of an internal essence or elixir, not unlike the production of Shiva» — la consecuencia que Newman extrae para su esquema: la piedra puede producirse dentro y fuera del organismo, y de ahí la distinción china entre *neidan* interno y *waidan* externo

«Waidan, on the other hand, which is more closely related to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is identical with laboratory alchemy and concerns, through the manipulation of minerals, metals, plants, fungi, insects, and animals, the production of the same elixir vitae that is common to all true forms of alchemy.» — la definición de *waidan* que Newman da: alquimia de laboratorio, emparentada con la medicina tradicional china, que produce por minerales, metales, plantas, hongos, insectos y animales el mismo *elixir vitae*

«Compare this notion of an internal and an external alchemy with the following description of the Fourth Way by its founder, Armenian mystic, G.I. Gurdjieff. Gurdjieff was initiated into a form of Sufism, a mystical sect of Islam, which had its own vibrant alchemical traditions. "The Fourth Way is sometimes called the way of the sly man. The 'sly man' knows some secret which the fakir, monk, and yogi do not know. [...] Of the four, the fakir [...] by a whole month of intense torture [...] develops in himself a certain energy, a certain substance which produces certain changes in him. [...] The monk [through] a week of fasting, continual prayer, privations, and so on, enables him to attain what the fakir develops in himself by a month of self-torture. The yogi [...] knows that this substance can be produced in one day by a certain kind of mental exercises or concentrations of consciousness. [...] In this way the yogi spends on the same thing only one day compared with a month spent by the fakir and a week spent by the monk. [...] A man who follows the Fourth Way knows quite definitely what substances he needs for his aims and he knows that these substances [...] can be introduced into the organism from without if it is known how to do it. And so [...] he simply prepares and swallows a little pill which contains all the substances he wants and, in this way, without loss of time, he obtains the required results.» — la larga nota al pie en que Newman compara esa distinción con la cuarta vía de Gurdjieff, citando a Ouspensky: el faquir, el monje y el yogui producen por tortura, ayuno o concentración la sustancia que el hombre astuto obtiene tragando una píldora

«In this regard, the ways of the fakir, monk, and yogi may be likened unto neidan or internal alchemy, while the way of the "sly man," on the other hand, may be likened unto waidan or external alchemy. Moreover, Tobias Churton points out in his book, Deconstructing Gurdjieff, that the Armenian mystic was also a "closet Freemason.» — el cierre de esa nota: las vías del faquir, el monje y el yogui equivaldrían al *neidan* y la del hombre astuto al *waidan*, y Newman añade de Churton que Gurdjieff era masón de clóset

«Apropos the qualification of "the Compofition Grand Elixir," we know from an entry in Chambers' Journal that the "Grand Elixir" was one and the same as Edward Kelley's “red powder," as well as Cagliostro's "materia prima."» — la identificación que Newman toma de *Chambers’ Journal*: el gran elixir sería lo mismo que el polvo rojo de Kelley y que la materia prima de Cagliostro

«Kelley's red powder having already been discussed at length, we'll now turn to Count Cagliostro and his materia prima to see if they shed any light on our Grand Elixir.» — la transición al capítulo seis: tras el polvo rojo de Kelley, Newman pasa a Cagliostro y su materia prima

«t is in the works of Italian alchemist, healer, and magician, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, where all of these terms, e.g., "prima materia," "red powder," "Grand Elixir,” etc., coalesce and find their fullest fruition. Indeed, according to Chambers' Journal, Cagliostro's "materia prima" was identified as both the "Grand Elixir" of the Post Boy exposure, as well as Sir Edward» — la tesis con que abre el capítulo seis: en la obra de Cagliostro convergen la prima materia, el polvo rojo y el gran elixir; la capitular deja la I suelta en la capa de texto y el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«Cagliostro [...] declared that his mission was to raise the faithful to spiritual perfection, by a physical and moral regeneration. The method of acquiring this new birth was altogether material in its nature, and curious on account of its absurdity. The faithful could attain a life» — la cita de *Chambers’ Journal* que Newman reproduce: Cagliostro declaraba que su misión era llevar a los fieles a la perfección espiritual por una regeneración física y moral, método que la propia fuente califica de material y de curioso por absurdo; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«independent of the body by means of the materia prima, or red powder, one form of the Grand Elixir.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: esa vida independiente del cuerpo se alcanzaría por la materia prima o polvo rojo, una forma del gran elixir

«In the Apprentice and Companion lectures of his Egyptian Rite, the acacia is referred to as being the primal matter in a very specific alchemical operation. When properly executed, this operation results in the production of a "cubical ashlar;" that is, the result is a purified, crystalline stone or salt – ostensibly, DMT crystals that has been produced from the acacia. This stone is then dissolved into a "red liqueur," which is afterward imbibed by the candidate for initiation.» — la lectura que Newman hace de las instrucciones de aprendiz y compañero del rito egipcio: de la acacia como materia primera saldría un ashlar cúbico —una sal cristalina que él supone cristales de DMT— disuelto luego en un licor rojo que bebe el candidato

«The acacia is the primal matter and [when] the rough ashlar or mercurial part has been purified, it becomes cubical [...] It is thus that you may bring about the marriage of the Sun and Moon, and that you shall obtain [...] the perfect projection.» — la primera parte del ritual citado: purificada la parte mercurial, el ashlar tosco se vuelve cúbico, y así se obra el matrimonio del sol y la luna hasta la proyección perfecta

«The candidate [...] shall drink [the red liqueur placed upon the Master's altar, thereby] raising his spirit in order to understand the following speech which the Worshipful Master shall address to him at the same time. My child, you are receiving the primal matter [...] Learn that the Great God created before man this primal matter and that he then created man to possess it and be immortal. Man abused it and lost it, but it still exists in the hands of the Elect of God, and from a single grain of this precious matter becomes a projection into infinity. The acacia which has been given to you at the degree of Master of ordinary Masonry is nothing but that precious matter. And [Hiram's] assassination is the loss of the liquid which you have just received...» — la segunda parte: el candidato bebe el licor rojo y el maestro le dice que la acacia dada en el grado de maestro no es sino esa materia preciosa, y que el asesinato de Hiram es la pérdida del líquido que acaba de recibir

«By "Elect of God" Cagliostro could possibly mean the Élus Coëns of Martinez de Pasqually, which was claimed by Yarker to have been the ultimate source for Cagliostro's Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry.» — la nota al pie con la conjetura de Newman sobre los elegidos de Dios: podrían ser los Élus Coëns de Martinez de Pasqually, que Yarker daba por fuente última del rito egipcio

«We cannot know which species of acacia Cagliostro was using, but we can say with a fair amount of certainty that it was an entheogenic one. Given his far-reaching Egyptian proclivities, the DMT-rich Acacia nilotica, which appears in Egyptian art and myth in abundance, is an obvious candidate.» — la abstención que Newman se impone y el candidato que aun así propone: no puede saberse qué especie usaba Cagliostro, pero él da por bastante seguro que era enteogénica y apunta a la *Acacia nilotica*

«The Rite of Cagliostro was clearly that of Pasqually, as evidenced by his complete ritual, which has recently been printed in the Paris monthly, L'Initiation; it so closely follows the theurgy that it need leave no doubt as to whence Cagliostro derived his system.» — la tesis de John Yarker que Newman cita: el rito de Cagliostro era claramente el de Pasqually, según el ritual completo impreso en la revista parisina *L’Initiation*

«And, Pasqually's Élus Coëns is possessed of its own potential allusions to the psychedelic experience. According to Rene Le Forestier, the incense blend used by Martinez de Pasqually and his order Élus Coëns 82 included, among other psychoactives, "spore of agaric."83 As Bennett pointed out in Liber 420, “Agaric' is a species of mushroom that includes known psychoactive strains, such as Fly Agaric.» — el indicio que Newman aporta sobre los Élus Coëns: según René Le Forestier el incienso de la orden llevaba esporas de agárico, y Bennett recuerda que ese género incluye cepas psicoactivas

«Members of Élus Coëns were prone to seeing "passes" of "luminous glyphs" and visions of the mysterious La Chose, 'The Thing, during ritual.84 As Tobias Churton, a lecturer at Exeter University, estimates, "The Thing was really nothing less than Wisdom personified the divine Sophia.» — lo que Newman consigna de las sesiones de los Élus Coëns: visiones de glifos luminosos y de la misteriosa *La Chose*, que Churton estima que era la Sabiduría personificada

«While the spores of A. muscaria are not psychoactive, the fact that the mushroom is referenced at all is worthy of mention. Moreover, one wonders what became of the mushroom specimens from which the spores were harvested.» — la reserva que Newman escribe en nota contra su propio indicio: las esporas de *A. muscaria* no son psicoactivas, y solo le parece digno de mención que se nombre el hongo

«Still, one would be excused for mistaking Cagliostro's Egyptian Rite for an earlier Egyptoid Masonic order founded by one Karl Friedrich von Koppen, an officer in the Prussian army, known as Afrikanische Bauherren (African Architects). According to Henrik Bogdan,» — la orden que Newman pone al lado del rito egipcio: los Afrikanische Bauherren fundados por Karl Friedrich von Koppen, oficial del ejército prusiano

«[seven or] eleven degrees divided into three group or Temples.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: el rito comprendía siete u once grados repartidos en tres grupos o templos

«The Crata Repoa [...] purports to contain authentic reproductions of initiation rituals performed in the Great Pyramid by ancient Egyptian priests. As odd as it may seem, this peculiar Egyptian'Masonic society of African Architects received the sponsorship of Frederick II...» — la caracterización que Newman toma de Graham Hancock: el *Crata Repoa* dice reproducir rituales de iniciación celebrados por sacerdotes egipcios en la gran pirámide, y la sociedad tuvo el patrocinio de Federico II

«These rituals are now thought to have been inspired by Jean Terrasson's Masonic novel The Life of Sethos published in 1731, which included large amounts of information gleaned from Greek texts relating to the mysteries of Egypt. It is likely that Cagliostro was familiar not only with the novel but with the rituals then incorporated into various Masonic Lodges throughout France during the mid-1700s.» — la matización que Newman recoge de Philippa Faulks: hoy se tiene por probable que esos rituales se inspiraran en la novela masónica *The Life of Sethos* de Jean Terrasson, de 1731

«Like Cagliostro's Egyptian Rite, the Crata Repoa (and assumedly Afrikanische Bauherren which it inspired) is possessed of its own mysterious libation. In the seventh and final degree, titled Propheta, the member was called “Saphenath Pancah, i.e., a man who knows the secrets." He was then "given a drink, called oimellas, and told that now all trials were over.» — el dato ritual que a Newman le interesa: en el séptimo grado del *Crata Repoa* se daba al iniciado una bebida llamada *oimellas*

«Could Von Koppen's mysterious "oimellas" have been an early version of Cagliostro's entheogenic libation of acacia? Based on an» — la pregunta con que Newman abre la identificación: si el *oimellas* de von Koppen sería una versión temprana de la libación enteogénica de acacia de Cagliostro; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«etymological analysis of the word, Heckethorn suggests that oimellas implies a combination of simply wine (oi = oinos, wine) and honey (mela, honey). While this, of course, is purely speculative on Heckethorn's part, it remains that both wine and honey are known to have been commonly used as carriers for entheogenic additives such as cannabis, opium, belladonna, and even psychedelic mushrooms. Honey, for example, is a known carrier for psilocybin, while wine has a long history of being infused with all manner of inebriants.» — la etimología que Newman toma de Heckethorn —*oi* de *oinos*, vino, y *mela*, miel— con la reserva de que es pura especulación, y el apoyo de que vino y miel se usaban como vehículo de aditivos enteogénicos

«Remarkably, according to seasoned alchemist, J. Erik LaPort, the founder and formulator of Historic Elixirs, an Ayurvedic pharmaceutical company based in Gujarat, India, the method by which eighteenth-century alchemists would have extracted alkaloids such as DMT from organic sources was most certainly a version of Paracelsus' Primum Ens technique, likely involving the use of a form of ether in conjunction with wine or vinegar and honey.» — la reconstrucción técnica que Newman toma del alquimista J. Erik LaPort: los alquimistas del siglo XVIII habrían extraído alcaloides como el DMT por una versión del *Primum Ens* paracelsiano con éter, vino o vinagre y miel

«As we'll see, this method of plant alkaloid extraction is a recurrent theme among the school that Laurence M. Principe, the Drew Professor of the Humanities at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of History of Science and Technology and the Department of Chemistry, called "supernatural alchemy."» — la escuela en que Newman inscribe el método: la que Laurence M. Principe, profesor en Johns Hopkins, llamó alquimia sobrenatural; el impreso escribe *Laurence* por *Lawrence*

«One of the earliest propagators of Egyptian Masonry was Karl Friedrich von Koppen (1734-1797) who founded the Order of the Afrikanische Bauherren in 1767. This order was based on a short text by Koppen and Bernhard Hymmen (1731-1787), entitled Crata Repoa. In this text, the authors presented an alternative history of Freemasonry in which the first Grand Master was identified as the biblical Ham, who had immigrated to Egypt and there taken the name Menes. In Egypt Menes» — la cita de Henrik Bogdan: von Koppen fundó los Afrikanische Bauherren en 1767 sobre el *Crata Repoa*, texto suyo y de Bernhard Hymmen que daba por primer gran maestro al bíblico Cam, emigrado a Egipto con el nombre de Menes; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«The Élus Coëns was the first real high-grade system of Freemasonry. Essentially theurgic in nature, the Élus Coëns was the ultimate source for both Louis Claude de Saint-Martin's system, officially organized by Gerard Encausse (alias Papus) and Pierre-Augustin Chaboseau as the Martinist Order, and Jean-Baptiste Willermoz' system, Chevaliers Beneficient de la Cité-Sainte (CBCS), the of Rite Ecossais Rectifié (RER).» — la nota al pie sobre los Élus Coëns: primer sistema masónico de altos grados, teúrgico, y fuente última del martinismo de Papus y Chaboseau y del régimen escocés rectificado de Willermoz

«received a secret knowledge, which has been passed on and preserved by generations of Freemasons all the way to the eighteenth century. Allegedly, the Order of the Afrikanische Bauherren was based on this secret knowledge. The Rite comprised a total of» — continuación de la cita de Bogdan en la plana siguiente: Menes habría recibido un conocimiento secreto transmitido por generaciones de masones hasta el siglo XVIII; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk

«The Primum Ens technique using chloroethane or ether is perfectly in» — la cita técnica de LaPort, cortada antes del guion de fin de renglón de *in-line*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente: la técnica del *Primum Ens* con cloroetano o éter estaría en línea con la alquimia europea

«line with European Alchemy... It matches the chemical terminology and traditions of the period in Europe under discussion. [Chloroethane or diethyl ether] is floated on a layer of honey or honey-vinegar (prior to adding this to water or wine), and evaporated [over low heat], all the plant-actives will migrate into the acidic honey or honey-vinegar layer, which can then be easily combined with water or wine to whatever ratio ones desires to finish the elixir. The ancients would have used ‘acacia honey,' which is a light and highly translucent honey [...] plus either red wine or pomegranate vinegar.» — continuación de la misma cita: el éter se flota sobre una capa de miel o miel-vinagre y se evapora a fuego lento, los principios activos migran a la capa ácida y ésta se combina con agua o vino; los antiguos habrían usado miel de acacia y vino tinto o vinagre de granada

«LaPort's explanation makes it fairly obvious that Von Koppen's oimellas alludes to a form of Paracelsus' Primum Ens, and that Cagliostro's red libation of acacia must have been an adaptation of Von Koppen» — la conclusión que Newman saca de esa reconstrucción: el *oimellas* aludiría a una forma del *Primum Ens* paracelsiano y la libación roja de Cagliostro sería una adaptación suya; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«If we are to believe the records of the Inquisition, Cagliostro learned of the secrets of Egyptian Masonry from a manuscript he acquired from a London bookseller, named George Coston, in the spring of 1777. As Crata Repoa had been published roughly a decade prior, it is all the more plausible that the manuscript Cagliostro acquired from Coston was none other than Von Koppen» — el dato de archivo que Newman condiciona expresamente: de creer a los registros de la Inquisición, Cagliostro compró en 1777 a un librero londinense llamado George Coston el manuscrito de la masonería egipcia, que a él le parece el texto de von Koppen

«A libation of acacia also appears in La Très Sainte Trinosophie, a late eighteenth-century alchemical manuscript attributed to Cagliostro.93 La Très Sainte Trinosophie depicts in its colorful pages a magical bird, perhaps the mythical phoenix, perched on an altar and holding within its beak a sprig of acacia. That the sprig is indeed intended to be a species of acacia is evidenced by the clearly defined bi-pinnate compound leaf structure, characteristic of acacia and related species.» — la segunda fuente iconográfica: *La Très Sainte Trinosophie*, manuscrito de fines del siglo XVIII atribuido a Cagliostro, donde un ave sobre un altar sostiene en el pico una rama que Newman identifica como acacia por la hoja compuesta bipinnada

«Interestingly, even the bird here appears to symbolize our primal matter. Its beak, for example, resembles nothing so much as an acacia thorn in both shape and color thorns being one of the identifying traits of most species of acacia. In fact, the first-century Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist, Pedanius Dioscorides, who named the tree, did so after its most distinguishing feature» — la lectura que Newman propone del ave: su pico se parece a una espina de acacia, y recuerda que Dioscórides nombró al árbol por su rasgo distintivo, *akis*, espinas

«Some sources attribute the document to Saint-Germaine. But, as the presence of the sprig of acacia in the document indicates, Cagliostro is the more likely culprit.» — la nota en que Newman resuelve la atribución del manuscrito: algunas fuentes lo dan a Saint-Germain, pero la presencia de la rama de acacia le hace preferir a Cagliostro; el impreso escribe *Saint-Germaine*

«He handed me in a crystal cup a shining liquor of saffron hue; its taste was delicious and it emitted an exquisite aroma. I was about to hand the cup back to him after moistening my lips in the liquor, when the old man said: 'Drink it all; it will be thy only nourishment during thy journeys.' I obeyed and felt a divine fire course through all the fibers of my body. I was stronger, braver; even my intellectual powers seemed doubled.» — el pasaje de *La Très Sainte Trinosophie* que Newman cita: un licor brillante de color azafrán, único alimento del viaje, que hace correr un fuego divino por las fibras del cuerpo

«It is beyond suspicion that the "shining liquor of saffron hue" described in La Très Sainte Trinosophie is one and the same with the "red liqueur” mentioned in the rituals of Cagliostro's Egyptian Rite. Where the one generated a “divine fire" that coursed throughout the body, increasing strength, bravery, and intellect in its wake, the other 'raised the spirit' while 'increasing understanding. All of these symptoms are consistent with the effects of low to moderate doses of DMT.» — la identificación que Newman declara fuera de sospecha: ese licor azafranado y el licor rojo del rito egipcio serían el mismo, y los síntomas descritos le resultan compatibles con dosis bajas o moderadas de DMT

«Truly, in 1966, James Fadiman and Willis Harmon conducted the Psychedelics in Problem-Solving Experiment. "The researchers administered low doses of mescaline [...] to professional people (i.e., engineers, mathematicians, architects) who were highly motivated to solve a problem they had been working on for three months or more without success. Virtually all of the subjects reported making significant breakthroughs and producing solutions that were validated by independent tests and, eventually, commercial acceptance of their solutions.» — el estudio con que Newman apoya el efecto sobre el intelecto: el experimento de Fadiman y Harmon de 1966, con mescalina en dosis bajas a profesionales atascados en un problema

«A more recent study, conducted by Thomas Anderson of the University of Toronto and Rotem Petranker of the University of York, found that those who had taken "microdoses" of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin, “scored higher on measures of wisdom, open-mindedness, and creativity...» — el segundo apoyo: un estudio de Anderson y Petranker donde quienes tomaban microdosis puntuaban más alto en sabiduría, apertura mental y creatividad

«Following the turn of the nineteenth century, Cagliostro's manuscript would go on the influence the formation of a Masonic Lodge, Les Trinosophists, formed by Belgian Freemason J.M. Ragon who, Manly P. Hall imagines, could have known the author of La Très Sainte Trinosophie as a young man. According to Blavatsky,» — la continuación de la línea trinosofista: el manuscrito habría influido en la logia Les Trinosophistes de J. M. Ragon, que según imagina Manly P. Hall pudo conocer de joven al autor de *La Très Sainte Trinosophie*

«It is on the occult properties of the three equal lines or sides of the Triangle that Ragon based his studies and founded the famous masonic society of the Trinosophists...» — la cita de Blavatsky que Newman recoge: Ragon fundó su sociedad sobre las propiedades ocultas de las tres líneas iguales del triángulo

«Ragon, who, in his own work, Occult Masonry, wrote at length of experiments in somnambulism involving hashish, datura, henbane, and belladonna, writes, "The first line of the triangle offered to the apprentice for study, is the mineral kingdom, symbolized by Tubalc:.98 The second line on which the 'companion' has to meditate, is the vegetable kingdom, symbolized by Shibb:.99 In this kingdom begins the generation of the bodies. This is why the letter G is presented radiant before the eyes of the adept. The third side is left to the master mason, who has to complete his education by the study of the animal kindgom. It is symbolized by Macben» — el dato que Newman subraya de Ragon —escribió largamente sobre experimentos de sonambulismo con hachís, datura, beleño y belladona— junto con su reparto de los tres lados del triángulo entre los reinos mineral, vegetal y animal

«Thus, even at the heart of Ragon's Les Trinosophists, we find a highly suggestive alchemical treatment of Masonic symbolism. One line in particular is worth scrutinizing: "In [the vegetable] kingdom begins the generation of the bodies." We take this sentence to mean that it is in the vegetable kingdom, using plant alchemy or spagyrics, where one will discover the secrets of regeneration.» — la lectura que Newman propone de ese reparto: en el reino vegetal empieza la generación de los cuerpos, lo que él entiende como que la regeneración se busca por la espagiria

«more advanced adepti. See the following ritual, which comes from an alchemical manuscript titled Thesaurorum Thesaurus (1580), a document written by Paracelsus and in use by Hermann Fichtuld's Orden des Gold und Rosenkreuzer, the first order styling itself 'Rosicrucian' to surface following the initial publication of the Rosicrucian manifestos. For regeneration,» — la fuente del ritual de regeneración que Newman transcribe: un manuscrito alquímico de 1580 titulado *Thesaurorum Thesaurus*, dado a Paracelso y en uso por la Orden del Oro y Rosacruz de Hermann Fichtuld

«the candidate will shut themself up in a house in the countryside having a room whose windows are to the south. The operation must begin in the full moon of May; during the first sixteen days the food will consist only of light soups and tender plants and the patient will always leave the table a little hungry. The initiate will drink the May dew, collected from sprouting wheat on pure and white linen. He will begin the meal with a large glass of dew and will finish it with a biscuit or a simple crust of bread. The seventeenth day, at sunrise the candidate for regeneration must extract a palette of blood, that is to say a light blood-letting. Starting from this day, he will take some white drops of balm of azoth, six the morning and six the evening, in increasing the dose two drops by day until the thirty-second. The thirty-third day, after the same regime, he will remain in bed until the end of the quarantine. He will take a grain of Materia Prima. On first waking, after bleeding himself, he will absorb a first grain of universal medicine, he will repeat this the following days. After an unconsciousness of three hours, then convulsions, perspirations and considerable evacuations, he will change the bed linen. He will then eat some beef consomme which has had the fat removed, seasoned with refreshing and laxative plants. The following day he takes the second grain of universal medicine. A deep sleep will follow. The hair, teeth, the nails and skin will blacken and be renewed. The thirty-eighth day, bathe with the abovementioned aromatic herbs. The thirty-ninth day, he will swallow, in two spoonfulls of red wine, ten drops of the elixir of Acharat. The fortieth day, he will return home rejuvenated and perfectly recreated. Thanks to the strength thus acquired, the regenerated man will be able to 'propagate the truth, annihilate vice, destroy idolatry and spread the glory of the Eternal.» — el ritual de cuarentena citado entero: encierro desde el plenilunio de mayo, rocío de mayo, sangría el día diecisiete, gotas crecientes de bálsamo de azoth, granos de materia prima y de medicina universal, ennegrecimiento y renovación de pelo, dientes, uñas y piel, y diez gotas de elixir de Acharat en vino tinto el día treinta y nueve

«As to what these "white drops of balm of azoth" actually consist of, we can only speculate. While it would in no way elicit an experience even remotely resembling that described above, in the Paracelsian tradition, balm of azoth generally alludes to the so-called Primum Ens or “first entity" of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), a fragrant herb sacred to the planet, Jupiter, with known anti-stress effects.» — la abstención que Newman declara: sobre las gotas blancas de bálsamo de azoth solo cabe especular, y en la tradición paracelsiana el término remite al *Primum Ens* de la melisa, que no produciría nada semejante a lo descrito

«Although, as we shall learn in a later chapter, Melissino was wont to use this same technique to instruct his candidates in the extraction of DMT from acacia.» — la salvedad que Newman adelanta: Melissino usaría esa misma técnica para instruir a sus candidatos en la extracción de DMT de la acacia

«Too, we know that Paracelsus was no stranger to acacia. Distinguishing between a "black" and a "white" species, Paracelsus held that the white acacia, which was “Egyptian" and whose color, it is noted, was actually "orange to red-brown" conveniently, the same color as our lapis was in every way superior to the "poor and weak” black acacia.» — el dato paracelsiano que Newman recupera: Paracelso distinguía una acacia blanca, egipcia y de color anaranjado a pardo rojizo, muy superior a la acacia negra pobre y débil

«On the other hand, if the "drops” happened to be some form of an MAOI, it would make sense that Cagliostro should allow this substance to build up in the system of the candidate prior to the latter's reception of the "grains” of “Materia Prima" and "universal medicine." While unnecessary in every case, the presence of MAOI in the system of the candidate would effectively activate the DMT in or alchemically extracted from acacia. A third possibility is that the "drops" served as some sort of purgative, purging and purifying the candidate prior to his administration of the “grains." In either case, significantly, the purgative properties of ayahuasca and its analogues have long been touted, with the brew being known in some regions as simply "la purga," "the purge."» — las tres posibilidades que Newman enumera para las gotas, sin decidirse: un IMAO acumulado antes de los granos, o un purgante, y recuerda que a la ayahuasca se la llama en algunas regiones *la purga*

«Moreover, the effects of the "universal medicine," subjective no doubt, e.g., the death and regeneration of the skin, nails, teeth, etc., are in keeping with something known in anthropology as shamanic dismemberment, a phenomenon which is extremely common to both shamanic initiation and tryptamine intoxication. Mircea Eliade explains,» — la equivalencia antropológica que Newman propone: la muerte y renovación de piel, uñas y dientes concuerdan con el desmembramiento chamánico, común a la iniciación chamánica y a la intoxicación con triptaminas

«Both spontaneous vocation and the quest for initiation involve [...] a more or less symbolical ritual of mystical death, sometimes suggested by a dismemberment of the body and renewal of the organs [...] equivalent to re-entering the womb of this primordial life, that is, to a complete renewal [or regeneration], to a mystical rebirth.» — la cita de Mircea Eliade: vocación espontánea y búsqueda de iniciación implican un ritual simbólico de muerte mística, a veces sugerido por un desmembramiento y renovación de los órganos

«Terence and Dennis McKenna added in The Invisible Landscape: "He will lie as though dead or in a deep trance for days on end. [...] Invariably during this prolonged trance the novice will undergo an episode of mystical death and resurrection; he may see himself reduced to a skeleton and then clothed with new flesh; or he may see himself boiled in a cauldron, devoured by the spirits, and then made whole again [i.e., regenerated]; or he may imagine himself being operated on by the spirits, his organs removed and replaced with 'magical stones' and then sewn up again.» — la cita de Terence y Dennis McKenna: el novicio yace como muerto durante días y ve su cuerpo reducido a esqueleto, hervido en caldero o operado por los espíritus, que le ponen piedras mágicas

«The anthropologist-cum-shaman, Michael Harner, said in his book Cave and Cosmos: Shamanic Encounters with Another Reality, "One of the most mysterious and distinctive ways of becoming a shaman has been through experiencing the dismemberment of one's body in an altered state of consciousness. Accounts of this kind of initiatory experience are relatively common among Siberian tribes and Aboriginal Australian people.» — la cita de Michael Harner: hacerse chamán por la experiencia de desmembramiento del propio cuerpo en estado alterado es relativamente común entre tribus siberianas y aborígenes australianos

«The healing of the limbs, the restoration of the members of the dismembered body, is a theme that runs through the sacred literature of ancient Egypt. It was the climax of the Osirian initiation, which involved the experience of dismemberment. [...] This was the final rite of» — segunda cita de Naydler: la restauración de los miembros del cuerpo desmembrado atraviesa la literatura sagrada egipcia y era el clímax de la iniciación osiriana

«What we're seeing with Cagliostro's retreat for regeneration, therefore, is nothing shy of a sort of shamanesque alchemical initiation, replete with an ayahuasca analogue, the motif of shamanic dismemberment, and followed by a rebirth or regeneration experience. We'll encounter this same ritual retreat later in our chapter on John Pordage and the theosophers, where the one undergoing the ceremony, a man named Johann Frantz Regnier, being wholly unprepared for the experience, was met with disastrous consequences.» — la conclusión que Newman saca del retiro de Cagliostro: una iniciación alquímica de traza chamánica, con análogo de ayahuasca, desmembramiento y renacimiento, cuyo caso desastroso será el de Johann Frantz Regnier

«there is [...] evidence [in ancient Egypt] of knowledge of [...] the acacia tree, one of the most prominent trees in ancient Egyptian art due to its association with the death and rebirth of the god Osiris. Egyptian myth attributed the rebirth of Osiris and every subsequent pharaoh to the sprouting of the DMT-containing acacia tree out of the coffin in which Osiris was buried.» — la cita de Jerry B. Brown: el mito egipcio atribuía el renacimiento de Osiris y de cada faraón al brote de la acacia con DMT saliendo del ataúd

«Acacia_nilotica_contains Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT [and] is portrayed hugely in Egyptian mythology. It is referred to as the tree of life, and from under this tree the first gods of Egypt were born. Osiris, god of the underworld, rebirth, and the spirit, was also born from an Acacia nilotica tree. Osiris is also believed to live inside the spirit of all Acacia nilotica trees. [...] In modern archaeology of Egypt, Acacia nilotica has been found in a huge percentage of the tombs unearthed.» — la cita de Ben Christie: la *Acacia nilotica* contiene DMT, figura como árbol de la vida en la mitología egipcia y aparece en un porcentaje enorme de las tumbas excavadas

«Perhaps the most formidable evidence that knowledge of the entheogenic potential of certain species of acacia was in the possession of the ancient Egyptians is found in the Tale of Two Brothers, a story dating from 1200 to 1194 BC, during the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom, and preserved in the Papyrus D'Orbiney housed at the British Museum, which bears a striking resemblance to the myth of Osiris. In the tale, the following address is pronounced:» — la pieza que Newman tiene por prueba más fuerte: el *Cuento de los dos hermanos*, del siglo XII a. C., conservado en el papiro D’Orbiney, que él encuentra parecido al mito de Osiris

«Here, a magical acacia "beer" is plainly discussed in terms of the soul's immortality. For the reader's edification, we have included this tale in full as an appendix to the present volume.» — la lectura que Newman hace de ese pasaje: una cerveza mágica de acacia tratada en términos de la inmortalidad del alma, y anuncia que incluye el cuento entero como apéndice

«Additionally, alongside the acacia, the MAOI-containing seeds of the Zygophyllaceae, Peganum harmala, are possessed of a long tradition of sacramental use in Egypt as well. According to Italian psychedelic researcher, Giorgio Samorini,» — el segundo ingrediente egipcio que Newman aporta: las semillas de *Peganum harmala*, ricas en IMAO, con larga tradición sacramental en Egipto según Giorgio Samorini

«Peganum harmala is known as [...] besana ("plant of Bes") in Egypt [...] Harmel seems to have been used in Coptic Egyptian rituals. An initiatory invocation dated to the 2nd - 3rd century AD refers to a noub tree, identified with harmel, which would have played the symbolic role of Tree of Life that holds the universe and under which Osiris resides. Named in Egypt besa or besana, this term poses harmel in direct association with the god Bes, a deity of the Pharaonic Pantheon. Bes was mainly a good fortune deity [...] and protector of [...] people sleeping. He was also a divinity of music and dance and was associated with sexual pleasures, libertine love, and, later, with wine... [We] know [of] a reference of the 3rd century BC about the existence of wine vessels called besiakon, on which this deity was depicted. We do not know what kind of drink was poured from these vases, but the suspicion arises that it was a particular drink, in which some intoxicant ingredient was added, perhaps the “plant of Bes,” harmel. Bes' association with this plant [...] would justify this supposition.» — la cita de Samorini: el harmel se llama en Egipto *besa* o *besana*, se asocia al dios Bes, se identificó con el árbol *noub* bajo el que reside Osiris, y de ahí su sospecha sobre las vasijas de vino llamadas *besiakon*

«Was the Swiss physician distinguishing between entheogenic and non» — la pregunta que Newman deja abierta, cortada antes del guion de fin de renglón de *non-psychoavtive*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente: si Paracelso distinguía especies enteogénicas de las que no lo son

«psychoavtive species of acacia? Interestingly, Fraas identifies Paracelsus' white acacia as "Farnesian Cassia," better known as Acacia» — la continuación, con la errata del impreso a la vista: Fraas identifica la acacia blanca de Paracelso con la *Farnesian Cassia*; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, donde el marcador de plana se reemite sin cambiar de número

«A grain is of course a unit of measurement, equal to 64.7989mg, used for dispensing potent drugs such as morphine. We know from Cagliostro's ritual for his Egyptian Rite that the "Materia Prima" is a species of acacia, and the “universal» — la lectura literal que Newman propone de la dosis: el grano es unidad de medida de 64,7989 mg usada para dispensar drogas potentes como la morfina, y la materia prima del rito egipcio es una especie de acacia; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«medicine," the red tryptamine-stone liqueur prepared therefrom by alchemical means.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: la medicina universal sería el licor rojo de piedra-triptamina preparado de esa acacia por medios alquímicos

«Cultural historian and philosopher, Jeremy Naydler, in his amazing book, Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred, provides some insight into the psychic nature of shamanic dismemberment. "In the process of initiation, [the overall experience of unitary self» — la lectura psíquica que Newman toma de Jeremy Naydler; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *self-consciousness*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente

«consciousness] was broken down altogether in order to rebuild it more strongly. The important initiatory idea of dismemberment becomes comprehensible when it is seen as the only way of describing the experience of catastrophic psychic fragmentation. [The] mutilation of the body undergone by Osiris was the prototype of psychic fragmentation that must have been experienced by the initiate in a psychophysical way. This psychic fragmentation was precipitated as a prelude to the initiates reidentifying with a new psychic center that transcended the 'distributed psyche.» — continuación de la misma cita: el desmembramiento iniciático sería el único modo de describir una fragmentación psíquica catastrófica, con la mutilación de Osiris por prototipo, preludio de una reidentificación con un centro psíquico nuevo

«Notably, not only is the motif of dismemberment also present in the figure of Osiris, but the acacia actually did play a significant role in the Egyptian religion. Repeatedly depicted in Egyptian» — el enlace egipcio que Newman propone: además del desmembramiento en la figura de Osiris, la acacia tuvo papel relevante en la religión egipcia; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«art, the acacia truly was considered sacred as it was the tree wherein the body of Osiris was said to have been encased; that is, the deity was literally believed to reside within the tree.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: la acacia se tenía por sagrada como el árbol en que se decía encerrado el cuerpo de Osiris, y se creía que la deidad residía literalmente en él

«In the tale, the following address is pronounced: "And this is what shall come to pass, that I shall draw out my soul, and I shall put it upon the top of the flowers of the acacia, and when the acacia is cut down, and it falls to the ground, and thou comest to seek for it, if» — el pasaje del cuento que Newman cita: el alma puesta sobre las flores de la acacia, que habrá que buscar cuando el árbol sea talado; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«Not surprisingly, Benny Shanon, a professor of psychology at Hebrew University in Israel, has argued convincingly in his paper, Biblical Entheogens: A Speculative Hypothesis, that Peganum harmala» — la hipótesis de Benny Shanon que Newman recoge de su artículo *Biblical Entheogens*; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«seeds could have been paired with a local species of acacia to produce a powerful visionary brew, the effects of which would be virtually indistinguishable from the South American beverage, ayahuasca.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: esas semillas pudieron combinarse con una acacia local para producir un brebaje visionario indistinguible de la ayahuasca

«In fact, according to Samorini, "[the] plant of Bes [...] and the [acacia] are the most powerful plant sources of MAO» — el cierre del argumento, en cita de Samorini; el tramo se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *MAO-inhibitors*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente: la planta de Bes y la acacia serían las fuentes vegetales más potentes de inhibidores de la MAO y de DMT del mundo

«P.D. Newman thou searchest for it seven years do not let thy heart be wearied. For thou wilt find it, and thou must put it in a cup of cold water, and expect that I shall live again, that I may make answer to what has been done wrong. And thou shalt know of this, that is to say, that things are happening to me, when one shall give to thee a cup of beer in thy hand, and it shall be troubled; stay not then, for verily it shall come to pass with thee.» — continuación del pasaje en la plana siguiente, con el encabezado corrido pegado al arranque: la búsqueda de siete años, la copa de agua fría donde revivirá y la copa de cerveza que se enturbia como señal; el mismo texto vuelve a imprimirse en el apéndice III

«efore we leave the seventeenth century altogether, let us take one more look at Ashmole's inner circle. There, we'll find an Anglican priest and alchemist named Dr. John Pordage (1608-1681). Pordage was a prominent London theosopher after the tradition of Jakob Böhme, the so-called "Teutonic Philosopher," around whom formed a society of Protestant Christian mystics that would eventually lead to the» — la figura que Newman añade al círculo de Ashmole: John Pordage, sacerdote anglicano y alquimista, teósofo londinense en la línea de Jakob Böhme; la capitular deja la B suelta y el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«creation of the infamous Philadelphia Society, headed by the controversial figure, Jane Leade. In 1644, Pordage was made vicar of the parish of St. Lawrence's at Reading, and not long after was appointed rector of the Bradfield parish by none other than Elias Ashmole, the very one who preserved the mystery of Sir Edward Kelley's "red powder," believed by Elias Ashmole and Robert Boyle of the Royal Society to be the source behind Dr. John Dee's "Angelic Actions." As we shall see, this ruddy, visionary substance which was of such interest to Kelley, Ashmole, Boyle, and others, was of primary significance among many of the early German, London, and even American theosophers.» — la cadena institucional que Newman traza: la Sociedad de Filadelfia de Jane Leade, y el nombramiento de Pordage como rector de Bradfield por el propio Ashmole, el que guardaba el misterio del polvo rojo de Kelley

«In 1649, while positioned at Bradfield at Ashmole's behest, Pordage and his wife began to suffer profound visionary experiences, the manifest content of which included both angelic and demonic apparitions.» — el episodio central del capítulo: en 1649, ya en Bradfield, Pordage y su mujer empezaron a padecer experiencias visionarias con apariciones angélicas y demoníacas

«After this had continued the space of a half an hour, it vanished; And there succeeded a third appearance, which was very terrible, being in the shape of a great Dragon, which seemed to take up most part of» — la tercera aparición: un gran dragón que ocupaba casi toda la habitación; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«a large room, appearing with great teeth and open jaws, whence he oft ejected fire against me, which came with such a Magical influence, that it almost took the breath right out of my body, making me fall to the ground. Now you must know that these three were dreadful Apparitions, and very terrible to the sensitive Nature, and might have caused a great» — continuación al otro lado del corte: el dragón echaba fuego con una influencia mágica que casi le quitaba el aliento y lo tiraba al suelo

«distemper to it, had I not been supported in an extraordinary way, by the Ministrations of the Holy Angels.» — cierre del relato: Pordage dice haberse sostenido por el ministerio de los santos ángeles

«[Pordage] witnessed not only the presence of evil hierarchies in monstrous theriomorphic forms, all 'misshapen, with cat's ears and cloven feet and fiery eyes - but their physical manifestations in sulphuric foul odors and even the imprint of their images on the windows, "Cealings, and chimney of the house. This latter series of images, including a remarkable Globe and 'a Coach and four horses,' 'wonderfull exactly done,' was so disturbing to Pordage that he and his wife endeavored to 'wash them out with wet cloaths, but could not, finding them ingraven in the substance of the Bricks, which indeed might have continued till this day, had not our fear and suspicion of witchcraft and some evil design of the Divel against us in it, caused us to deface and obliterate them with hammers.» — la cita de Arthur Versluis: Pordage vio jerarquías malignas en formas teriomórficas y sus improntas en ventanas, techos y chimenea, imágenes que él y su mujer no pudieron lavar y acabaron borrando a martillazos

«As if it were not enough that Pordage and his wife were driven to hammer demonic images from their chimney, they were attacked both in body and in soul by [...] wrathful beings. Attacked in soul by 'strange magical wounds and piercings by the fiery darts of the devil' much as Job must have been, they also felt 'material impressions, from the powers of darkness, very noxious in themselves, but 'cheerfully born, by invisible support, and quiet submission to the Will of God.' Evidently, Pordage and his wife had to undergo this series of apparitions and even torments in order that [...] they be able to pass through the wrathful into the angelical world.» — continuación de Versluis: los dos fueron atacados en cuerpo y alma por seres airados y hubieron de pasar por esos tormentos para poder atravesar el mundo iracundo hacia el angélico

«Like Dante, Pordage [...] passed through the flames and entered into paradise, which he called Mundus Luminosous, or the light world. Here there were 'multitudes almost innumerable, of pure Angelic spirits, in figurative bodies, which were clear as the morning-star, and transparent as Christal.» — la otra mitad de la experiencia según Versluis: Pordage atravesó las llamas y entró en el *Mundus Luminosous*, con multitudes casi innumerables de espíritus angélicos en cuerpos figurativos claros como el lucero del alba

«felt the inexpressible joys and harmonies of heaven, smelled delightful heavenly scents, and heard celestial music. The 'tongue can hardly express these Odours of Paradise,' and these glorious visions and sounds, Pordage wrote. These experiences went on for nearly a month, resulting in a kind of inner conflict between the two realms - they were tormented by the demons, then delighted by the angels, subjected to trials, and then offered the of spiritual blessings. Apparently people outside the family soon knew that something unusual was going on in their house [...] Pordage was later, as rumors spread, called a magician or a necromancer.» — el resto de la cita: gozos, olores y música celestes durante casi un mes, en conflicto alternado entre los dos reinos, hasta que corrió el rumor y a Pordage se le llamó mago o nigromante

«Whatever one might think of the reality of such angelic and demonic realms, what Pordage (and Versluis) are here describing sounds like nothing so much as a pronounced psychedelic drug trip. As the Canadian psychiatrist, Humphry Osmond, once wrote in a letter to the writer and philosopher, Aldous Huxley, "To fathom Hell or soar angelic, just take a pinch of psychedelic." It is clear that Pordage and his wife both fathomed and soared.» — la lectura que Newman propone, apoyada en el pareado de Humphry Osmond a Aldous Huxley: lo descrito le suena a un viaje psicodélico pronunciado, y Pordage y su mujer sondearon el infierno y remontaron a lo angélico

«So, the question is, did they take a pinch? While folie à deux ("madness shared by two") cannot be ruled out, that both Pordage and his wife reported the visions is suggestive. And, the imagery a panic stricken, hallucinating husband and wife, hammers in hand, wildly chipping away at the faces of demons thought to be perceived in the masonry work of their chimney – is more than a little disturbing, to say the least.» — la pregunta y la reserva que Newman deja juntas: no puede descartarse la *folie à deux*, pero que ambos reportaran las visiones le resulta sugerente

«Fortunately, Pordage may have left his readers clues in his own writings which might explain his family's bizarre visitations at Bradfield.» — la vía que Newman prefiere: las pistas que el propio Pordage habría dejado en sus escritos

«In his short work, Treatise on the Philosopher's Stone, Pordage begins by discussing the "red Tincture of Paradise," called also the "pure sweet blood of Virginal Humanity."» — el término que da título al capítulo: en su *Treatise on the Philosopher’s Stone*, Pordage habla de la tintura roja del paraíso, llamada también sangre dulce y pura de la humanidad virginal

«In August 1649, there appeared in my Bed» — el relato en primera persona que Newman cita, cortado antes del guion de fin de renglón de *Bed-curtains*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente: en agosto de 1649 apareció algo en su alcoba

«curtains, seemed to walk once thorow the Chamber very easily, and so disappeared. That very night there was another appearance of one in the form of a Gyant, with a great sword in his hand, without a scabbard, which he seemed to flourish against me, having the figurative similitude of a great Tree lying by him.» — continuación: el espíritu con la figura de Everard cruzó la alcoba y desapareció, y esa misma noche vino un gigante con espada desnuda y un gran árbol tendido junto a él

«The appearance of "strange magical wounds and piercings by the fiery darts of the devil" too is of interest. In the case of St. Anthony's Fire, better known as ergot poisoning, for example, bodily sores and grotesque hallucinations are symptomatic of the disease. And, in fact, there was an outbreak of ergotism recorded the very same year as Pordage's experiences near Saxony in Germany. Insofar as there is assumed to have been frequent inter» — la hipótesis alternativa que Newman consigna: el fuego de san Antonio o ergotismo, con llagas y alucinaciones, y un brote registrado ese mismo año cerca de Sajonia; el tramo se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *inter-communication*

«communication between the German and English theosophical groups around this time, ergotism too cannot be ruled out.» — continuación: como se supone comunicación frecuente entre los grupos teosóficos alemán e inglés, el ergotismo tampoco puede descartarse

«However, insofar as none in their number are known to have died» — la razón por la que Newman descarta el ergotismo, cortada al entrar la nota al pie: ninguno de ellos consta que muriera

«or lost limb or digit amid the crisis symptoms which go hand in hand with ergotism we find ergot poisoning to be an unsatisfactory explanation.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: tampoco perdieron miembros ni dedos, síntomas que acompañan al ergotismo, y por eso le parece explicación insatisfactoria

«One of the most concise treatises on spiritual alchemy was written by Dr. John Pordage, probably during the 1670s, although not published, in German in a very rare edition, until 1727. However, it no doubt circulated in manuscript form among many theosophic groups, who would copy out by hand and so transmit the most important theosophic works. This treatise explains that the 'red tincture, emphasized in so many alchemical treatises as essential for [...] creating the elixir of life, is the red tincture of paradise, the pure sweet blood of Virginal Humanity.» — la datación que Newman toma de Versluis: el tratado de Pordage se escribió hacia los años setenta del siglo XVII, no se imprimió en alemán hasta 1727 y circuló manuscrito entre grupos teosóficos, y en él la tintura roja es la del paraíso

«Strangely, an event in the early life of Jakob Böhme, Pordage's spiritual master, seems to foreshadow something of this "red Tincture" or "stone." According to his close friend and biographer, Abraham von Franckenberg, as a young man, Böhme once chanced upon a hidden cache of treasure in a mountain cavern. Although, he was so seized with terror by its sight that he fled the scene without taking a single coin.» — el episodio que Newman lee como anticipación: Franckenberg cuenta que Böhme, de muchacho, dio con un tesoro en una caverna de montaña y huyó aterrado sin tomar una moneda

«During the Time of his being a Herd's-Boy, he met with a curious and remarkable Occurrence. Having one Day, about Noon, been rambling to a great Distance from the other Lads, and climbing up alone by himself on the adjacent Mountain, called Land's Crown; being arrived at the Summit, (the Story I have heard from his own Mouth, and he has pointed me to the Place) he espied amongst great red Stones a Kind of» — el relato de Franckenberg citado: subiendo solo al monte llamado Land’s Crown, Böhme divisó entre grandes piedras rojas una especie de abertura; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«Aperture or Entrance, over-grown with Bushes, and inclosed in a Manner not much unlike that of a Door-Case, or Passage. This, in his Simplicity, he penetrated into, and there descried a large portable Vessel, or wooden Pannier, full of Money; the Sight of which set him into a Shudder. This also prevented his meddling with any of the Money, and put him upon making the very best of his Way out again, without taking so much as a a single Piece along with him. And what is very remarkable, tho' he had frequently climbed up to the same Place afterwards, in Company of the other Herd's-Boys, yet he could never hit upon this Aperture again. To me it appears, that it might be a Sort of emblematic Omen, or Presage of his future spiritual Admission to the Sight of the hidden Treasury of the Wisdom and Mysteries of God and Nature.» — continuación del relato: dentro halló un cesto de madera lleno de dinero que lo hizo estremecerse y salió sin tomar nada, y nunca volvió a dar con la abertura; Franckenberg lo lee como presagio del acceso al tesoro escondido de la sabiduría

«Granted, there is no shortage of old folktales involving magical fairy, elf, or gnome gold secreted away in forgotten mines and caverns. Although, the line, “amongst great red Stones," immediately garners our attention. Where Franckenberg reads in this fantastic anecdote a "Sort of emblematic Omen, or Presage of [Böhme's] future spiritual Admission to the Sight of the hidden Treasury of the Wisdom and Mysteries of God and Nature," we may well opt to interpret the tale as an alchemical allegory, likely concocted by the Teutonic Philosopher and projected by him into the days of his youth, for the purpose of communicating something of the key to this "hidden Treasury of the Wisdom and Mysteries of God and Nature" to those with "ears to hear."» — la lectura alternativa que Newman propone, marcando la suya como opción: donde Franckenberg ve un presagio, a él le cabe leer el relato como alegoría alquímica fabricada por el propio Böhme, con la frase *entre grandes piedras rojas* como señal

«Around four centuries later, in fact, a young Merry Prankster by the name of Ken Kesey would describe his first experience with LSD in nearly identical terms: "I felt [...] it was like discovering a hole that went into the center of the earth and you could see jewelry down there.» — el paralelo contemporáneo que Newman añade: Ken Kesey describió su primera experiencia con LSD como descubrir un agujero al centro de la tierra donde se veían joyas

«settlement in America, known as the Ephrata community, founded by Conrad Beissel, in Pennsylvania between 1720 and 1732. Later, the arrival of the "High Philosopher," Jacob Martin, in the community in 1762, who was a follower of the alchemist, Michael Sendivogius (1566-1646) and thought to be an accomplished alchemical adept in his own right, reinvigorated Ephrata's focus on the royal art. Bringing with him both» — continuación: la llegada en 1762 del alto filósofo Jacob Martin, seguidor de Michael Sendivogius, reavivó el interés de Ephrata por el arte regio; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk

«somewhat obsessed with the work of Sendivogius, whom, Churton notes, envisioned a “Society of Unknown Philosophers" and was “an admirer of John Dee» — el dato de Churton que Newman recoge: Sendivogius imaginó una sociedad de filósofos desconocidos y era admirador de la *Monas Hieroglyphica* de Dee

«This is an important point. The successor of Alexander Sethon, a skilled Scottish alchemist who was famously imprisoned and tortured by Christian II, Elector of Saxony, for refusing to reveal the secret of a mysterious “red powder” in his own possession, Sendivogius, managing to secure some of the vermilion dust himself, sought the patronage and protection of alchemy enthusiast, Rudolf II.» — la cadena que Newman construye: Sendivogius sucedió a Alexander Sethon, torturado por el elector de Sajonia por no revelar el secreto de un polvo rojo, y con algo de ese polvo buscó la protección de Rodolfo II

«The pair having already positioned themselves in the good graces of the Holy Roman Emperor, Sendivogius sought and made the acquaintance of Dr. John Dee and Sir Edward Kelley. It was actually to Kelley that Sendivogius turned in seeking Rudolf's patronage. In fact, according to Dr. Prinke's study, The Twelfth Adept, Sendivogius leased a house from Kelley after establishing an alchemical laboratory on St. Stephen's Street, Prague New Town.» — el eslabón que a Newman le importa: Sendivogius buscó a Dee y a Kelley, y según el estudio *The Twelfth Adept* de Prinke arrendó a Kelley una casa tras montar laboratorio en la calle San Esteban de Praga

«Recall that Kelley had come into possession of a similar alchemical red powder some years earlier, the same, it was believed by Ashmole and Boyle, was the source of Dee and Kelley's "Angelic Actions." Perhaps what Martin and the Ephrata community sought in the red powder above all was discourse with angelic beings.» — la conjetura con que Newman cierra el círculo: quizá lo que Martin y la comunidad de Ephrata buscaban en el polvo rojo era, sobre todo, el trato con seres angélicos

«Amazingly, one of the manuscripts which Martin brought with him to Ephrata was the same alchemical ritual penned by Paracelsus, titled Thesaurorum Thesaurus (1580), that was in use by both Gold und Rosenkreuzer as well as Cagliostro. For spiritual regeneration, Thesaurorum Thesaurus prescribes that the candidate be administered “a grain of Materia Prima” and a “first grain of universal medicine," after which will follow "an unconsciousness of three hours, then convulsions, perspirations and considerable evacuations." The following day, "he takes the second grain of universal medicine. A deep sleep will follow. The hair, teeth, the nails and skin will blacken and be renewed. [...] The fortieth day, he will return home rejuvenated and perfectly recreated.» — la coincidencia documental que Newman subraya: entre los manuscritos que Martin llevó a Ephrata estaba el mismo *Thesaurorum Thesaurus* que usaban la Orden del Oro y Rosacruz y Cagliostro

«As we've observed, what we're seeing with Thesaurorum Thesaurus is nothing shy of a sort of DMT-fueled shamanesque initiation. It is no wonder then that we find both the manuscript and the "red Tincture" to be of great interest to our small band of American theosophers, as the latter was too for Dr. Pordage.» — la conclusión que Newman repite para ese ritual: una iniciación de traza chamánica alimentada por DMT, lo que explicaría el interés de los teósofos americanos por el manuscrito y por la tintura roja

«There remains preserved in the records of the Ephrata the account of one Johann Frantz Regnier, an unfortunate, unprepared man who decided to take the matter of spiritual regeneration into his own hands. Against the council of the Ephrata community, Regnier built a secluded hut in the wilderness, quarantined himself, and undertook the ordeal.» — el caso que Newman presenta como prueba por sus efectos: Johann Frantz Regnier, que contra el consejo de la comunidad se aisló en una cabaña y emprendió el ordalía por su cuenta

«went on without my attaining anything of that which I sought; until I, at last, lost my reason and became delirious. When I was completely mad, and without reason, they took me from the hut, demolished it, and confined me in a cell guarding me day and night, but as they could not accomplish anything they removed me to a dark cell, and beat and lashed me so that I might recover my reason. As all proved for naught and I only became worse, they removed me to another place then again to another where I had more liberty, after which I became sane however, not without many relapses. Although my reason had been entirely gone, everything remained in my memory, and I can readily recall all, so long as nothing else crosses my mind. Thus I recovered and came gradually to my sound senses, but whenever my will was opposed, the turba and confusion again appeared.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: no obtuvo nada de lo que buscaba y perdió la razón, fue encerrado, azotado y trasladado hasta recobrarla con recaídas, conservando la memoria de todo

«If there was ever any doubt as to the entheogenic nature of the above ritual and tincture(s), Regnier's chilling account should lay the same to rest.» — el peso que Newman le da a ese testimonio: si quedaba duda sobre la naturaleza enteogénica del ritual y las tinturas, el relato de Regnier la disiparía

«As Versluis notes, the theosophers, as a whole, were keen herbalists. Although, the degree to which they experimented (and with what substances) remains unclear.» — la reserva que Newman conserva de Versluis: los teósofos eran herbolarios entusiastas, pero no está claro hasta dónde experimentaron ni con qué sustancias

«Apparently Gichtel, the hermit of Amsterdam, practiced some form of herbal medicine, just as he practiced and was intimately familiar with alchemy both spiritual and practical. He was at least conversant with the healing properties of certain plants, even though he was not a practicing physician. [...] Johannes Kelpius and the Pennsylvania theosophers also preserved and augmented herbal medicine that they had brought from Germany to the New World, adding to this some American Indian remedies. [...] Likewise, Dr. John Pordage [...] made his living as a medical doctor and, in the practice of the day, prescribed certain herbal decoctions or preparations.» — la cita de Versluis: Gichtel practicaba alguna forma de medicina herbal, Kelpius y los teósofos de Pensilvania conservaron y ampliaron la suya con remedios indígenas americanos, y Pordage vivía de la medicina

«It would appear from their preoccupation with visionary states, spiritual regeneration, and a mysterious "red Tincture" that the theosophers' researches into the hidden recesses of nature were not limited to herbal remedies alone, but almost certainly included a healthy preoccupation with what we would now term entheogenic or psychedelic plants.» — el paso que Newman da desde ahí, marcado como apariencia: la preocupación por estados visionarios, regeneración espiritual y una tintura roja indicaría que sus indagaciones no se limitaban a remedios herbales

«Still something of an obscure figure, though he was an Englishman, outside of his two tracts, Theologia Mystica (1683) and Treatise of Eternal Nature (1681), all of Pordage's works were published in German and are only recently seeing English translations. However, Arthur Versluis' has done an incredible service in making his story available to the English-speaking world. The outstanding work, Theosophy, Imagination, Tradition by French author, Antoine Faivre, a past chair in the École Pratique des Hautes Études at Sorbonne, too has been translated into English. The interested reader is directed both to Faivre and to Versluis' remarkable trilogy of books on the theosophic tradition, Theosophia: Hidden Dimensions of Christianity, Wisdom's Children: A Christian Esoteric Tradition, and Wisdom's Book: The Sophia Anthology, which provide remarkable insight into the theories and practices of John Pordage and the early post-Böhmean theosophers.» — la nota bibliográfica con que Newman cierra el capítulo: casi toda la obra de Pordage se publicó en alemán, y remite al lector a Antoine Faivre y a la trilogía de Versluis

«In any case, this preoccupation with alchemy and the "red Tincture" carried on into the second prominent theosophic» — el paso al siguiente asentamiento teosófico: la preocupación por la alquimia y la tintura roja siguió en él; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«I subjected myself in my cabin to all the rules and requirements of» — el testimonio de Regnier, cortado en el límite de chunk donde el marcador de plana se reemite sin cambiar de número: dice haberse sometido en su cabaña a todas las reglas del ritual

«e noted in our book, Alchemically Stoned: The Psychedelic Secret of Freemasonry, that the earliest known Freemason to directly allude to the production of DMT from acacia was alchemist and General of the Artillery of the Russian Empire Pyotr Ivanovich Melissino, widely considered to be the greatest Russian artilleryman of the eighteenth century.» — la figura con que abre el capítulo ocho: Piotr Ivánovich Melissino, general de artillería del Imperio ruso, sería para Newman el masón más antiguo que alude a la producción de DMT a partir de acacia; la capitular deja la W suelta

«Melissino claimed to be in possession of an elixir "capable of bringing about good health and youthful vigour."119 He admitted to learning the secret of the “transmuted gold and the elixir of life" from a manuscript given him by a German doctor and alchemist named Kerstniz, likely Johann Christian Kerstens (1713-1802), the first professor of medicine, chemistry, natural history, and physics at Moscow University.» — lo que Melissino declaraba según Newman: tener un elixir capaz de dar salud y vigor juvenil, aprendido de un manuscrito que le dio un médico alemán llamado Kerstniz, probablemente Johann Christian Kerstens

«In 1762 Melissino established a theurgic, alchemico-Masonic rite which drew heavily upon Rosicrucianism and mystic Christian themes. In the seventh degree of his rite, Melissino specifically refers to the acacia as the primal matter of the alchemists, from which is produced a “treasure” - DMT crystals, ostensibly the same being identified as the legendary stone of the philosophers. Melissino says,» — el rito que Newman data en 1762: teúrgico y alquímico-masónico, con fuerte componente rosacruz, cuyo séptimo grado remite a la acacia como materia primera de la que sale un tesoro

«The cubical stone is the alkaline universal-salt, which dissolves all metals and precious stones, because this salt is the mother, the origin, and the magnet of all of them. The Master's Degree speaks to us of the acacia found upon Hiram's grave. This is the true [primal] matter, from which the philosophers create their treasures. It is the true light of the world, from which glorious Hiram shall rise again under the guise of the Redeemer. It is the burning coal of which Isaiah» — la cita de Melissino: la piedra cúbica es la sal universal alcalina, y la acacia hallada sobre la tumba de Hiram es la verdadera materia de la que los filósofos hacen sus tesoros y de la que Hiram se alzará como Redentor; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«[speaks], and which must be prepared in accordance with the secret system of the wise men of old and the philosophers [i.e., the alchemists]. One of our most mysterious materials is therefore the burning coal, which the Egyptian Kabbalah 121 names clearly and without fuss. The second is that greenish foam that floats on the sea of the philosophers. One without the other can create nothing: only those of our Conclave, who have received the appropriate instruction on how to unite these two materials in accordance with our practical Cabbala have the good fortune to see this first water come into being. From it comes afterwards the grey salt called the mineral Electrum, or else the Saturnine Antimony, and from this salt comes finally the Mercurial-water which dissolves all metals, minerals, precious stones and all compositions of nature, and which keeps the days of man in complete health through to his very last goal in life» — continuación de la cita: los dos materiales misteriosos serían el carbón encendido y la espuma verdosa que flota en el mar de los filósofos, y solo quienes recibieron la instrucción de unirlos ven nacer esa primera agua

«By "Egyptian Kabbalah" could Melissino possibly mean the Egyptian Rite of his friend and Masonic Brother, Cagliostro?» — la pregunta que Newman deja en nota, sin responderla: si la cábala egipcia de Melissino sería el rito egipcio de su amigo y hermano masón Cagliostro

«Here, unlike with Cagliostro, the “cubical stone" refers not to the DMT crystals themselves, but rather to the alkaline salts used to extract the DMT from the acacia. This is a technical but important distinction. For, Melissino's method for producing DMT is identical to what Paracelsus referred to as the Primum Ens, meaning primal or first entity, technique. Using this method, a caustic, alkaline menstruum, known as lixivium, is prepared from the soluble salts harvested from the ashes of calcinated woods and other plant matter. When these salts are dissolved in purified water, the potential result is a solution with a pH sufficient to extract the alkaloids from the plant (primal) matter.» — la distinción técnica que Newman marca: en Melissino la piedra cúbica no son los cristales de DMT sino las sales alcalinas que los extraen, y el método sería el *Primum Ens* paracelsiano con un lixiviado de cenizas de madera calcinada

«Of course, "cubical stone" is language which Melissino has obviously borrowed from Masonic ritual, and refers to the perfect ashlar, but here he has clearly identified this ashlar with a "salt" that has been used to produce "treasures" from acacia, the "primal matter."» — la doble lectura que Newman propone del término: la piedra cúbica viene del ashlar perfecto del ritual masónico, pero Melissino la identifica con una sal usada para sacar tesoros de la acacia

«Melissino's reference to “greenish foam" is another indication that Paracelsus' Primum Ens technique is implied. In order to pull the stone from the caustic menstruum, called by Melissino, the "sea of the philosophers" and "the alkaline universal-salt," one must pour atop this solution a non-polar solvent which cleanly evaporates. Like Paracelsus before him, Melissino would have used a form of ether to accomplish this. Although, naphtha is known to work just as well, and was certainly available at the time.» — la reconstrucción de laboratorio que Newman propone: para sacar la piedra del menstruo cáustico haría falta verter encima un disolvente apolar que evapore limpio, éter en el caso de Melissino, aunque la nafta también serviría

«This same method of extraction is actually hinted at in the poem, Sir Edward Kelley's Worke, published by Ashmole in his collection, Theatrum Chamicum Britannicum, indicating that Kelley was familiar with the work.» — el enlace hacia atrás: el mismo método estaría insinuado en el poema *Sir Edward Kelley’s Worke* publicado por Ashmole, lo que para Newman indica que Kelley conocía el procedimiento

«When the poet says, "And in this hidden point our seacret lyes, It is enough, few words content the wise," he does not lie. It is to the same sea as Melissino's "sea of the philosophers" that the poem "seacretly" alludes. For, "seacret lyes" refers to the very "sea" of the philosophers, which itself consists of 'lye.' King was indeed on to something when he said of Theatricum Chemicum Britannicum: "I think [Ashmole refers] to processes designed to extract hallucinogens from plant [...] substances.» — el juego de palabras en que Newman apoya su lectura: *seacret lyes* remitiría al mar de los filósofos y a la lejía, y da la razón a Francis King sobre los procesos para extraer alucinógenos

«As far as the green coloration of this "foam," when training them in the mastery of the Primum Ens technique, Paracelsus had his students use the benign melissa, aka lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). This produces an astoundingly rich, emerald green. layer that floats atop the caustic menstruum as oil on water hence Melissino's allusion to "that greenish foam that floats on the sea of the philosophers.» — la explicación del color que Newman propone: Paracelso hacía practicar el *Primum Ens* con melisa, que da una capa verde esmeralda flotando sobre el menstruo cáustico

«The scriptural allusion in the above excerpt refers to a biblical episode wherein a burning coal of an unspecified substance is placed upon Isaiah's lips by an angel, assumedly for him to inhale its fumes; that is, for him to smoke it - smoking being one of the preferred modes by which DMT is normally consumed. "Lo" said the angel. "This [burning coal] hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged." 124 Note that acacia or Akakia, as Mackey related it in his Lexicon, is suggestive of freedom from iniquity or freedom from sin. 125 "Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged," indeed.» — la lectura que Newman hace del carbón encendido de Isaías: un ángel lo pone en los labios del profeta, y él supone que para inhalar sus vapores, con el apoyo del *Lexicon* de Mackey, que da *akakia* por ausencia de iniquidad

«1762 may seem like an early date for smoking, but the art of fumeur was introduced to the West in 1560 by Frenchman, Jean Nicot, after whom nicotine was named. Moreover, we have evidence that the technique of smoking entheogens such as cannabis through a water pipe was familiar to seventeenth-century alchemists, as can be seen in a remarkable woodcut, dated to at least 1680 but likely of earlier origin, depicting a man, ostensibly an alchemist, experiencing a vision after exhaling smoke from a glass water pipe. The aparatus is described to the reader in Christian Ratsch's Marijuana Medicine as an “Alchemical water pipe.» — la objeción cronológica que Newman se plantea y contesta: el arte de fumar entró en Occidente en 1560 con Jean Nicot, y un grabado de hacia 1680 muestra a un alquimista con visión tras exhalar humo de una pipa de agua

«He also attacked Fichtuld's Orden des Gold und Rosenkreuzer, stating that "in recent years [...] a certain society of so-called German Rosicrucians has been established [who] have but little knowledge of the Royal Art.» — el segundo blanco de Melissino: la Orden del Oro y Rosacruz de Fichtuld, a la que acusaba de poco saber del arte regio

«As Meale and Water joined both together, Is neither Meale nor Water now but Dow; Which being baked, is Dow nor Water neither: Nor any more will each from other goe, The meane betweene is Wife, our Wife even so: And in this hidden point our seacret lyes, It is enough, few words content the wise.» — primera mitad de los versos de Kelley citados: harina y agua unidas ya no son ni harina ni agua sino masa, y en ese punto oculto está el secreto; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«Now by this simile here I do reveale, A mighty Seacret if you marke it well; Call Mercury Water, imagine Sulphur Meale, What Meale I mean I hope the wise can tell: Bake them by craft, make them together dwell, For Wife she is not while she is in Paste.» — segunda mitad, en la plana siguiente: llámese agua al mercurio e imagínese harina al azufre, cuézanse con arte y háganse morar juntos

«Melissino curiously stressed the difference between his Order and all preceding manifestations of the Rosicrucian Order, saying that "this most venerable name has been abused in former times by fraudulent 'base' chemists," an probable allusion to the» — la distancia que Melissino tomaba respecto de los rosacruces anteriores: decía que el nombre venerable había sido abusado por químicos viles; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«seventeenth-century Rosicrucian apologists, e.g., Robert Fludd, Michael Maier, Heinrich Khunrath, etc.» — la identificación que Newman propone para esos químicos viles: los apologistas rosacruces del siglo XVII, Robert Fludd, Michael Maier y Heinrich Khunrath

«This is significant as we have been unable to find any references to acacia in the works of either the Rosicrucian» — la búsqueda negativa que Newman declara como hallazgo: no ha podido hallar referencias a la acacia en esas obras; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«sympathizers or the German Golden and Rosy Cross. The brand of alchemy that Melissino was working with was indeed something entirely different than anything that came before in the name of the Rose and Cross.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: por eso la alquimia con que trabajaba Melissino le parece algo enteramente distinto de lo anterior en nombre de la Rosa y la Cruz

«he Rosicrucian movement began in Germany in the early seventeenth century with the publication of the now famous Rosicrucian manifestos, the Fama, Confessio, and Chymical Wedding. With undeniable Kabbalistic and alchemical leanings, Rosicrucianism was directly influenced by German mysticism, Paracelsian philosophy, and especially the works of the "Teutonic Philosopher," Jakob Böhme, and Elizabethan adviser, Dr. John Dee. In fact, not only is the year provided as the discovery of C.R.'s tomb in the manifestos, 1604, the same year of the Elizabethan magus' death, but Dee's symbol of the Hieroglyphic Monad, published in his Monas Hieroglyphica, also appears on the very wedding invitation mentioned in the third Rosicrucian manifesto, Johannes Valentinus Andreae's Chymical Wedding. As we have already seen, both Dee and the Böhmist theosophers were preoccupied with red, alchemical powders and tinctures.» — el marco con que abre el capítulo nueve: el rosacrucismo alemán del siglo XVII, con la coincidencia que Newman subraya —1604 como año de la tumba de C. R. y de la muerte de Dee— y la mónada jeroglífica de Dee en la invitación de bodas de las *Bodas químicas*; la capitular deja la T suelta

«Beginning with the appearance of Herman Fichtuld's Orden des Gold und Rosenkreuzer nearly a century after the initial publication of the Rosicrucian manifestos, a number of groups have surfaced styling themselves 'Rosicrucian, perhaps the most interesting of which for our purposes is Societas Rosicruciana In Anglia (S.R.I.A.), the group which birthed the famous magical society, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.» — el hilo que Newman sigue hasta el siglo XIX: de la orden de Fichtuld a la Societas Rosicruciana In Anglia, de la que nació la Golden Dawn

«In the Grade of Practicus, wherein the candidate is instructed in both practical laboratory and spiritual alchemy, special emphasis is laid upon our red powder. Quoting from the alchemist, Jean d'Espagnet, the Practicus ritual lecture states,» — el documento del capítulo: la lección del grado de Practicus, donde se instruye al candidato en alquimia de laboratorio y espiritual y se cita a Jean d’Espagnet sobre el polvo rojo

«Take a red dragon, courageous and warlike to whom no natural strength is wanting: take also seven or nine noble virgin eagles, whose eyes will not wax dull in the rays of the Sun: cast the Birds in with the Beast into a clear prison, shut them up strongly: under which let a bath be placed, that they might be incensed to fight by the warm vapour: in a short time they will enter upon a hard contention; until about the fiftieth day the eagles begin to tear the beast in pieces; this one, dying, will infect the whole prison with black poison, whereby the eagles also being injured, they also will be soon constrained to give up the ghost.» — la alegoría citada: un dragón rojo y siete o nueve águilas vírgenes encerrados en una prisión clara sobre un baño, hasta que hacia el día cincuenta las águilas despedazan a la bestia y el veneno negro las mata a ellas

«It may be easily perceived that this Allegory is convertible into a description of chemical processes, thus: Take one part of a red powder a, and add seven or nine parts of the liquid b, which is volatile, i.e., able to fly; mix them, put the mixture into a glass retort – the clear prison – hermetically seal the opening, that is, shut them up strongly; set the vessel on a water bath, and then the heat will make the liquid attack the solid powder and dissolve it, and the result will be the production of a black substance, and both the red powder and the liquid will have lost their previous chemical characters. [This] red matter was the Philosopher's Stone, or Red Elixir...» — la traducción química que el propio ritual da de la alegoría: una parte de polvo rojo con siete o nueve de un líquido volátil en una retorta sellada al baño maría, que da una sustancia negra, y la materia roja resultante sería la piedra o elixir rojo

«Recall the instruction provided by Melissino to his candidates in regard to his version of the Primum Ens, where the cubical stone is referred to the alkaline salts used to extract the DMT alkaloids from the acacia, the "primal matter." In order to pull the tryptamine stone from this caustic menstruum, i.e., from the "seven or nine noble virgin eagles, whose eyes will not wax dull in the rays of the Sun," one must pour atop the solution a non-polar solvent which will eventually evaporate clean, leaving behind nothing but the purified lapis. Floating atop this "sea of the philosophers," the solvent in this case acts as a “magnet,” drawing the alkaloids from the alkaline solution and into the non-polar solvent. Again, Melissino, like Paracelsus, would have no doubt used a form of ether. But, naphtha works just as well, and was readily available at the time.» — la reiteración del procedimiento: sobre el menstruo cáustico se vierte un disolvente apolar que evapora limpio y actúa de imán, sacando los alcaloides de la solución alcalina

«This seems as good a place as any to provide an outline of the modern "tek" by which DMT is extracted from organic sources, the same being essentially an updated version of Paracelsus' Primum Ens method of alkaloid extraction. To our knowledge, this technique was first published by Jim DeKorne, a former epidemiologist and college English professor, in his 1994 book, Psychedelic Shamanism: The Cultivation, Preparation and Shamanic Use of Psychedelic Plants. Although, a simplified version, titled DMT for the Masses, appeared in the Autumn, 2006 issue of The Entheogen Review. Here follows the latter.» — la fuente moderna que Newman transcribe: la técnica de extracción de DMT publicada por Jim DeKorne en 1994 y su versión simplificada, *DMT for the Masses*, aparecida en *The Entheogen Review* en 2006

«1) Snap the Mimosa tenuiflora root-bark into small pieces and run it through the coffee grinder or blender at high speed. You may need pruning shears to cut the root-bark small enough to grind properly. Pulverize it until it is just fiber and pink/purple dust it needs to be completely broken down. The dust produced is very fine and astringent to one's respiratory tract. Unless you dig big cakey purple boogers, wear a dust mask. After grinding, wait for a bit before opening the top of the coffee grinder or blender, so that the dust has some time to settle.» — primer paso de esa técnica: moler la corteza de raíz de *Mimosa tenuiflora* hasta dejarla en fibra y polvo rosa violáceo, con mascarilla

«2) Combine the lye and the water in the mixing jar. Use 15 ml water and 1 gram of lye for every gram of powdered root-bark that will later be added into the mixing jar. For example: 50 grams of root-bark powder would require 750 ml water and 50 grams of lye. One level tablespoon of lye weighs about 15 grams. 3) Add the powdered root-bark into the lye/water solution in your mixing jar. Cap and shake the jar, then let it sit for about an hour.» — pasos dos y tres: sosa y agua en proporción de quince mililitros y un gramo por gramo de corteza, y una hora de reposo tras añadir el polvo

«5) After the final agitation, allow enough time to pass for the naptha to again float on top, and then separate the two layers. The naptha (top layer) goes in one of the collection jars, everything else stays in the mixing jar. A separatory funnel is the easiest means to accomplish separation of the two layers, but various techniques of siphoning or decanting could also be employed. None of the dark (lower) solution should be allowed into the collection jar - just the naptha.» — quinto paso: separar la capa de nafta con embudo de decantación o sifón, sin dejar pasar nada de la solución oscura

«6) Repeat steps 4-5 above three more times, but do not add any new powdered root-bark. You will be reprocessing the same original root-bark material, in order to thoroughly extract the DMT from it. With the final (fourth jar) extraction, leave the powdered root-bark soaking in the naptha for a day or two (agitating it occasionally), to better extract any remaining DMT before separating off the naptha. When you have finished, place all four collection jars into your freezer and go to bed. You will have four 'snow globes' waiting for you in the morning.» — sexto paso: repetir la extracción sobre la misma corteza y congelar los cuatro frascos, que amanecen como bolas de nieve

«7) Pour the naptha from each jar through a coffee filter, saving the naptha. A lot of paste will stick to the jar, so use a small rubber spatula to» — séptimo paso: filtrar la nafta y raspar la pasta de las paredes del frasco; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«scrape this paste from the jar's sides down into the filter as well. Spread out each filter to dry. There will still be some residue in the jars; a bit of Salvia divinorum or Cannabis can be used to scrub them out, providing an enhanced aspect to those herbs. 8) The paste must be allowed to dry thoroughly; chop and stir it a couple of times to make sure that this is the case. Once it seems to be dry, crush up any lumps.» — continuación de los pasos siete y ocho: secar los filtros y dejar que la pasta seque bien, deshaciendo los grumos

«9) Combine all of the dried material into one coffee filter. Wash this material by pouring freezer temperature non-sudsy ammonia over it and through the coffee filter. It is imperative that the ammonia you use is of the non-sudsy variety. You can shake the bottle to tell; if it creates suds, get a different kind. Rinsing won't take much ammonia, about 4 ounces for a 200-gram batch. Stir the powder around while rinsing to make sure that all of it is thoroughly wetted. A good bit of the mass will wash away - perhaps 25-45% but it's nothing you want to be smoking anyway. You should be left with about 0.5% of the weight of» — noveno paso: lavar el material seco con amoniaco no jabonoso a temperatura de congelador; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«bark in DMT powder. When dried, it is perfectly smokable at this point, but it can be refined further by recrystallization.» — cierre de la técnica al otro lado del corte: quedaría alrededor del medio por ciento del peso de la corteza en polvo de DMT, fumable ya en ese punto y refinable por recristalización

«Compare to Paracelsus' Primum Ens method which, while far more basic, actually arrives at the same end. This version of the Primum Ens comes from the German medical doctor, theosophist, and alchemist, Franz Hartmann» — el contraste que Newman propone: el *Primum Ens* paracelsiano, mucho más básico, llegaría al mismo fin, en la versión del médico y teósofo Franz Hartmann

«In Hartmann's case, it is to the alcohol that Melissino's "greenish foam" refers, while Melissino's "sea of the philosophers" answers to the caustic menstruum used to extract the lapis from the prima materia - referred to in the ritual of the Rosicrucians as "noble virgin eagles..." Where Paracelsus would have used ether, Hartmann used alcohol. Modern teks, however, call for naphtha.» — la equivalencia con que Newman cierra la serie: la espuma verdosa de Melissino sería el alcohol en Hartmann y el mar de los filósofos el menstruo cáustico; Paracelso habría usado éter, Hartmann alcohol y las técnicas modernas nafta

«Either in name or in spirit, alongside Societas Rosicruciana, the Rosicrucian movement was carried on into the nineteenth century by a number of organizations, some explicitly styling themselves Rosicrucian, others focusing more on currents surrounding and traditionally associated with the "furore,"» — el inventario de órdenes decimonónicas con que Newman enlaza el capítulo siguiente: de la Fraternitas Rosae Crucis de Randolph a la Sociedad Teosófica de Blavatsky, Judge y Olcott

«It does not take much to see that the "red dragon, courageous and warlike" here discussed is none other the prima materia or sprig of acacia, while the liquid part, “noble virgin eagles, whose» — la lectura que Newman superpone a la alegoría: el dragón rojo sería la prima materia o rama de acacia, y las águilas vírgenes la parte líquida; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«eyes will not wax dull in the rays of the Sun," answers to the caustic, "volatile" menstruum used to extract the lapis.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: esas águilas responden al menstruo cáustico y volátil con que se extrae el *lapis*

«4) Now add to the mixing jar 1 ml of naptha for each 15 ml of water used to create the lye solution. Turn the jar end-over-end. Do not shake or splash (or there will be a tendency for the solution to form an unwanted emulsion); simply roll the naptha around in the root» — cuarto paso de la técnica; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *root-bark-powder-solution*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente: un mililitro de nafta por cada quince de agua, volteando el frasco sin agitar para no formar emulsión

«Take half a pound of pure carbonate of potash and expose it to the air until it is dissolved (by attracting water from the atmosphere). Filter the fluid, and put as many fresh leaves of the plant melissa into it as it will hold, so that the fluid will cover the leaves. Let it stand in a well closed glass, and in a moderately warm place, for twenty four hours. The fluid may then be removed from the leaves, and the latter thrown away. On the top of this fluid absolute alcohol is poured, so that it will cover the former to the height of one or two inches,» — primera parte de la receta de Hartmann: media libra de carbonato de potasio delicuescente, hojas frescas de melisa por veinticuatro horas y alcohol absoluto encima; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«and it is left to remain for one or two days, or until the alcohol becomes of an intensely green colour. This alcohol is then to be taken away and preserved and fresh alcohol is put upon the alkaline fluid, and the operation is repeated until all the colouring matter is absorbed by the alcohol. This alcoholic fluid is now to be distilled, and the alcohol evaporated until it becomes the thickness of syrup, which is the Primum Ens Melissae; but the alcohol that has been distilled away and the potash may be used again. The liquid potash must be of great concentration and the alcohol of great strength, else they would become mixed, and the experiment would not succeed.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: el alcohol se tiñe de verde intenso, se repite la operación hasta agotar el color y se destila hasta espesor de jarabe, que es el *Primum Ens Melissae*

«solution to mix it. Gently do this for one minute, and then let the jar stand until the naptha has mostly separated and is floating on top. Then repeat this agitation process three more times.» — continuación del cuarto paso, arrancando después del guion de corte: un minuto de volteo suave y reposo hasta que la nafta flote, repitiendo la agitación tres veces más

«In the years which followed, this early realization repeatedly left us wondering: Could psychoactive drugs have played a role at any juncture in the early days of the Theosophical Society? The following discussion constitutes our meager attempt to satisfy that curiosity.» — la pregunta que el capítulo dice venir a contestar, planteada con modestia explícita: si las drogas psicoactivas tuvieron papel en los primeros años de la Sociedad Teosófica

«In his paper, The Two Theosophical Societies, John Patrick Deveney argues that there were in fact two manifestations of the Theosophical Society. Analyzing Blavatsky's early writings, including personal correspondences, Deveney notes that, following the 1880s, the Society took a decided turn from practical work with the forces of the occult, to theoretical speculation upon the same.» — la tesis que Newman toma de John Patrick Deveney: hubo dos Sociedades Teosóficas, y tras la década de 1880 la sociedad giró del trabajo práctico con las fuerzas ocultas a la especulación teórica

«The first [Theosophical] Society was the heir of ideas associated with the Rosicrucians and with Cagliostro (1743-1795), the Italian mage who spread a system of practical occultism across Europe.» — la cita de Deveney: la primera sociedad era heredera de ideas rosacruces y de Cagliostro, el mago italiano que difundió un sistema de ocultismo práctico por Europa

«In 1791, the Vatican sentenced the legendary Italian occultist called Cagliostro to death on charges of heresy and Freemasonry. Although his execution was stayed, the self-styled 'High Priest of the Egyptian Mysteries, died of disease four years later in the dungeons of the Inquisition. Some of Blavatsky's earliest and closest followers harbored a secret hope, discussed in letters and lodge conversations. It was that the mysterious madame had arrived to replace [the] fallen heterodox hero...» — la cita de Mitch Horowitz: el Vaticano condenó a muerte a Cagliostro en 1791 y él murió preso cuatro años después, y algunos seguidores tempranos de Blavatsky esperaban en secreto que ella viniera a reemplazar a ese héroe heterodoxo caído

«The first real indication that drugs may have indeed played a role came with our reading of Joscelyn Godwin's The Theosophical Enlightenment. By his own claims, in late 1875 or early 1876, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, Madame Blavatsky's right hand man and co-founder of the Theosophical Society, was visited by two strange men. Godwin explains,» — el primer indicio que Newman aporta, tomado de Joscelyn Godwin: la visita de dos hombres extraños al coronel Olcott a fines de 1875 o principios de 1876

«In Old Diary Leaves, the Colonel describes how Liatto/Hilarion visited his apartment and made his bedroom disappear into a cube of empty space, into which bizarre landscapes and elementary forms, some 'as horrid to see as the pictures in Barrett's Magus.' [...] Telling Olcott to ask no questions, Liatto produced a vast bouquet of perfumed flowers in mid-air, which floated to the floor. Next he caused a shower that soaked Olcott to the skin, as well as his cigar, books, clock, and carpet, but left the Brothers (and their cigars) perfectly dry. The older man now offered Olcott visions in a small crystal, which were so intense that for an hour Olcott quite forgot where he was. Olcott had several times mentioned Blavatsky to his visitors, and now he prevailed on them to let him introduce them to her. Going downstairs to her apartment, which was directly beneath his own, Olcott was flabbergasted to find the two men already there, chatting with her like old friends. He rushed upstairs and found his room empty...» — la cita de Godwin: Liatto hizo desaparecer la alcoba en un cubo de espacio vacío con formas elementales tan horribles como las láminas del *Magus* de Barrett, produjo flores en el aire y una lluvia que empapó a Olcott, y le dio visiones en un cristal

«Fragrant bouquets of flowers floating in mid-air? Indoor rain showers and intense visions? All of these symptoms resemble nothing so much as the peak of a psychedelic drug trip. 133 We'll return to Olcott and his mysterious visions below.» — la lectura que Newman propone de ese episodio: los síntomas le recuerdan al punto álgido de un viaje psicodélico

«Olcott specifically mentions that all three of the men possessed cigars, but only his appeared wet. If Olcott was given the cigar by the visiting strangers upon their arrival, a common courtesy of the era, then it is not impossible that Olcott's cigar may have been spiked; that is, it may have been drugged without his consent, which might also explain the cigar» — la conjetura que Newman deja en nota, marcándola como no imposible: si los visitantes le dieron el puro, éste pudo estar adulterado sin su consentimiento, lo que explicaría también que estuviera húmedo

«[The] real property of the true Soma was (and is) to make a new man of the Initiate, after he is reborn, namely once that he begins to live in his astral body [...] The partaker of Soma finds himself both linked to his external body, and yet away from it in his spiritual form. The latter, freed from the former, soars for the time being in the ethereal higher regions, becoming virtually as one of the gods, and yet preserving in his physical brain the memory of what he sees and learns. Plainly speaking, Soma is the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge forbidden by the jealous Elohim to Adam and Eve or Yah-ve, lest Man should become as one of» — la cita de *The Secret Doctrine* de Blavatsky: la propiedad real del verdadero soma sería hacer nuevo al iniciado, que vive en su cuerpo astral y conserva la memoria de lo visto, y el soma sería el fruto del árbol del conocimiento

«What Madame Blavatsky is attempting to describe, the Vedic sacrament-cum-deity, Soma, is a powerful entheogenic plant, the identity of which has eluded botanists, mycologists, anthropologists, linguists, and historians of religion for centuries. Several candidates have been suggested throughout the years of Soma's investigation, e.g., Amanita muscaria, Psilocybe cubensis, Papaver somniferum, Ephedra sinica, Peganum harmala, Cannabis sativa, or any number of combinations of those.» — la identificación pendiente que Newman consigna: el soma védico es una planta enteogénica cuya identidad se discute, con *Amanita muscaria*, *Psilocybe cubensis*, adormidera, efedra, harmal y cáñamo entre los candidatos

«Although, it is probable that the substance which most commonly answered to the epithet of Soma in the minds of the nineteenth-century occult revivalists was hashish, a drug prepared from the tricomes or resin gland heads of the young leaves and buds of the mature female Cannabis sativa plant.» — la conjetura que Newman prefiere para el siglo XIX: lo que los ocultistas decimonónicos llamaban soma sería probablemente hachís

«What] purported to be the real Soma juice [was] drunk at a certain stage. [...] I hesitated very much to drink this drug sent me by a perfect stranger, & I thought of omitting it. However, I opened the bottle and smelt of it. All my life, I have been used to drugs, & I at once recognized this. I knew its effects were most powerful, but I decided to take it. Whether it was hallucination produced by this drug I know not, but I was conscious of another presence, tho' I cannot say I absolutely saw any form. I was fully 3 hours at it from midnight. When over, I felt my pulse, & found just what I expected, that it was intermittent, which was what I knew to be the effect of the drug I thought it was.» — la carta del reverendo William Alexander Ayton que Newman cita: bebió lo que se le presentó como jugo de soma, reconoció la droga por el olfato y pasó tres horas consciente de otra presencia, con el pulso intermitente

«Based on the fact that they were not only legal but were commonly used by the European Mesmerists and magnetists of the mid-nineteenth century, the authors of The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor: Initiatic and Historical Documents of an Order of Practical Occultism speculate that the version of "the real Soma juice" which Atyon was describing to this unnamed "American neophyte" was quite likely either opium or hashish.» — la conjetura que Newman recoge de los editores de *The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor*: ese jugo de soma habría sido opio o hachís, drogas legales y corrientes entre los magnetizadores de la época

«Not surprisingly, Blavatsky herself was even said to have experimented with both opium and hashish. In addition to an article published by one Hannah Wolff concerning Blavatsky's early days in New York which accused the Russian occultist of being partial to opium and hashish, 136 her life-long friend, A.L. Rawson, wrote that Blavatsky,» — lo que Newman consigna sobre Blavatsky misma: un artículo de Hannah Wolff la acusó de aficionada al opio y al hachís, y su amigo A. L. Rawson lo escribió también

«Furthermore, according to New York socialite, Edith Starr Miller, aka Lady Queenborough, Blavatsky was a close friend and student of hashish enthusiast, Victor Michal, who "developed the mediumistic faculties of Madame Blavatsky.” 138 Gary Lachman of Blondie fame explains, - "Victor Michal [...] used hashish in his work a possible link to [Blavatsky's] own disputed use and he is said to have found [Blavatsky] a wonderful trance subject.» — el segundo vínculo que Newman aporta, vía Edith Starr Miller y Gary Lachman: Victor Michal, entusiasta del hachís, habría desarrollado las facultades mediúmnicas de Blavatsky y la tenía por magnífico sujeto de trance

«Like the French magnetists such as Cahagnet and Dupotet, Blavatsky's magnetic master, Michal, employed hashish to induce the trance-like, somnambulistic state so familiar to Mesmerists and Spiritualistic mediums alike.» — la lectura que Newman propone de ese dato: como los magnetizadores franceses, Michal usaba hachís para inducir el estado sonambúlico de trance

«e first encountered the work of Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky around the turn of the millennium while investigating ancient and modern streams of Gnosticism. Never before had our young eyes chanced upon something so rich in content and cosmic in scope. In a word, the» — la entrada personal con que abre el capítulo diez: Newman dice haber leído a Blavatsky hacia el cambio de milenio, mientras investigaba corrientes gnósticas; la capitular deja la W suelta y el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«Madame's writings were surreal - dare we say, even psychedelic – perhaps the most surreal and psychedelic literature to which we had been exposed at the time.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: la escritura de Blavatsky le resultó surreal, y hasta psicodélica, la más de cuantas conocía entonces

«As we've noted, Cagliostro was one of a number of eighteenth-century Masonic alchemists who practiced a secretive» — el resumen con que Newman retoma su tesis: Cagliostro sería uno de varios alquimistas masónicos del siglo XVIII que practicaban una corriente secreta; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«stream of psychedelic Freemasonry, wherein the seemingly innocent sprig of acacia referenced in the Master Mason degree was elevated to the role of prima materia, the 'first matter' from which the alchemists create their lapis philosophorum or 'stone of the wise' acacia being one of the richest sources of the entheogenic compound, DMT, found in nature. It was with this compound that Cagliostro initiated candidates for his Egyptian Freemasonry. And, it is possible that, at least in its early days in America, the Theosophical Society harnessed something of this entheogenic transmission.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: en esa masonería psicodélica la rama de acacia pasaba a ser prima materia, y a Newman le parece posible que la Sociedad Teosófica aprovechara algo de esa transmisión en sus primeros años en América

«had tried hasheesh in Cairo with success, and she again indulged in it [...] under the care of myself and Dr. Edward Sutton Smith, who had had a large experience with the drug among his patients at Mount Lebanon, Syria. [Blavatsky] said: 'Hasheesh multiplies one's life a thousandfold. My experiences are as real as if they were ordinary events» — la cita de Rawson: Blavatsky habría probado hachís en El Cairo y volvió a hacerlo bajo su cuidado y el del doctor Edward Sutton Smith; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«of actual life. Ah! I have the explanation. It is a recollection of my former existences, my previous incarnations. It is a wonderful drug and it clears up profound mystery.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: ella lo explicaba como recuerdo de existencias anteriores y llamaba maravillosa a la droga

«Another influential Spiritualist who employed drugs to induce the desired "trance condition" was Emma Hardinge Britten, a self-proclaimed “ardent supporter" of the Theosophical Society. Britten was a member of a London secret society known as Orphic Circle, a group which centered itself purely upon practical occultism.» — la siguiente figura del capítulo: Emma Hardinge Britten, espiritista que empleaba drogas para inducir el trance y miembro del Orphic Circle londinense

«Believed by some to have been a young seeress for the Rosicrucian Freemason, Frederick Hockley, Britten was present at the Spiritualist meeting in New York which eventually led to the creation of the Theosophical Society under Madame Blavatsky, Colonel Olcott, and William Quan Judge.» — lo que Newman consigna sobre su posición: se la tiene por vidente joven del masón rosacruz Frederick Hockley, y estuvo en la reunión de Nueva York de la que nació la Sociedad Teosófica

«article published in the late October or early November of 1875 issue of the New York Mercury cited Olcott as describing Britten's book, Art Magic, as the "first textbook" for the fledgling society.142 Olcott announced,» — el dato de prensa que Newman aporta: un artículo del *New York Mercury* citaba a Olcott llamando primer libro de texto de la sociedad al *Art Magic* de Britten

«[Britten] will give members of the society authentic and practical instruction in art magic, together with directions for invoking, controlling and discharging unearthly beings, and the uses, abuses, dangers and possibilities of the magical art.» — la cita de Olcott: Britten daría a los miembros instrucción práctica en arte mágico, con indicaciones para invocar, controlar y despedir seres no terrenos

«The arts necessary for study to the practical occultist are...a knowledge of the qualities of drugs, vapours, minerals, electricity, perfumes, fumigations, and all kinds of anaesthetics...» — primera de las tres citas de Britten que Newman alinea: entre las artes necesarias al ocultista práctico está el conocimiento de drogas, vapores, minerales, electricidad, perfumes, fumigaciones y anestésicos

«Drugs... (especially hashish, opium, and nitrous oxide) are useful [for achieving power and communicating with the hierarchies.] The use of Hasheesh, Napellus, Opium, the juice of the Indian Soma, or Egyptian Lotus plant, besides many other narcotics of special virtues, constitute a large portion of the preparatory exercises...» — segunda cita: hachís, opio y óxido nitroso serían útiles para alcanzar poder y comunicarse con las jerarquías, junto con el napelo, el jugo del soma indio y el loto egipcio

«The Soma juice, hasheesh, opium, the napellus, and distillations procured from two or three species of acrid fungi, are considered the most effective narcotics appropriate for inducing the trance condition.» — tercera cita: el jugo de soma, el hachís, el opio, el napelo y destilaciones de dos o tres especies de hongos acres serían los narcóticos más eficaces para inducir el trance

«Along with Britten, also present at the initial New York meeting which led to the formation of the Theosophical Society was Civil War officer and autodidact inventor, George H. Felt, who went so far as to employ drugs in an attempt to make invisible elemental spirits observable by the naked eye. The Vice-President of the Theosophical Society, Felt's role in its creation has been severely downplayed. Although, he is something of an enigma as he vanished shortly after the society» — la tercera figura del capítulo: George H. Felt, oficial de la guerra civil e inventor autodidacta, vicepresidente de la Sociedad Teosófica, que empleaba drogas para hacer visibles a los espíritus elementales y desapareció poco después de la fundación

«Felt's demonstration of the existence of the Elemental races [was] counted as the sound experimental basis [of the society]. [After Felt's departure,] we made slow progress, for, though we all, by tacit consent, put the best face upon it, every one of us was secretly discouraged by Felt's fiasco, and there seemed no chance of finding a substitute.» — la cita de Olcott sobre el desenlace: la demostración de Felt se tenía por base experimental de la sociedad, y tras su marcha todos quedaron desanimados en secreto por el fiasco

«John Patrick Deveney provides some context: "When Felt vanished from the scene [...] the society was left essentially purposeless, a study and discussion group, and had to fall back on bland investigation of flower mediums and precipitators of spirit» — el contexto que aporta Deveney: sin Felt la sociedad quedó sin propósito, como grupo de estudio y discusión

«Indeed, in the estimation of Deveney et al, Felt's fantastic feats were the fodder which led to the formation of the fraternity. While copying down the Egyptian zodiacs for a talk on Kabbalah and Egyptology, “[Felt] noticed that his dog and cat began behaving as if something unseen was present in the room. Intrigued, Felt experimented on making the presence visible by chemical means.' [...] What 'chemical means' did he use to make the elemental spirits visible? One possibility that leaps to mind is the controlled use of a drug such as hashish, with which the French magnetists often enhanced the perceptions of their somnambulists, which had brought [Paschal Beverly] Randolph such unforgettable experiences, and with which Blavatsky herself had experimented both in Cairo and New York.» — la conjetura de Deveney que Newman hace suya: los medios químicos con que Felt hacía visibles a los elementales podrían haber sido hachís, el mismo que usaban los magnetizadores franceses y que Blavatsky probó

«The appearance of Felt's "dangerous elementals" absolutely terrified several of those present at the New York meeting. According to Deveney, the means by which Felt accomplished his evocations was via "the burning and use of unspecified chemicals, herbs, and plants.» — el efecto que Newman consigna y el medio que Deveney atribuye: los elementales peligrosos aterraron a varios asistentes de la reunión, y las evocaciones se lograban quemando químicos, hierbas y plantas no especificados

«Not surprisingly, in "The Origins of Tantra, Drugs and Western Occultism" (1990), O.T.O. ritual discloser, Francis King, said of The Magus: “I think [Barrett refers] to processes designed to extract hallucinogens from plant and animal substances.» — la nota en que Newman vuelve sobre Francis King: el *Magus* de Barrett remitiría a procesos para extraer alucinógenos de sustancias vegetales y animales

«Which "two or three species of acrid fungi" are considered the most effective narcotics appropriate for inducing the trance condition, Britten does not specify. However, the fact that she» — la pregunta que Newman deja abierta sobre el silencio de Britten: no especifica cuáles son esos dos o tres hongos acres; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«mentions more than one is significant. In the nineteenth century, the only entheogenic mushroom that was known to the West was the Amanita muscaria, the infamous red and white fly agaric toadstool. Ergo, chances are that at least one of the other two mushrooms to which she refers was a psilocybin mushroom, likely the psilocybin-rich Semilanceata cyanescens, aka the liberty cap, a mushroom that is native to the region. Remarkably, psilocybin mushrooms were not known to the West until the publication of amateur mycologist, R. Gordon Wasson's sensational photo essay, Seeking the Magic Mushroom, in LIFE Magazine in 1957. Therefore, Britten was ahead of her peers in more ways than one.» — la inferencia que construye desde ahí: como en el siglo XIX solo se conocía en Occidente la *Amanita muscaria*, al menos uno de los otros sería de psilocibina, y eso pondría a Britten por delante de sus contemporáneos

«Compare Blavatsky's guests' frightened reactions regarding Felt's "dangerous elementals" to Olcott's impression of the "elementary forms, some 'as horrid to see as the pictures in Barrett» — el paralelo que Newman traza entre tres episodios: los elementales de Felt, las formas del *Magus* de Barrett que Olcott vio con sus visitantes y las formas teriomórficas de Pordage; el tramo se corta antes de la errata *The Magusis* y de las notas al pie

«magical grimoires, 152 e.g., The Goetia, are therianthropes; that is, like Éliphas Lévi's famous depiction of Baphomet, they're creatures that are both part beast and part man. Significantly, therianthropes appear in some of the earliest cave art of the Palaeolithic Period, the inspiration for which, it is believed, was likely hallucinogenic drugs.» — la observación con que Newman cierra el paralelo: las figuras de los grimorios y el Baphomet de Lévi son terianthropos, y los terianthropos ya aparecen en el arte rupestre paleolítico, cuya inspiración se atribuye a drogas alucinógenas

«Cannabis and other psychoactives appear in a number of magical texts, including The Book of Oberon and Sepher ha-Raziel.» — la nota al pie con los grimorios donde Newman dice hallar psicoactivos: el *Book of Oberon* y el *Sepher ha-Raziel*

«Whatever 153 "chemical means" Felt had at his disposal, it is our conviction that they were indeed hallucinogenic. Furthermore, we suspect that the same substance(s) may have played a role in Olcott's visions in his apartment Olcott's visitors having likely employed Felt's "chemical means" (or something similar) unsuspectingly upon him at a second juncture.» — la conclusión que Newman declara como convicción propia, y no como prueba: los medios químicos de Felt eran alucinógenos, y sospecha que a Olcott se los administraron sin que lo supiera

«Olcott is often painted up as an unwitting dupe or pawn in a broader scheme. Truly, Blavatsky herself even wrote to the Indian Freemason, Hurrychund Chintamon, that Olcott was a "psychologized baby" in her hands.» — la nota con que Newman apoya esa sospecha: Blavatsky escribió a Hurrychund Chintamon que Olcott era un bebé psicologizado en sus manos

«In any case, the verdict is clear. While these chemical claims are a far cry from the vast theoretical speculations of the society as we have come to know it today, from Blavatsky's hashish (and possibly opium) use in Cairo and New York, to Britten's wide knowledge of the role of drugs in the induction of the trance condition, to Felt's use of chemicals, herbs, and plants in the evocation of elemental spirits, there's no disputing the fact that psychoactive drugs played a significant role in the lives and events surrounding the foundation of the Theosophical Society.» — el balance del capítulo, que Newman llama veredicto: hachís y quizá opio en Blavatsky, saber de drogas en Britten y químicos, hierbas y plantas en Felt, con lo que las drogas psicoactivas tuvieron papel en la fundación de la Sociedad Teosófica

«In his paper, The Society of the Rosy Cross, the English fringe Mason, John Yarker, made the claim that he knew of but three Fratres who possessed any competent and practical knowledge of Rosicrucianism: Frederick Hockley, Kenneth R.H. Mackenzie, and Capt. F.G. Irwin. Furthermore, providing a description of what he considered to be the various stages of true occult progress in the Rosicrucian system, Yarker concluded that "the use of the 'Crystal Stone' or magical mirror" was a prerequisite for mastery.» — la afirmación de John Yarker con que abre el capítulo once: solo conocía a tres frates con conocimiento práctico del rosacrucismo —Hockley, Mackenzie e Irwin— y tenía el uso de la piedra de cristal o espejo mágico por requisito de la maestría

«For, the association of magical mirrors with Rosicrucianism goes at least as far back as the publication of the first Rosicrucian manifesto, Fama Fraternitatis, in the early seventeenth century. Therein is described a "Vault" or tomb having seven sides or walls, and each wall being a door that opens to a chest which contained, among other artifacts, "looking glasses of diverse virtues." 156 Significantly, like Dee and Kelley before them, all three of these men, Hockley, Mackenzie, and Irwin, are known to have been avid crystal and mirror gazers.» — el antecedente que Newman aporta: la *Fama Fraternitatis* describe la bóveda de siete lados con espejos de diversas virtudes, y los tres frates eran, como Dee y Kelley, asiduos de la contemplación en cristal

«It is not surprising then to learn that, when faced with a lack of information on the Gold und Rosenkreuzer splinter group, Baron Hans Heinrich Freiherr von Ecker und Eckhoffen's Fratres Lucis, for Mackenzie's Royal Masonic Cyclopadia, F.G. Irwin and his son,» — el episodio del capítulo: ante la falta de datos sobre los Fratres Lucis de Ecker und Eckhoffen para la enciclopedia de Mackenzie, los Irwin recurrieron al cristal; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«Herbert, turned to calling into the crystal ball the spirit of the long-deceased Cagliostro, whom they believed to have been a member of the Fratres Lucis while alive. As F.G. Irwin's magical diaries of the time reflect, the operations were a success, and the full results can be found published in Herbert Irwin's strange treatise, Book of Magic, the purported astral grimoire of the Fratres Lucis. It should be noted that drugs almost certainly played a heavy role during these operations. In point of fact, a short time later, young Herbert, who acted as virgin seer for the circle, would die of a laudanum overdose during one such skrying session.» — continuación: llamaron al espíritu de Cagliostro, a quien creían miembro de los Fratres Lucis, y el resultado se publicó en el *Book of Magic* de Herbert Irwin, que moriría por sobredosis de láudano en una de esas sesiones

«Among the Cagliostro transmissions is one of particular interest to us for our present purposes. It potentially provides a solution to the problem of the oral activity of the concoction of acacia given to candidates by Cagliostro in his Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry. As we've explained elsewhere, DMT would not normally be orally active. In order for it to become so, it would usually necessitate being paired with an MAOI-containing plant, such as Banisteriopsis caapi or Peganum harmala, aka Syrian rue.» — el punto que Newman busca en esas transmisiones: una solución al problema de la actividad oral del preparado de acacia, que exigiría emparejarlo con una planta con IMAO

«Remarkably, “Herb Rue" is precisely what Herbert Irwin has recorded in his Book of Magic as being an salient tool in the Fratres Lucis' pharmacopeia. Mackenzie and the Irwins' practical master, Frederick Hockley, himself was even fascinated by the "Herb Rue" reference, as can be ascertained from the following excerpt from a letter from Hockley to the Irwins wherein the former pressed the latter for information pertaining to the mysterious “Herb Rue."» — el hallazgo documental: la hierba ruda figura en la farmacopea de los Fratres Lucis según el *Book of Magic*, y Hockley pidió por carta a los Irwin la receta correspondiente

«There is a recipe on the properties of the plant Rue I know you will allow Herbert to copy out for me as I wish [...] to try it.”» — las dos cartas de Hockley citadas: pide copia de la receta de la ruda porque quiere probarla, y recuerda que son unas pocas líneas

«The fact that Hockley requested a recipe, and not a single herb, is very significant. But, was Syrian rue truly the plant intended by the Cagliostro transmissions? According to the chapter on rue in natural philosopher, Pliny the Elder's book, The Natural History,» — lo que Newman subraya de esas cartas y la pregunta que abre: que Hockley pidiera una receta y no una hierba le parece significativo, y se pregunta si la planta era la ruda siria

«Further, the effects of "Herb Rue" provided in Herbert's Book of Magic, which include sweating, mental clarity, and mood enhancement, are consistent with those of Syrian rue. According to the Book of» — el argumento por efectos: sudoración, claridad mental y mejora del ánimo concuerdan con la ruda siria

«[Herb Rue] is most strengthening and health giving, it imparts life and strength to the body - it opens the pores of the skin and inclines the body it is well for diseases of the brain for it imparts strength of all desirable» — la descripción del *Book of Magic* citada: la hierba fortalece y da salud, abre los poros de la piel e inclina el cuerpo a sudar, y sirve para las enfermedades del cerebro

«The portion regarding "diseases of the brain" is especially interesting as MAOIs are commonly used in psychiatry to treat mental health disorders including clinical depression and bipolar disorder. The same cannot be said, however, of traditional rue.» — la lectura farmacológica que Newman propone de esa línea: los IMAO se usan en psiquiatría contra la depresión clínica y el trastorno bipolar, cosa que no vale para la ruda común

«The cultivated kind [of rue] has broader leaves and more numerous branches than the other. Wild rue is more violent in its effects, and more active in every respect. The juice of it is extracted by beating it up, and moistening it moderately with water; after which it is kept for use in boxes of Cyprian copper. Given in large doses, this juice has all the baneful effects of poison» — el pasaje de Plinio citado: la ruda silvestre es más violenta en sus efectos y su jugo en dosis grandes tiene todos los efectos del veneno; el volumen imprime esta discusión dos veces, aquí y en el apéndice II, y el ancla se fija en la primera

«As the Roman author illustrates, the ancients distinguished between two types of rue, "cultivated" and "wild." "Cultivated rue' refers to Ruta graveolens, a common plant which, as medical doctor, John Bostock, makes clear in his commentary to Pliny's chapter, was known to and valued by the Romans as an additive to wine on account of its rich bouquet. 160 Based on Pliny's description of the latter, “wild rue," it is clear that an intoxicating substance is being indicated.» — la distinción antigua que Newman explota: los antiguos separaban ruda cultivada de silvestre, y de la descripción de la segunda le parece claro que se indica una sustancia embriagante; pasaje repetido en el apéndice II

«[Engravers] and painters are in the habit of eating it with bread, or else nasturtium, for the benefit of the sight; wild goats, too, eat it for the sight, they say. Many persons have dispersed films on the eyes by rubbing them with a mixture of the juice of rue with Attic honey, or the milk of» — el segundo pasaje de Plinio: grabadores y pintores comían ruda con pan por el beneficio de la vista; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk y el texto vuelve a imprimirse en el apéndice II

«In his 1554 work, Des Cruydboeks, Flemish physician and botanist, Rembert Dodoens, identified Pliny's “wild rue" as none other than Syrian rue (Peganum harmala), an entheogenic plant with known MAOI content, not unlike the legendary ayahuasca vine, Banisteriopsis caapi.» — la identificación que Newman toma de Rembert Dodoens en 1554: la ruda silvestre de Plinio sería la ruda siria, planta con IMAO como la liana de la ayahuasca; pasaje repetido en el apéndice II

«Traditional rue would certainly have been well known to Cagliostro and to the Irwins, the same having extensive and well» — el argumento por contexto que Newman construye; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *well-documented*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente: la ruda común era conocida por Cagliostro y por los Irwin

«documented medicinal as well as religious applications. However, provided that the other botanicals itemized by Herbert Irwin in the Fratres Lucis pharmacopeia are either psychoactive or are commonly used as substitutes for psychoactive plants, e.g., saffron, opium poppy, vervain, etc., all of which have a long» — continuación: como los demás vegetales de la farmacopea de los Fratres Lucis son psicoactivos o sustitutos de psicoactivos —azafrán, adormidera, verbena—, la ruda común quedaría fuera de lugar; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«history of use as additives to magical incenses, love philtres, flying ointments, etc., traditional rue would appear completely out of place. Syrian rue, on the other hand, would seem to be a perfectly natural, comfortable addition.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: esas plantas se usaban en inciensos mágicos, filtros de amor y ungüentos voladores, y en esa lista la ruda siria encajaría con naturalidad

«Notably, as can be discerned from the now published rituals, like Cagliostro's Egyptian Rite and the Russian Rite of Melissino before them, Eckhoffen's Fratres Lucis appears too to have been preoccupied with the extraction of an alchemical elixir from the Masonic sprig of acacia, making the Cagliostro transmission concerning “Herb Rue" and the Fratres Lucis all the more curious.» — la coincidencia que Newman subraya: como el rito egipcio de Cagliostro y el ruso de Melissino, los Fratres Lucis de Eckhoffen parecen ocupados en extraer un elixir de la rama masónica de acacia

«In 1780 or 1781 (some sources say as early as 1777), Eckhoffen left Gold und Rosenkreuzer to create the Fratres Lucis or Brotherhood of Light. Godwin wrote in his remarkable study, The Theosophical Enlightenment,» — la fecha de fundación con su rango de incertidumbre: Eckhoffen dejó la Orden del Oro y Rosacruz entre 1777 y 1781 para crear los Fratres Lucis

«The impulse for this splinter-group was Ecker's initiation by a Franciscan monk who had spent many years in Jerusalem and learnt Kabbalistic secrets of alchemy and magic from a Jewish sect there. [The] work of the Fratres Lucis was predominantly alchemical, and its rituals still close to those of the Golden and Rosy Cross...» — la cita de Godwin: el impulso del grupo escindido fue la iniciación de Ecker por un monje franciscano que había aprendido secretos cabalísticos de alquimia y magia de una secta judía en Jerusalén

«Said to have been called "Bischof," we have no idea who this Franciscan monk may have been, much less the Kabbalistic, alchemical sect in Jerusalem who initiated him. But, it is obvious that he must have imparted to Eckhoffen and his Fratres Lucis lofty alchemical secrets.» — la abstención que Newman declara sobre ese monje: no tiene idea de quién fue el llamado Bischof ni de qué secta lo inició, y solo da por obvio que transmitió secretos alquímicos

«In the degree of Knight Novice of the Third Year, the candidate for initiation into Fratres Lucis is administered the following lecture.» — la pieza ritual del capítulo: la lección del grado de Caballero Novicio del Tercer Año de los Fratres Lucis

«Matter. [...] The point of a [Poniard] was applied to thy breast to warn thee to beware of it. It should remind thee that no double edged weapon [need] be used to slay our Hiram and produce his precious blood, which is shown afterwards by a feeble Brother and his bloody handkerchief... In touching thee with the Compasses (held over a plate with blood thereon), the plate of blood held up, signifies that we have another [Poniard] beside the one that was shown to thee, and which we thrust into the bosom of our Matter until it pours forth blood. [...] Hiram, which signifies our Matter, has been killed by Three Workmen, in order that they might procure the Word... These traitors buried him and have already his Caput Mortuum. They make a hillock and the dead head appears, as if the Spirits excited it with rage, this is shown by the Branch of Acacia.» — segunda parte: el puñal contra el pecho advierte que no hace falta arma de doble filo para matar a Hiram y sacar su sangre preciosa, y los tres obreros que lo mataron dejan aparecer su cabeza muerta señalada por la rama de acacia

«The Fratres Lucis lecture relates an alchemical application of Masonic ritual which again clearly points to the production of DMT from acacia. Here, as in Cagliostro's ritual, Hiram is treated consubstantially with the acacia. In both, the DMT-rich solution which is extracted from the acacia prior to the solution's evaporation to a crystalline salt, is identified as "Hiram's blood," called by Cagliostro the "mercurial part."» — la lectura que Newman superpone: en esa lección, como en el ritual de Cagliostro, Hiram se trata como consustancial a la acacia, y la solución rica en DMT se identifica con la sangre de Hiram

«Before receiving thee into the Order they took thee into a darkened room, this teaches thee that our Matter is found in a black state Earth. We also took away all the Metals thou hadst upon thee; this shows that our Matter is not found where Metals grow. They tookest away thy clothing; it shows that our Matter is stripped of the Veil with which Nature has clothed it... Thine eyes were blindfolded; which teaches that though our Matter is luminous and in itself shining and clear, yet that it is only to be found in the darkest dwelling. A [Cable Tow] was round thy» — primera parte de esa lección: el cuarto oscuro enseña que la materia se halla en estado negro, la retirada de los metales que no crece donde crecen los metales, y la de las ropas que está despojada del velo de la naturaleza; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«neck, by which the body was led; it [...] teaches the drawing out of our» — continuación en la plana siguiente: la soga al cuello con que se conduce el cuerpo enseña la extracción de la materia

«According to the lecture, the "Matter" is to be found in the earth; that is, with the roots. Note that the highest concentrations of DMT in the acacia are to be found within the root bark. The removal of the clothing or "stripping of the veil with which nature has clothed" the "Matter" is therefore the stripping of the superfluous plant material all but the DMT. The “other poniard" which is “thrust into the bosom of [the] Matter until it pours forth blood" alludes to the caustic (al)chemical solvent used to extract the compound, 'lixivium. For, "no double edged weapon [need] be used to slay our Hiram and produce his precious blood." Indeed, the process is entirely chemical. And, the three» — la traducción técnica que Newman propone de esa lección: la materia en la tierra sería la raíz, donde el DMT se concentra; el despojo de las ropas, la eliminación del material vegetal sobrante; y el segundo puñal, el disolvente cáustico; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *three-step*

«step extraction process of Paracelsus' Primum Ens, by which DMT is organically manufactured, etc. etc.» — cierre de esa traducción: los tres obreros sugerirían el proceso de extracción en tres pasos del *Primum Ens* paracelsiano

«uring the whole of the French alchemical revival, there is perhaps no phenomenon more alluring than what French occultist, Robert Amadou, called "the Fulcanelli affair." The last truly great alchemist, Fulcanelli spoke with ample authority on an already abstruse area of analysis.» — la figura con que abre el capítulo doce: lo que el ocultista Robert Amadou llamó el asunto Fulcanelli; la capitular deja la D suelta

«According to the research presented in Geneviève Dubois' welcome book, Fulcanelli and the Alchemical Revival: The Man Behind the Mystery, using an unpublished manuscript by the alchemist and Egyptophile, R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz, the spiritual heir of French poet and Hermetic adept, Oscar Vladislas de Lubicz Milosz, concerning the alchemical symbolism allegedly preserved in the architecture of Notre-Dame de Paris and other cathedrals, the figure of Fulcanelli was fabricated by Champagne and a well-meaning but unwitting Pierre Dujols. Unbeknownst to Schwaller (and Dujols), this manuscript, including Champagne and Dujols' extensive embellishments, would eventually be published in 1926 as the infamous alchemical tract, Le Mystère des Cathédrales, attributed to the "Master Alchemist,” Fulcanelli.» — la reconstrucción que Newman toma de Geneviève Dubois: la figura de Fulcanelli habría sido fabricada por Champagne y un Pierre Dujols bienintencionado sobre un manuscrito inédito de Schwaller de Lubicz, publicado en 1926 bajo aquel nombre

«A doctor of pharmacology, Rouhier authored an esoteric text, titled De l'Architecture naturelle, before penning his more famous, Le peyotl: la plante qui fait les yeux emerveilles, a monograph on “the plant that 'makes astonished eyes': peyote," in 1926, the same year that Le Mystère des Cathédrales debuted. Mike Jay writes in his book, Mescaline: A Global History of the First Psychedelic,» — la coincidencia de fechas que Newman subraya: Rouhier publicó su monografía sobre el peyote en 1926, el mismo año que *Le Mystère des Cathédrales*

«Rouhier practiced in Lyon and had for some years been growing peyote in the hills above the Cote d'Azur. His book drew together his extensive researches [...] on peyote's botany, alkaloid chemistry, history, ethnography and medical properties. [Rouhier] had produced and sold by mail order his own 'Panpeyotl' preparation, an alcohol and chloroform tincture of the alkaloids from dried buttons grown in his Cote d'Azur nursery...» — la cita de Mike Jay: Rouhier cultivaba peyote en las colinas de la Costa Azul y vendía por correo su propia tintura *Panpeyotl*, de alcohol y cloroformo

«Being a practicing alchemist who prepared and sold his own peyote tinctures, Rouhier naturally held a keen interest all known psychedelic plants. In an earlier paper, for example, Rouhier listed peyote among a number of species purported to provide its users with psychic powers. This "hierobotany" or "divinatory palaeo-pharmacy," as Rouhier called it, included entheogens as diverse as cannabis, opium, coca, the LSA-rich seeds of the morning glory, and, significantly, even ayahuasca. In fact, in 1924, Rouhier published a separate paper, titled Le Yajé: Plante Télépathique, which solely concerned the purported telepathy induced by this DMT-containing jungle brew. Thus, a whole two years prior to the initial publication of Le Mystère des Cathédrales, Rouhier demonstrated a quaint familiarity with ayahuasca and the effects of DMT.» — el punto que Newman quiere fijar: dos años antes de *Le Mystère des Cathédrales*, Rouhier ya había publicado un artículo sobre la telepatía atribuida al yagé, con lo que conocía la ayahuasca y los efectos del DMT

«Importantly, both Champagne and Rouhier were bound to an obscure French secret society, known as Très Haut Lunaire or Le Grand Lunaire, "the Great Lunary," 167 whose habit it was to meet near the dolmen in the Meudon woods, under a full moon. Indeed, according to some sources, Champagne was the very leader of the sect.» — el vínculo asociativo que Newman aporta: Champagne y Rouhier pertenecían a la sociedad secreta Le Grand Lunaire, que se reunía junto al dolmen del bosque de Meudon en luna llena, y algunas fuentes hacen a Champagne su jefe

«The Black Pope of the sect is, like the other officials, an alchemist. [Initiates] assemble in the main occultum, on rue Chapon, precisely in the Saint-Merri parish. The room is hung with red. The Baphomet grimaces behind red curtains. In a cage, toads, satanic beasts. There the supreme teachings are delivered...» — la descripción que Newman cita del extrapista Raoul Guyader: el papa negro de la secta es alquimista, los iniciados se reúnen en la calle Chapon, en la parroquia de Saint-Merri, con la sala colgada de rojo, el Baphomet tras las cortinas y sapos en una jaula

«Whatever dark rites and arcane rituals this reportedly nefarious cult worked, we can have no doubt that they involved the ceremonial use of one or more entheogenic plants, including peyote and, very possibly, ayahuasca or DMT.» — la conclusión que Newman se permite sin prueba documental: no le cabe duda de que esos ritos incluían plantas enteogénicas, peyote y muy posiblemente ayahuasca o DMT

«According to multiple sources, Champagne was himself no stranger to inebriation. In addition to constantly "slowly" sipping his absinthe, Champagne was said to have always been in possession of a small metal box, allegedly filled with galbanum but likely containing something different entirely, which he was wont to 'sniff' on a regular basis for the purpose of inducing "visions."» — el detalle biográfico que Newman explota: Champagne bebía absenta y llevaba siempre una cajita metálica, supuestamente de gálbano, que olía para inducir visiones

«According to French alchemist, Patrick Rivière, author of Fulcanelli: His True Identity Revealed, galbanum refers to "a bitter aromatic gum resin from an Asiatic plant (Ferula galbaniflua) or any of several related plants used in incense and medicinally," a description which cannabis historian, Chris Bennett, notes in his master study, Liber 420: Cannabis, Magickal Herbs and the Occult, could encompass any number of other psychoactive resins, including hashish.» — la duda que Newman introduce sobre esa cajita: Rivière define el gálbano como goma resinosa de una planta asiática, y Bennett observa que la descripción podría abarcar otras resinas psicoactivas, incluido el hachís

«In his commentary to The Goetia of Dr. Rudd: The Angels and Demons of Liber Malorum Spirituum Seu Goetia Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis, author and lecturer, Dr. Stephen Skinner, discusses a similar case in regard to a mysterious and likely psychoactive “root Barra" that was placed within a magical ring and conceivably “smelled" at a specific point in the rite.» — el caso paralelo que Newman trae de Stephen Skinner: una raíz *barra*, probablemente psicoactiva, encerrada en un anillo mágico y olida en cierto punto del rito

«Other instructive clues in this passage include the use of the magical Ring, which was used by Solomon, and which appears also in the Goetia. Interestingly, it mentions that the root barra was enclosed in the Ring. It is possible that the purpose of placing it under the nose of the possessed, was that the root barra may have had psychoactive properties.» — la cita de Skinner: la raíz *barra* iba encerrada en el anillo, y es posible que se pusiera bajo la nariz del poseso por tener propiedades psicoactivas

«Given his relationship with 'hierobotanist' and 'divinatory palaeo-pharmacist, Dr. Alexandre Rouhier, there really is no telling what was secreted away inside Champagne's small metal box.» — la abstención con que Newman cierra el punto: dada la relación de Champagne con Rouhier, no hay modo de saber qué guardaba la cajita

«Fucanelli's faithful student, Eugène Léon Canseliet, who wrote the preface for both his master's famous works, Mystère des Cathédrales and Les Demeures Philosophales, too was aware of the role that hallucinogenic drugs have to play in the royal art. The reader is directed to Canseliet's own ‘remarks on the proposition of drugs in alchemy, Osservazioni alchemiche a propositio della droga, published in Bailly and Guimard's 1979 study, L'esperienza allucinogena.» — el discípulo que Newman añade a la serie: Eugène Canseliet, prologuista de las dos obras de Fulcanelli, que escribió sus propias observaciones sobre la droga en alquimia; el impreso da *Fucanelli*

«Also, it is worth at least noting that Canseliet himself was apparently sometimes subject to strange, unexplained visions. For example, "One morning, Canseliet descended the staircase to the bottom of the turret and, while standing in an archway that opened onto the courtyard, was approached by three women wearing long, flowing, sixteenth-century styled dresses. As the women walked by, one of» — la anécdota que Newman consigna como visión inexplicada: Canseliet vio a tres mujeres con vestidos del siglo XVI en el patio; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk

«them turned, looked at him, smiled, turned away, and walked on. Canseliet was stunned - the face of the woman was that of Fulcanelli! Canseliet eventually returned to France with only a vague, dream-like recollection of the events.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: una de ellas se volvió y le sonrió con el rostro de Fulcanelli, y él regresó a Francia con un recuerdo vago y onírico

«As Schwaller's famous sketch of Fulcanelli from 1930 shows, the face which Canseliet saw was likely in truth none other than that of Jean-Julien Champagne.» — la identificación que Newman propone para esa visión: por el boceto de Schwaller de 1930, el rostro que vio Canseliet sería el de Jean-Julien Champagne

«In any case, along with Rouhier, Champagne's pharmacist colleague, in the rituals enacted by Le Grand Lunaire, behind the closed red curtains of the Saint-Merri parish, we can be certain that the man ultimately behind the Fulcanelli myth, whether under the spell of mescaline or DMT, experienced the full, illuminating potential of entheogenic revelation.» — el cierre del capítulo, con su certeza declarada: Newman da por seguro que el hombre detrás del mito de Fulcanelli conoció la revelación enteogénica, bajo mescalina o DMT

«Although, in order to really comprehend the Fulcanelli affair, one must first understand Jean-Julien Champagne and his complex relationship to the French pharmacist, Alexandre Rouhier.» — la ruta que Newman propone para entender el asunto: hay que pasar antes por Jean-Julien Champagne y su relación con el farmacéutico Alexandre Rouhier

«Merkur, Fulcanelli's debut effort, Le Mystère des Cathédrales, provides one of the few workable recipes for what was once thought to be legitimate alchemical transmutation.» — lo que Newman toma de Merkur: *Le Mystère des Cathédrales* daría una de las pocas recetas practicables de lo que se tenía por transmutación alquímica legítima

«rom virtual obscurity to prohibition and the asinine war on drugs, to the current psychedelic renaissance and the present state of decriminalization and ayahuasca tourism, DMT has come a long way since its enjoyment as the lapis philosophorum during the apex of Western alchemy.» — la periodización con que abren las conclusiones: del olvido a la prohibición y de ahí al renacimiento psicodélico actual, el DMT habría recorrido un largo camino desde su disfrute como *lapis philosophorum*; la capitular deja la F suelta

«To begin with, in an attempt to discover the source and function of endogenous DMT production within the human organism, Rick Strassman, M.D., a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, became the first scientist to conduct government-sanctioned research on humans with a scheduled psychedelic since the 1970s.» — el hito con que Newman abre el balance contemporáneo: Rick Strassman fue el primer científico en hacer investigación con humanos y un psicodélico programado autorizada por el gobierno desde los años setenta

«DMT was largely unknown to the modern Western world, up until the publication of Strassman's book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule. Between 1990 and 1995, Strassman administered some 400 doses of DMT to nearly five dozen human volunteers. Not unlike Osmond's M-Substance theory in regard to preceptions and behavioral symptoms exhibiting psychosis, Strassman hypothesized that endogenous DMT could be responsible for near death and other spontaneous mystical, visionary, and even psychotic experiences.» — lo que Newman consigna de esa investigación: entre 1990 y 1995 Strassman administró unas cuatrocientas dosis de DMT a casi sesenta voluntarios y planteó que el DMT endógeno podría estar detrás de experiencias cercanas a la muerte y visionarias

«This in itself is strange. The psychotomimetic model of entheogenic intoxication was abandoned after Osmond's search for "M-Substance" in Canada in the early days of psychedelic research. Why, then, would a schizophrenia research foundation be interested in the study of DMT half a century later? Were they resurrecting Osmond's "M-Substance" theory along with the psychotomimetic model, scrutinizing DMT as a possible culprit? It must be merely coincidental that certain select circles of Freemasons were already exploiting some species of acacia for their psychotropic value as early as the eighteenth century. Did Scottish Rite Freemasonry already have an invested interest in the psychedelic potential of some species of acacia when the organization funded Strassman» — la nota al pie en que Newman formula sus preguntas sin contestarlas: por qué una fundación de investigación en esquizofrenia se interesaría en el DMT medio siglo después de abandonado el modelo psicotomimético, y si el rito escocés ya tenía interés en el potencial psicodélico de la acacia

«As the story goes, LSD researcher, Daniel Xander Freedman, who passed away in 1993, was a big supporter of Strassman's work and served on the scientific advisory panel of the Scottish Rite Schizophrenia Research Foundation. Freedman advised Strassman to apply for a grant from the foundation and assured him that he would do all he could to get the DMT project funded. The resulting book generated a wave of public interest in DMT.» — el detalle institucional: Daniel Xander Freedman, investigador del LSD y miembro del panel científico de la fundación, aconsejó a Strassman solicitar la beca y le aseguró apoyo

«We learned from another study in 2014, published by the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, that the method by which psilocybin (4-phosphoroloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine), DMT's sister molecule, works its magic in the human brain is by silencing what is known as the Default Mode Network or DMN, the space where one's ego or sense of self is perceived.» — el hallazgo neurocientífico que Newman resume: según un estudio de 2014 la psilocibina actúa silenciando la red neuronal por defecto, donde se percibe el yo

«[The DMN is] a collection of hub centres that work together to control and repress consciousness. Like the conductor in an orchestra, the DMN polices the amount of sensory information that enters our sphere of awareness, and has been described as the neural correlate of the» — la cita del estudio: la red por defecto sería un conjunto de centros que controlan y reprimen la consciencia, y se la ha descrito como correlato neural del yo

«Truly, a similar landmark study conducted by the Beckley/ Imperial Research Programme, published in the April, 2016 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that LSD, like psilocybin and DMT, too decreases communication between the brain regions that make up the Default Mode Network. Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris of the Beckley/Imperial Research Programme explains,» — el segundo estudio que aporta: el del programa Beckley/Imperial publicado en 2016, según el cual el LSD también reduce la comunicación en esa red

«this effect underlies the profound altered state of consciousness that people often describe during an LSD [or psilocybin] experience. It is also related to what people sometimes call 'ego-dissolution', which means the normal sense of self is broken down and replaced by a sense of reconnection with themselves, others and the natural world. This experience is sometimes framed in a religious or spiritual way and seems to be associated with improvements in well-being after the drug's effects have subsided.» — la cita de Robin Carhart-Harris: ese efecto estaría detrás del estado alterado y de la llamada disolución del ego, que se enmarca a veces en términos religiosos y se asocia a mejoras del bienestar

«Dr. Carhart-Harris notes that the "experience is sometimes framed in a religious or spiritual way." This point is significant as there currently exists no standard by which to medically distinguish spontaneously occurring spiritual visions and experiences, and those induced by the ingestion of an entheogenic plant such as magic mushrooms or ayahuasca. As Johns Hopkins Medicine determined in 2006, psilocybin meets all of the criteria for "full mystical experience." 177 The same may be said of DMT.» — el punto que Newman subraya de esa cita: no hay criterio médico que distinga las visiones espirituales espontáneas de las inducidas, y en 2006 Johns Hopkins halló que la psilocibina cumple los criterios de experiencia mística plena

«Recent research conducted by Jordi Riba at the Autonomous University of Barcelona has also revealed ayahuasca's (and thus DMT's) effects on "mindfullness," a Western psychological term borrowed from Theravada Buddhism. Riba notes that, while mindfulness is a “complex construct that is difficult to define," it is centered upon qualities that the authors of the study describe as, "present-centered, non-reactive, characterized by openness, acceptance, and by a non-judgmental stance towards the experience." Riba's team also focused on ayahuasca's effects on an internal faculty called “decentering," the ability to view one's thoughts, emotions, and actions from the position of an outside observer. "Increasing this capacity," the team suggests, “is the goal of mindfulness interventions.» — el tercer estudio: el de Jordi Riba en Barcelona sobre los efectos de la ayahuasca en la atención plena y en el descentramiento, la capacidad de mirar los propios pensamientos desde fuera

«Lastly, a study led by Christopher Timmermann from the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London and published in Scientific Reports revealed that humans under the influence of DMT exhibit decreased alpha brain wave activity, associated with waking states, while showing an increase in delta and theta waves. Increased theta wave activity is common to dream states, leading the team to say of DMT, "It's like dreaming but with your eyes open." According to Timmermann,» — el cuarto estudio: el de Christopher Timmermann en el Imperial College, según el cual bajo DMT baja la actividad alfa y suben la delta y la theta, propias del sueño

«It is here, on Timmermann's note of ‘dreaming with our eyes open,' that we'll wind down our present study.» — la bisagra con que Newman cierra: se queda en esa frase de soñar con los ojos abiertos

«Dreams are the everyday route to what C.G. Jung called, "the collective unconscious," where all of the gods and devils of old still hold sway over our unconscious drives and motivations. There, as in the imagination of an ancient child, the therianthropes, the djinn, the fairies, and the heroes of old are all alive and well, acting out their own dark dilemmas and dramas just behind the backdrop of our sky-lit mental theaters. It is through the act of dreaming that these “archetypes" may still be encountered by us today, in all of their wet, chthonic radiance.» — la lectura junguiana que propone: los sueños son la vía cotidiana al inconsciente colectivo, donde siguen actuando los arquetipos

«Insofar as the entheogenic experience is “like dreaming but with your eyes open," DMT has the potential to induce a brush with those same archetypal forms but with eyes wide open, quite unlike a dream, while wholly conscious of one's decisions and experience. Doesn't that sound like the stuff of myth and magic?» — la consecuencia que Newman saca: el DMT permitiría un encuentro con esas mismas formas arquetípicas con los ojos abiertos y plena consciencia de las propias decisiones

«DMT and other entheogens have the potential to provide us with that benefaction. Indeed, in that regard, DMT may, quite literally, make our dreams come true.» — el remate del volumen, con el juego de palabras a la vista: el DMT podría, muy literalmente, volver reales los sueños

«Silencing this center allows portions of the brain to cross» — la consecuencia que Newman extrae del silenciamiento, cortada antes del guion de fin de renglón de *cross-communicate*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente

«communicate with sections that otherwise would remain isolated, their signals normally being interrupted by the 'noise' generated in the DMN - hence psychedelics' success in problem solving and inducing novel modes of thought. According to Giovanni Petri, the primary author of the study, psychedelics create what he» — continuación: regiones que normalmente no se comunican pasan a hacerlo, y de ahí el éxito de los psicodélicos en la resolución de problemas, con el cerebro hiperconectado de Giovanni Petri; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«called a "hyper-connected brain." Indeed, within the psychedelic brain, connections are literally being made by portions of gray matter that do not normally exchange information. Moreover, this act of silencing the brain's 'central hub' also explains the phenomenon of so-called 'ego death,' which is common with large doses of psilocybin and other hallucinogens, including DMT.» — cierre en la plana siguiente: en el cerebro psicodélico se conectan porciones de materia gris que no suelen intercambiar información, lo que explicaría también la llamada muerte del ego

«DMT has remarkable effects in human consciousness [...] Users often report being completely immersed in alternate dimensions and interacting with beings or entities.' [...] Our subjects reported having intense visions of geometric landscapes, entering alternate realities, feelings that they were expanding beyond the limits of their bodies, communicating with entities and had strong emotional reactions all within 20 minutes. [...] These experiences are usually described as feeling ‘more real than real' and can challenge views people have regarding the nature of reality. This study attempted to understand how these fascinating experiences relate to brain activity recorded with the EEG [...] which records electrical activity generated by neurons. [...] We found that the states of deep sleep immersion induced by DMT - often described by users as a 'breakthrough experience' - were paralleled by decreases in alpha brain waves as well as increases in delta and theta» — la cita de Timmermann: los sujetos reportan inmersión en dimensiones alternas e interacción con entidades y describen la experiencia como más real que lo real; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«brain waves. This is very intriguing because we find similar changes in brain waves when people are dreaming [...] It's like daydreaming only far more vivid and immersive, its like dreaming but with your eyes open.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: los cambios en las ondas cerebrales se parecen a los del soñar, y él lo describe como soñar con los ojos abiertos

«The alchemical philosophers were living in a waking dream, and many of their recipes were designed to wipe out the boundaries between waking» — la cita de McKenna con que Newman cierra: los filósofos alquímicos vivían en un sueño despierto y muchas de sus recetas buscaban borrar las fronteras entre vigilia y sueño

«t must be said that, here, at the end of our journey, we cannot help but feel more than a little like the son of the poor woodcutter in the German fairy tale, The Spirit in the Bottle, who, happening upon a gnarly old tree in the forest, heard the tiny voice of the spirit, Mercurius, patron of alchemists, crying out from a small glass bottle encased in its roots: “Let me out, let me out!» — la imagen con que abre el epílogo: el hijo del leñador del cuento alemán *El espíritu en la botella*, que oye a Mercurio pedir que lo suelten; la capitular deja la I suelta

«the behaviour of the boy - successfully as it worked out for him - must be described as alchemically incorrect. [He] was totally unconscious of what might follow if this turbulent spirit were let loose upon the world. [The] alchemists were all for not letting Mercurius escape. They wanted to keep him in the bottle...» — la advertencia que Newman cita de Jung: la conducta del muchacho fue alquímicamente incorrecta, porque los alquimistas querían justamente no dejar escapar a Mercurio

«For better or for worse, like the proverbial 'cat in the bag, "alchemically incorrect" or not, the mercurial spirit is now officially out of its alchemical bottle. Quantum suficit, et quantum appetite.» — el remate del epílogo: para bien o para mal, el espíritu mercurial ya está fuera de su botella alquímica, y cierra con la fórmula latina de Cagliostro

«Per Cagliostro, "Take as much as you need and as much as you have appetite for.» — la nota que traduce esa fórmula: toma cuanto necesites y cuanto apetezcas

«Writing in the supplemental third volume of Albert G. Mackey's well-received Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences, under his entry on Thomas Norton's celebrated title, The Ordinal of Alchemy, H.L. Haywood drops the following bomb on his reader.» — la fuente con que abre el apéndice I: la entrada de H. L. Haywood sobre el *Ordinal of Alchemy* de Thomas Norton en el tercer volumen suplementario de la enciclopedia masónica de Mackey

«It is admitted that the texts and nomenclature of Medieval materials on [Hermetism] were cryptic and queer; but for that there are several explanations for the need for secrecy, [including] the need to keep laymen from endangering themselves with drugs they could not understand (Norton» — la cita de Haywood: entre las explicaciones de lo críptico del vocabulario hermético estaría la necesidad de impedir que los legos se dañaran con drogas que no entendían, cosa que el *Ordinall* menciona

«Knowing now what we do about Ashmole and Desaguliers' entheogenic pursuits in the Royal Society and the psychedelic proclivities of Melissino and Cagliostro's respective Masonic rites, Haywood's entry may not come as much of a surprise. But, it does raise the obvious question: To what 'dangerous drugs' may Norton have been alluding?» — la pregunta que Newman abre desde ahí: a qué drogas peligrosas aludiría Norton

«An English alchemist, Thomas Norton was the student of another famous English alchemist, George Ripley, author of the magnificent Ripley Scrowle. Ripley is said to have imparted to Norton "the seacrets of Alkimy” and along with them, the arcanum of the elixir vitae. However, as his prima materia, Ripley takes not the lowly sprig of acacia, with its rich N,N-DMT content, but instead favors a warty toad. This may be clearly discerned in the Ripley Scrowle itself, where the artist has depicted the alchemist as holding a toad inside of an alchemical flask, in which is also shown the various phases of the opus.» — la genealogía del apéndice: Thomas Norton fue discípulo de George Ripley, y Ripley no toma por prima materia la rama de acacia sino un sapo verrugoso, como se ve en el *Ripley Scrowle*

«Beside alchemy, in both Europe and the Americas, toads have a long history of association with both visions and magic. Consider, for example, the following fictional supplication.» — el marco cultural que Newman repone: en Europa y en América los sapos tienen larga asociación con visiones y magia, y él lo introduce con una invocación expresamente marcada como ficticia

«With this amphibious sacrifice and invocation, Act 4 of William Shakespeare's famous play, Macbeth, is opened. For, even in Shakespeare's time, toads were intimately associated with the black arts. Indeed, one of the earliest witch trials documented at Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England, was the execution of one, Oliffe Bartham of Shadbrook, who had been accused of "sending three toads to destroy the [restful sleep] of Joane Jordan.» — la lectura histórica que Newman añade: ya en tiempos de Shakespeare los sapos se asociaban a las artes negras, y en Bury St. Edmunds se ejecutó a Oliffe Bartham por mandar tres sapos contra el sueño de Joane Jordan

«Although, witches were not the only demographic to be accused of distastefully fraternizing with toads. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX sent letters to several important German dignitaries, in order to stimulate action against certain heretics in the Rhineland. The letters included a detailed description of the alleged rituals of the declared heretics: "When a novice entered the sect, the shape of a frog or toad appeared before him, which some heretics kissed on the hindquarters or mouth." 186 Again, William of Auvergne, Bishop of Paris between 1228 and 1249, insisted that "a toad appeared to the followers of Lucifer and [...] these persons indulged in such abominations as kissing [...] a toad on the mouth.» — los dos casos eclesiásticos que aporta: las cartas de Gregorio IX de 1233 sobre herejes renanos que besaban una rana o sapo, y la insistencia de Guillermo de Auvernia sobre los seguidores de Lucifer

«Remnants of this latter accusation have survived to present day in the form of the charming fairy tale, Iron Henry, better known as The Frog Prince.» — la supervivencia que Newman señala: esa acusación quedaría en el cuento *Iron Henry*, conocido como *El príncipe rana*

«Not every case was surrounded by batrachophobia, though. The Mesoamericans and Aztecs, for example, both worshipped a fertility goddess in the form of a toad. In Pre-Columbia, it was Ceneotl, the many-breasted toad who presided over childbirth. The ancient Aztecs worshipped their goddess of death and rebirth, Tlaltechuti, as a toad. Even in ancient Egypt, the toad is present, in spirit, at least, in the form of the frog-headed water goddess, Heket, who presided over fertility.» — el contraste que Newman opone: mesoamericanos y aztecas veneraban diosas de la fertilidad y de la muerte en forma de sapo, y en Egipto está la diosa de cabeza de rana Heket

«Recall too that both Jean-Julien Champagne and Alexandre Rouhier were bound to an obscure French alchemical society, whose habit it was to have live toads present during their red curtain-clad initiation rituals. Less diabolical were the secretive Toadmen of Britain, who were cited by Kevin Danaher as an early influence on the art of horse-whispering. With the aid of a mysterious key-shaped bone found within the head of a toad, the Toadmen are said to have held power over horses.» — el enlace con el capítulo doce y la nueva pieza: la sociedad francesa tenía sapos vivos en sus rituales, y los Toadmen británicos habrían tenido poder sobre los caballos con un hueso en forma de llave hallado en la cabeza de un sapo

«required that the horseman kill a [...] toad and hang the body on a thorn tree until only the skeleton remained. This is not unlike the mythical toadstone of bufonite recorded by Pliny the Elder in the first century. At full moon the man then had to take the skeleton to a running stream and throw it into the water. One small forked bone would detach itself from the rest and float upstream, and it was this bone from which the horseman would then derive power over horses.» — el rito citado: matar un sapo, colgarlo de un espino hasta el esqueleto, echarlo a la corriente en luna llena y quedarse con el huesecillo bifurcado que remonta el agua

«The toad bone also conferred upon its possessor the power steal without the risk of being caught, it was believed. The prescription of a “thorn tree" is worth noting. When the Greek physician, Dioscorides, named the acacia tree, he did so after its most defining characteristic: akakia, 'thorns.' Are we witnessing here an example of sympathetic magic?» — la pregunta que Newman deja abierta: el espino del rito le recuerda que Dioscórides nombró la acacia por sus espinas, y se pregunta si se trata de magia simpática

«Strange as it is, the legend of the Toadmen society's mysterious toad bone is actually reminiscent of another curious artifact that was claimed to have been harvested from the body of a toad: the mythical toadstone or bufonite, first mentioned by Pliny the Elder. Thought to have been found in the heads of toads, toadstones were believed to be an antidote against any poison.» — la pieza siguiente: la mítica bufonita o piedra de sapo, mencionada por Plinio, que se creía hallada en la cabeza de los sapos y antídoto contra todo veneno

«As toads were frequently used to make poisonous mixtures, the use of the toadstone as an antidote against poison is an interesting innovation. Examples of alleged toadstone rings have actually survived to the present day, and are housed at the famous Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England named after our Lichfield antiquary, Elias Ashmole.» — la ironía que Newman consigna y el dato de colección: anillos de bufonita se conservan en el museo Ashmolean, llamado así por Elias Ashmole

«Both the Yaqui and Seri people of Sonora, Mexico revere a certain toad, the Incilius alvarius (formerly Bufo alverius), for its miraculous, magical properties. Situated upon the Incilius alvarius' head are two special organs, called parotid glands, that secrete a substance known as bufotenin. Itself hallucinogenic, when bufotenin is dried, it crystallizes and hardens, becoming a tiny, citrine-like stone. Upon incineration, this stone converts into 5-MeO-DMT, a close cousin of N,N-DMT and equally one of the most powerful entheogenic substances occurring in nature.» — la clave química del apéndice: el *Incilius alvarius* segrega bufotenina por las glándulas parótidas, que al secarse cristaliza y al incinerarse se convierte en 5-MeO-DMT

«Here, one cannot help but be reminded of the mysterious toadstone, thought to have been produced, Minerva-like, directly from the heads of toads, that was said to have been possessed of miraculous properties. Moreover, it may also explain the immortal motif of witches adding toads to their magical brews, as Shakespeare famously fictionalized in Act 4 of Macbeth.» — la conexión que Newman propone: ese cristal recordaría a la bufonita y explicaría el motivo de las brujas que añaden sapos a sus brebajes

«As we're learning, certain of the alchemists, too, were preoccupied with the hidden virtues of toads. Perhaps the most obvious reference comes from the Ripley Scrowle. In it, Ripley detailed a veiled alchemical operation: The toad first drinks "juice of Grapes," until it is so filled up that it "casts its Venom" and "begins to swell" as a result of poisoning. The allusion here is to the intoxicating venom produced by fermenting grape juice, so as to imply that both the grapes and this particular toad share in their ability to inebriate.» — la lectura que Newman hace del *Ripley Scrowle*: el sapo bebe jugo de uvas hasta hincharse y arrojar su veneno, con lo que uvas y sapo compartirían la capacidad de embriagar

«In his Scrowle, Ripley's toxic toad finally goes on to die in its "Cave" before the usual sequence of colour changes black, various colours, white and red - follows. "Thus," says the author, "the Venom is changed into powerful Medicine.» — el desenlace del emblema: el sapo muere en su cueva y sigue la secuencia de colores, negro, varios, blanco y rojo, y el veneno se convierte en medicina poderosa

«Alchemist and Rosicrucian apologist, Count Michael Maier, wrote similarly in Emblem 5 of his Atalanta Fugiens, "To the woman's breast apply the chilly toad So that it drinks her milk, just like a child. Then let it swell into a massive growth, And let the woman sicken, and then die. You make from this a noble medicine, Which drives the poison from the human heart.» — el emblema paralelo de Michael Maier en *Atalanta Fugiens*: el sapo frío mamando del pecho de la mujer hasta hincharse, la mujer que enferma y muere, y de ahí la noble medicina

«As with Ripley's, Maier's toad has swelled from drinking, but rather than "juice of Grapes," he imbibes breast milk. This is not unlike the accusations hurled during the English witch trials that toads, as the witches' familiars, suckled the witches' breasts for nourishment. Although, as Ruck observes in Persephone's Quest: Entheogens and the Origins of Religion, interpreting even the meaning of the word 'milk' can be problematic.» — la diferencia que Newman marca y la reserva que añade desde Ruck: en Maier el sapo mama leche, como los familiares de las brujas, pero interpretar la palabra leche ya es problemático

«Milk' too is easily metaphoric and can designate the milky sap of plants [such as opium] (Theophrastus, H.P. 6.3-4), or even wine, as the 'milk of Aphrodite' (Aristophanes, fr. 596).» — la cita de Ruck: la leche puede designar el látex de plantas como la adormidera, o el vino, la leche de Afrodita

«'Milk' may even allude to the very venom of the toad itself. Alfred Savinelli, the author of Bufo alvarius: The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert (1983) and the first man known to have smoked the secretions of the Colorado River toad, once said in an interview with Hamilton Morris, "[Toad venom] was like mother's milk." 193 In point of fact, ‘milking' is actually the term used to refer to the act of manually expressing venom from the toads' parotid glands. At any rate, one final example of a suckling toad can be found in Hieronymus Bosch's hallucinatory painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights (1503-1515).» — la tercera lectura que Newman propone: la leche podría ser el propio veneno del sapo, y recuerda que *ordeñar* es el término técnico de extraerlo de las glándulas parótidas

«That Ripley communicated something of the alchemical mystery behind this warty amphibian to Thomas Norton, there can be little doubt. For, Thomas' great grandson, Samuel Norton, who became an accomplished alchemist in his own right, would go on to translate Ripley's tract, Bosome Booke, into English. This demonstrates that Samuel held a more than passing interest in the activities, not only of his great grandfather, but of Thomas' mentor, George Ripley, as well. Furthermore, four years later, while at St. John's College, Samuel wrote about his great grandfather in The Key of Alchimie, a title he tellingly dedicated to Elizabeth I. Perhaps the most revealing of all is an engraving appearing in Samuel's Alchyma Complementum et Perfectio, published in Frankfurt in 1630, less than a decade after his death, by the English physician and alchemy enthusiast, Edmund Deane.» — la cadena documental que Newman traza: Samuel Norton, bisnieto de Thomas, tradujo el *Bosome Booke* de Ripley y escribió sobre su bisabuelo, y su *Alchyma Complementum et Perfectio* se publicó en Fráncfort en 1630

«Central to this engraving, we see the figure of Hermes standing within a square, the same being enclosed inside a triangle that is in turn surrounded by a circle - a common glyph for the philosophers' stone. Behind said glyph is a truncated tree, its boughs removed and replaced by a crown. Additionally, two heraldic roses, meant to mimic wild, five-petaled roses, have been grafted high onto the trunk. What really grabs our attention, however, lies at the base of the tree, just beneath the earth. There, we discover Ripley's swollen toad, plump and still suckling juice from grape clusters that seem to have sprouted directly from the roots of the anonymous tree.» — la descripción del grabado: Hermes en cuadrado, triángulo y círculo, el árbol truncado coronado, dos rosas heráldicas y, bajo tierra, el sapo hinchado mamando de racimos brotados de las raíces

«Without its boughs, we have no way of determining what species of tree Samuel and Sendivogius may have had in mind. But, we can be fairly certain that it was a tree whose roots are possessed of intoxicating properties.» — la abstención que Newman declara: sin ramas no hay modo de saber qué árbol tenían en mente, aunque él da por bastante seguro que sus raíces embriagan

«Where Ripley demonstrated the toxic virtues of his toad by connecting its image with the botryose source of alcohol (grapes), Samuel has expanded this symbolism to include the roots of an unnamed tree that, although leafless, has been topped with a crown. Is it possible that Ripley, and the Nortons and Sendivogius after him, were aware of the chemical affinity between the roots of some species of acacia, known to contain high amounts of N,N-DMT, and the toxicology of the alien Incilius alvarius toad, whose parotid glands secrete bufotenin, a precursor to 5-MeO-DMT, as a defense mechanism?» — la pregunta con que cierra el argumento: si Ripley, los Norton y Sendivogius conocerían la afinidad química entre las raíces de la acacia y la toxicología del sapo *Incilius alvarius*

«Incilius alvarius toads certainly are not native to Europe. The species is only found in the lower Colorado River (hence B. alvarius also being known as the 'Colorado River toad') and in the Gila River catchment areas of California, New Mexico, Mexico, and southern Arizona. Nor is Europe, to our knowledge, home to any known hallucinogenic species of toad. Thus, just how these remarkable creatures would have hopped into the alembics and cauldrons of alchemists and witches of the Late Middle Ages, over 5,000 miles away and across the North Atlantic ocean, we might add, is an enigma.» — el muro que Newman se pone a sí mismo: esos sapos no son europeos ni Europa tiene, que él sepa, especie alucinógena alguna, así que cómo llegaron a los alambiques medievales es un enigma

«Given what we now know of the entheogenic proclivities of Medieval and Renaissance alchemists, and the lengths to which these rogue philosophers were willing to go to move heaven and earth for the sake of a stone, we would not put it past them to outsource hallucinogenic toads from a foreign country. Surely, it's more believable than a knot 194 simply raining down from the sky. Yet, even that has been documented in certain regions of Japan» — la conclusión que Newman se permite en ese punto: no le extrañaría que aquellos filósofos importaran sapos alucinógenos del extranjero, y lo halla más creíble que la lluvia de sapos documentada en Japón, Hungría y Uruguay

«A group of toads is called a knot.» — la nota que explica el término colectivo que usa: un grupo de sapos se llama *knot*

«Round about the cauldron we» — los versos de *Macbeth* con que ilustra esa asociación; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«go; In the poison'd entrails we throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one» — continuación al otro lado del corte: el sapo que ha dormido treinta y un días bajo la piedra fría

«Swelter'd venom sleeping got Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.» — cierre de los versos en la plana siguiente: sudando veneno, hierve el primero en el caldero encantado

«Toadstones were considered to be antidotes for poison and were also used in the treatment of epilepsy. As early as the 14th century, people began to adorn jewelry with toadstones for their magical abilities. In their» — la cita de Paul Taylor: las bufonitas se tenían por antídoto contra el veneno y se usaban contra la epilepsia, y desde el siglo XIV se engastaban en joyería; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«folklore, a toadstone was required to be removed from an old toad while the creature was still alive, and as instructed by the 17th century naturalist Edward Topsell, could be done by setting the toad on a piece of red cloth.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: había que sacarla del sapo vivo, y Topsell instruía hacerlo poniéndolo sobre un paño rojo

«It is almost as problematic as the means by which, say, the ancient Egyptians transported the red granite used for the construction of the central chamber of the Great Pyramid each of which weighed anywhere between two and three tons - over the 500 miles of sand and desert that separate» — la analogía con que trata ese muro: le parece tan problemático como el traslado del granito rojo de la gran pirámide; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk

«Aswan from Giza. But, transport them they did. And, our inability to determine exactly how they accomplished that feat» — continuación al otro lado del corte: los transportaron de todos modos, y no saber cómo no quitaría la evidencia; el tramo se corta al entrar el folio de la plana

«does not detract from the evidence supporting the fact that they did indeed do it.» — cierre de la analogía en la plana siguiente: la incapacidad de determinar el método no resta a la evidencia de que lo hicieron

«A similar belief was held among the» — el paralelo griego que Newman introduce, cortado por el pie de plana: una creencia semejante corría entre los antiguos griegos

«ancient Greeks. According to Carl A.P. Ruck, a Professor of Classics at Boston University,» — continuación en la plana siguiente: la autoridad que invoca es Carl A. P. Ruck, profesor de clásicas en la Universidad de Boston

«Serpents [were believed to have] acquired their own toxins by ingesting poisonous herbs, or conversely they contaminated plants by their proximity, with the plants absorbing the serpents' toxicity.» — la cita de Ruck: se creía que las serpientes adquirían sus toxinas comiendo hierbas venenosas, o al revés que contaminaban las plantas por proximidad

«This same motif is repeated in the» — las otras apariciones del motivo, cortadas por el cambio de plana: el mismo motivo se repite en otras estampas

«frontispiece to Michael Sendivogius' Chymische Schrifften, where a toad is seen creeping toward grapes whose vines are wrapped about the base of a broken tree. In addition to Norton's Ordinal and several additional tracts by Ripley, a toad also appears in the illustration for the title page of Ashmole's Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum.» — continuación: el frontispicio de *Chymische Schrifften* de Sendivogius con el sapo hacia las uvas al pie de un árbol roto, el *Ordinal* de Norton, otros tratados de Ripley y la portada del *Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum* de Ashmole

«In fragment 224 of the Chaldean Oracles, the goddess, Hekate, instructs her worshippers in her proper form of worship. Among other peculiarities, one curious ingredient used in the consecration of her statues bears mention.» — la pieza con que abre el apéndice II: el fragmento 224 de los *Oráculos caldeos*, donde Hécate instruye sobre la consagración de sus estatuas

«But execute my statue, purifying it as I shall instruct you. Make a form from wild rue and decorate it with small animals, such as lizards which live about the house. Rub a mixture of myrrh, gum, and frankincense with these animals, and out in the clear air under the waxing moon, complete this (statue) yourself while offering the following prayer.» — la receta citada: hacer la figura de ruda silvestre, adornarla con animalillos como las lagartijas de casa, frotarlos con mirra, goma e incienso y completarla al aire libre bajo luna creciente

«As the late Neoplatonic philosopher, Algis Uždavinys, wrote in his brilliant book, Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity, "In the context of Hellenic cultic practice, partly borrowed from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, and Anatolia, the statue (agalma) is regarded as a vessel and container for the divine powers that take up residence inside it. The awakening of these powers is sometimes achieved by the practice of putting pharmaka (remedies, drugs, herbs, magical means of power, charms, enchantments, symbols) into [...] statues... The practice of putting pharmaka and sunthemata (theurgic tokens) inside the statues is linked with the Chaldean talismanic lore, that is, with the Assyrian and Babylonian hierourgia. [Animated] statues [...] contain both visible and invisible sunthemata (also regarded as pharmaka-drugs, charms, secret means)...» — la lectura teúrgica que Newman toma de Algis Uždavinys: la estatua es vaso y receptáculo de las potencias divinas, que se despiertan poniendo *pharmaka* y *sunthemata* dentro de ella

«Uždavinys observes, the addition of "drugs" to cult agalma was a practice common to the so-called "animation" of statues.» — lo que Newman retiene de esa cita: añadir drogas al *agalma* de culto era práctica común en la llamada animación de estatuas

«The author of the study, archaeologist, Marina Ciaraldi, compares the Pompeii concoction to a well-known potion called mithridatium, containing both opium and lizards, which took its name from Mithridates IV, king of Pontus (120-63 B.C.). While Pliny lists at least 44 ingredients that can be combined to produce the drug, a notebook discovered in Mithridates' palace names only four, including "leaves of rue." 204 Provided what we know about the rue referenced in the Chaldean Oracles in connection with Hekate, it is likely that this is also a case of "wild rue."» — la comparación que Newman toma de Marina Ciaraldi: el preparado de Pompeya se parecería al mitridato, con opio y lagartijas, cuyo cuaderno hallado en el palacio de Mitrídates nombra solo cuatro ingredientes, entre ellos hojas de ruda

«Lizards are a known common ingredient in ancient philtres or love potions, to which intoxicating plants, such as opium and mandrake, were often added. The second-century Roman novelist, Apuleius, for example, spoke of them when he wrote, "They dig out all kinds of philtres from everywhere: they search for the agent that arouses mutual love: pills and nails and threads, roots and herbs and shoots, the two-tailed lizard, and charms from mares.» — el uso que documenta para las lagartijas: ingrediente común de filtros de amor con plantas embriagantes, como en los versos de Apuleyo que cita

«And, in Africa, for example, the powdered remains of the phallic Lacerta scincus are imbibed as a local aphrodisiac. 206 While there are no extant lizards or salamanders which are possessed of known entheogenic compounds, there are a number of species in the animal kingdom with pronounced inebriating qualities. The Colorado River toad (Incilius alvarius, formerly Bufo alvarius), for example, famously secretes 5-MeO-Dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) from its parotid glands. Insofar as this species is already endangered of extinction, it is not inconceivable that a similarly entheogenic species of reptile(s) may have existed at one time in the past but has since gone extinct on account of reasons similar to that of I. alvarius. Again, there is no shortage of reptilian and amphibious additives in the magical and medicinal recipes of the ancient world.» — la abstención que Newman declara y la salida que propone: no hay lagartijas ni salamandras con compuestos enteogénicos conocidos, pero le parece concebible que alguna especie así existiera y se extinguiera

«Similarly, the Indian spiny tailed lizard (Uromastyx hardwickii) is regularly hunted by locals to this day in the belief that the oil extracted from the fat is a natural aphrodisiac.» — el segundo dato etnográfico: la lagartija de cola espinosa india se caza aún por creer que el aceite de su grasa es afrodisiaco

«Like Pliny's rue, lizards too were associated by the ancients with 'sight.» — el paralelo que Newman traza: como la ruda de Plinio, las lagartijas se asociaban a la vista

«Lizards, also, are employed in numerous ways as a remedy for diseases of the eyes. Some persons enclose a green lizard in a new earthen vessel, together with nine of the small stones... Upon each of these stones they make nine marks, and remove one from the vessel daily, taking care, when the ninth day is come, to let the lizard go, the stones being kept as a remedy for affections of the eyes. Others, again, blind a green lizard, and after putting some earth beneath it, enclose it in a glass vessel, with some small rings of solid iron or gold. When they find, by looking through the glass, that the lizard has recovered its sight, they set it at liberty, and keep the rings as a preservative against ophthalmia. Others employ the ashes of a lizard's head as a substitute for antimony, for the treatment of eruptions of the eyes. Some recommend the ashes of the green lizard with a long neck that is usually found in sandy soils, as an application for incipient defluxions of the eyes, and for glaucoma. They say, too, that if the eyes of a [lizard] are extracted with a pointed instrument, its sight will return... For continuous watering of the eyes, the ashes of a spotted lizard's head, applied with antimony, are remarkably efficacious.» — el pasaje de Plinio citado: lagartijas verdes encerradas en vasijas con piedras marcadas, cegadas y luego liberadas al recobrar la vista, y cenizas de cabeza de lagartija como sustituto del antimonio

«Herbalists may have used these folk names in an attempt to protect their practice. One ancient 'spell book' explains that misleading names were chosen for ingredients due to 'the curiosity of the masses.' The general public, the writers believed, 'do not take precaution' when using herbal cures or magic, and so must be discouraged by using frightening or disgusting names.» — la explicación que cita para esos nombres: los herbolarios habrían usado nombres populares para proteger su práctica y disuadir a los curiosos con términos repugnantes

«To complicate matters, the reference to "ivy and other creeping plants" itself is not as clear-cut as it may at first appear. Entwining about the pinecone-capped fennel thyrsi ceremonially carried by the frenzied followers of Dionysus, ivy was commonly associated with 'god of madness' on account of his being said to have eaten the toxic berries of the ivy plant for the purpose of intoxication prior to his discovery of wine. Australian psychedelic researcher, Snu Voogelbreinder, in his impressive study, Garden of Eden, the Shamanic Use of Psychoactive Flora and Fauna, and the Study of Consciousness, reports that, when they finally came to be used in the brewing process, hops replaced the long-time presence of "ivy" in beers.212 Although, Voogelbreinder notes that, while Hedera helix has certainly been shown to have narcotic effects in both mice and rats, and "has long been rumored to be psychoactive" in humans, the implied species may in fact be an LSA-rich variety of Argyreia or Ipomoea, such as Hawaiian baby woodrose or 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories, each of which resemble ivy when not in flower. 213 Lastly, it is noted by the author that one common name for the potentiating passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) vine, which, like Syrian rue, is possessed of an MAOI, is "ground ivy.» — la complicación que Newman añade: la hiedra se asociaba a Dionisio por sus bayas tóxicas, y Voogelbreinder propone que la hiedra de las cervezas pudo ser una especie rica en LSA o la pasiflora, cuyo nombre común es hiedra de tierra

«The next three ingredients, "myrrh, [Arabic] gum, and frankincense," each consist of saps collected from various trees, including Comminphora myrrha, Boswellia sacra and carterii, and Acacia nilotica and senegal, respectively. While Arabic gum is not psychoactive, both Acacia nilotica and senegal (the trees from which Arabic gum is collected) are possessed of the powerful serotonergic entheogen, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (N,N-DMT). The other two ingredients, on the other hand, deserve some treatment.» — el análisis químico de los tres ingredientes: mirra, goma arábiga e incienso son savias de árboles, y aunque la goma no es psicoactiva las acacias de que se saca contienen DMT

«C. myrrha (myrrh) contains among its components large amounts of the furanosesquiterpenoids 2-acetoxyfuranodiene (9.80%), furanoeudesma-1,3-diene (8.97%), curzerene (6.71%-17%) and furanodiene, as well as a-pinene, limonene, cuminaldehyde, eugenol, safrole, myrcene, and elemicin.» — la cita de Danny Nemu sobre la composición de la mirra: furanosesquiterpenoides, alfa-pineno, limoneno, cuminaldehído, eugenol, safrol, mirceno y elemicina

«While we do not know precisely to what end this psychoactive Hekate statue was used, the ceremonial burning of ritual effigies may not have been a practice unknown to the ancient Greeks. For example, in the theurgic rituals of late antiquity, statues were regularly constructed as receptacles for divine energies. As with animal and plant sacrifices, ritual effigies served as ceremonial sunthemata (tokens) or symbola (symbols) by which divine energies were captured, harnessed, and reflected, much like a mirror reflects the light of the sun. Through the sacrifice of these sunthemata, the theurgist was able to participate in the divinity of which the object of sacrifice was a symbolon.» — la abstención que Newman declara y el marco que propone: no sabe a qué fin se destinaba la estatua psicoactiva de Hécate, pero en la teúrgia tardoantigua las estatuas eran receptáculos de energías divinas

«Through the ceremonial burning of ritual sunthemata, the theurgist was able to ascend to the realm of the gods and himself participate directly in divinity.» — la consecuencia que Newman extrae: quemando los *sunthemata* el teúrgo ascendía al reino de los dioses y participaba de la divinidad

«Hekate is said to have appeared to her worshippers in the form of a vision of sacred flame (one of her symbols is the burning torch), "[The] Oracles [...] afford glimpses into practices destined to bring about divine visions [...] of the Oracles' protagonist [Hekate.] Frag. 146 outlines the different possible visual effects of an invocation: visions of fire in the likeness of a child leaping towards the air, formless fire whence a voice comes forth, abundant light that winds itself around the earth with a whirring sound, a horse, a child riding on a horse, fiery... Finally, frg. 148 enjoins that having seen the formless fire skirting over the depths of the cosmos, the performer hearken to the voice of the fire.» — las visiones que la propia fuente atribuye a Hécate: fuego con figura de niño, fuego informe del que sale una voz, luz abundante con zumbido, un caballo, un niño a caballo

«According to Dr. Crystal Addey, a permanent Lecturer in Classics at University College Cork and an Honorary Research Fellow in Classics at the University of St Andrews, Hekate also manifested to her devotees in a visionary or dream state. "[Hekate] advises the enquirer that she will appear to them in their sleep. Thus, [the above] oracle clearly issues instructions for preparations in order to receive a dream oracle from [Hekate].» — el dato que Newman toma de Crystal Addey: Hécate se manifestaba también en sueños, y el oráculo da instrucciones para recibir un oráculo onírico

«If that which the querents were "inhaling" was the narcotic smoke issuing from the engulfed, entheogenic effigy, the effects, e.g., ekstasis and enthusiasmos, would certainly be in keeping with the reported results of the Hekate rite.» — la hipótesis condicionada que formula: si lo inhalado era el humo de la efigie enteogénica ardiendo, el éxtasis y el entusiasmo concordarían con el rito

«One of the few other ritual objects mentioned in the Oracles, the mysterious mnizouris stone, too was intended to be burned. in this case, as a "sacrifice." 225 Fragment 149 reads, - "When you perceive an earthly [daemon] approaching, offer the mnizouris stone while making an invocation...» — el segundo objeto ritual: la misteriosa piedra *mnizouris*, que el fragmento 149 manda ofrecer al percibir un demon terrestre

«The word translated as “offer," thuein, means literally, “burning for the gods."227 Thus, the notion is clearly that of a stone-like substance (mnizouris), the incineration of which is directly associated with the vision of a daemon.» — la precisión filológica que Newman aporta: *thuein* significa literalmente quemar para los dioses, con lo que la incineración de la piedra se asocia a la visión de un demon

«the idea of [burning] a stone is very rare. [...] In order to avoid the strange sacrifice' of a stone, we might turn to the meaning fumigation' [which] relies on the very fact that the material in case is burnt releasing vapours and smells. [...] One isolated comparandum for this strange sacrifice can be found in the [...] Orphic lapidary, the Lithica, which was probably composed around the same time as the Oracles and recommends the sacrifice of an unidentified stone called [nebritês].» — la lectura que Newman toma de Ilinca Tanaseanu-Döbler: la idea de quemar una piedra es rarísima y se resolvería por el sentido de fumigación, con un único paralelo en el lapidario órfico

«Here, these 'sacrificial stones' sound like nothing so much as resinous, visionary substances. The strange nebritês, in fact, translated as "jet stone," was directly associated in ancient Greece with epileptic fits.» — la identificación que Newman propone: esas piedras de sacrificio le suenan a sustancias resinosas visionarias, y el *nebritês* se asociaba en Grecia a los ataques epilépticos

«The motif of inhaling fumes from fire (or in this case, perhaps from the sun itself) reappears in the so-called "Mithras Liturgy" of the Greek Magical Papyri, where the theurgist is encouraged to: "Draw in breath from the rays, drawing up 3 times as much as you can, and you will see yourself being lifted up and/ ascending to the height, so that you seem to be in midair. [...] And you will see the gods staring intently at you and rushing at you.» — el paralelo que cierra el apéndice: el mismo motivo reaparece en la llamada liturgia de Mitra de los papiros mágicos griegos, donde se manda inhalar de los rayos hasta sentirse elevado

«In her commentary to fragment 224, Ruth Majercik actually links the Hekate rite to the Mithras Liturgy on two different counts. Not surprisingly, in his keynote lecture delivered to the Department for the Study of Religions of Mararyk University, Brno, Czechia, titled, The Reasonable Irrational: History of Religions and the Pathologization of Entheogenic Experience, Wouter Hanegraaff, a professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and related currents at the University of Amsterdam, noted that the Mithras Liturgy "may be considered one of the most important 'trip reports' that we have from late antiquity."231 Given what we know about the ingredients cited in the ritual described in fragment 224 of the Chaldean Oracles, the Hekate rite too may meet that qualification.» — los dos apoyos con que Newman remata: Ruth Majercik enlaza el rito de Hécate con la liturgia de Mitra, y Wouter Hanegraaff llama a ésta uno de los informes de viaje más importantes de la antigüedad tardía

«Another curious ingredient for which Hekate's recipe calls is "lizards." In 1996, a farmhouse excavated near Pompeii in Naples,» — la evidencia arqueológica que Newman aporta para las lagartijas: una alquería excavada cerca de Pompeya en 1996; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«Italy, from around 79 A.D. revealed a number of intact dolia or storage vats used for fermenting wine. Inside one of the vats was discovered a residue containing remnants of a number of plants, many of them entheogenic, including Papaver somniferum, the infamous opium poppy a plant which has been directly connected to the goddess, Demeter. Like Demeter, Hekate was often addressed by the epithet, "Despoina," one of the central names associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries. Significantly, alongside the dolia was discovered an assemblage of bones, belonging to frogs, toads, and even lizards.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: dentro de un dolio había residuos de plantas enteogénicas, entre ellas la adormidera, y junto a él huesos de ranas, sapos y lagartijas

«The recipe specifically calls for "lizards which live about the house." Significantly, a 2014 paper published by Roshan Bhad et al of the Department of Psychiatry and National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, titled, The lizard: an unconventional psychoactive substance?, reports on a 30-year-old Indian male with a 2-3 lizard» — el estudio moderno que Newman aporta; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *lizard-a-day*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente: el artículo de Roshan Bhad y otros sobre un indio de treinta años

«a-day habit. The Indian wall lizard or common house gecko (Hemidactylus flaviviridis) is regularly found in many Indian households. According to the authors of the paper,» — continuación: la lagartija de pared india o gecko común de casa se halla con frecuencia en los hogares del país

«He reported that he started using tail of wall lizard from past 10 years after one seer introduced it in the smoking form, filled in an earthen pipe (chillum) along with ganja. He enjoyed the pleasurable effect and started using it to get high. The most frequent pattern of use was mixing burned tail of wall lizard in cigarette half filled with tobacco and smoking it. Occasionally, he claims to have consumed orally too, either by burning the tail of wall lizard to char or eating it raw after killing . He would usually consume 2-3 tails of wall lizards/week and maximum up to 2-3 tails of wall lizards/d. Patient claims the effect [...] would last longer and he would experience more euphoria after taking tail of wall lizard... [...] The subjective effects reported by him were increase self-esteem,» — el caso citado: el sujeto fumaba la cola de la lagartija de pared en pipa con ganja o mezclada en cigarro, y reportaba aumento de autoestima; el tramo se corta al entrar la nota al pie

«confidence, and mild sedation that would last for 10-12 h. [...] He would usually obtain lizards from walls of the houses...» — continuación en la plana siguiente: confianza y sedación leve de diez a doce horas, con las lagartijas obtenidas de los muros de las casas

«Confusingly, "lizards" may not refer to reptiles at all. According to Mariel Tishma, the Assistant Editor of Hekteon International: A Journal of Medical Humanities, the use of lizard» — la duda que Newman introduce, tomada de Mariel Tishma: las lagartijas de las recetas antiguas podrían no ser reptiles; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«parts in ancient concoctions may allude instead to "ivy and other creeping plants.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: aludirían a la hiedra y otras plantas trepadoras

«The dehydroabietic acid component [of frankincense] is a GABA» — la segunda cita de Nemu, sobre el incienso; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *GABA-receptor*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente

«receptor modulator with tranquillizing, anti-depressant, and anxiolytic actions in mice. [...] Other components [...] include a- and B-pinene, camphene, sabinene, myrcene, limonene, and linalool.» — continuación: el ácido dehidroabiético es modulador de receptores GABA con acción tranquilizante, antidepresiva y ansiolítica en ratones

«[It] is the greater power of fire to consume, destroy, and assimilate matter to itself but not to be assimilated to matter, and fire lifts up the offering to the divine, heavenly, and immaterial Fire. [...] Whatever exists within us is made similar to the Gods just as fire assimilates all solid and resistant bodies. And by means of sacrifices and the fire of the sacrificial offering, we are led up to the Fire of the Gods just as [we see] in» — la cita de Jámblico: el fuego consume y asimila la materia sin ser asimilado, y por el sacrificio y su fuego somos llevados al fuego de los dioses; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«the ascent of fire to the Fire invoked and in the drawing up of gravitating and resistant things to divine and heavenly natures.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: como en el ascenso del fuego al Fuego invocado y en la elevación de lo pesado hacia naturalezas celestes

«Moreover, an earlier fragment from the Chaldean Oracles provides a clear indication of how this visionary dream state may have been achieved.» — el fragmento que Newman lee como técnica; el tramo se corta al entrar las notas al pie

«Those who, by inhaling, drive out the soul [from the body], are» — la cita de ese fragmento: quienes al inhalar expulsan el alma del cuerpo quedan libres

«The furanosesquiterpenoids of which myrrh is possessed are active at μ-opioid and d-opioid receptors, with a noted potency of 10% to that of morphine. Moreover, according to Al-Hasani and Bruchas' 2011 study, Molecular mechanisms of opioid receptor» — lo que Newman deriva de esa composición; la cita se corta antes del guion de fin de renglón de *receptor-dependent*, que la herramienta unía en una palabra inexistente: los furanosesquiterpenoides actúan en receptores opioides con una décima parte de la potencia de la morfina

«dependent signaling and behavior, curzarene, furanodiene, and furanoeudesma-1,3-diene have all three also been found to be effective mood enhancers, causing activation of the central dopamine reward pathways that modulate euphoria.216 Similarly, limonene, a terpene which myrrh shares with cannabis, has been shown to increase both serotonin and dopamine levels in areas of the brain associated with anxiety, depression, and even obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).217 Eugenol, a terpene found in cloves, and elemicin, a compound found in nutmeg, are each classified as sedatives, while safrole, also found in nutmeg, is a» — continuación: curzareno, furanodieno y furanoeudesma potenciarían el ánimo activando las vías dopaminérgicas de recompensa, el limoneno sube serotonina y dopamina, y eugenol y elemicina son sedantes; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«precursor to 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and was classified by Bourgeois et al as a hallucinogen.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: el safrol es precursor de la MDMA y Bourgeois y otros lo clasificaron como alucinógeno

«Once there were two brethren, of one mother and one father; Anpu was the name of the elder, and Bata was the name of the younger. Now, as for Anpu he had a house, and he had a wife. But his little brother was to him as it were a son; he it was who made for him his clothes; he it was who followed behind his oxen to the fields; he it was who did the ploughing; he it was who harvested the corn; he it was who did for him all the matters that were in the field. Behold, his younger brother grew to be an excellent worker, there was not his equal in the whole land; behold, the spirit of a god was in him.» — apertura del apéndice III, el cuento egipcio de los dos hermanos que Newman reproduce entero: Anpu el mayor con casa y mujer, y Bata el menor, que le era como un hijo y en quien estaba el espíritu de un dios

«And when the morn was come, they went to the fields with their things; and their hearts were pleased exceedingly with their task in the beginning of their work. And it came to pass after this that as they were in the field they stopped for corn, and he sent his younger brother, saying, “Haste thou, bring to us corn from the farm." And the younger brother found the wife of his elder brother, as she was sitting tying her hair. He said to her: "Get up, and give to me corn, that I may run to the field, for my elder brother hastened me; do not delay." She said to him: "Go, open the bin, and thou shalt take to thyself according to thy will, that I may not drop my locks of hair while I dress them.» — el arranque del conflicto: enviado por su hermano a traer grano, Bata halla a la mujer peinándose y ella lo manda servirse solo

«And she arose and came to him, and conversed with him, saying, “Come, stay with me, and it shall be well for thee, and I will make for thee beautiful garments.» — la propuesta de la mujer, que desata el relato

«Then the youth became like a panther of the south with fury at the evil» — la reacción de Bata: se vuelve como una pantera del sur ante esas palabras; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«speech which she had made to him; and she feared greatly. And he spake unto her, saying: "Behold thou art to me as a mother, thy husband is to me as a father, for he who is elder than I has brought me up. What is this wickedness that thou hast said to me? Say it not to me again. For I will not tell it to any man, for I will not let it be uttered by the mouth of any man." He lifted up his burden, and he went to the field and came to his elder brother; and they took up their work, to labor at their task.» — continuación al otro lado del corte: Bata le recuerda que ella le es como madre y su hermano como padre, y promete no contarlo a nadie

«And behold the wife of the elder brother was afraid for the words which she had said. She took a parcel of fat, she became like one who is evilly beaten, desiring to say to her husband, "It is thy younger brother who has done this wrong." Her husband returned in the even, as was his wont of every day; he came unto his house; he found his wife ill of violence; she did not give him water upon his hands as he used to have, she did not make a light before him, his house was in darkness, and she was lying very sick. Her husband said to her, "Who has spoken with thee?" Behold she said: "No one has spoken with me except thy younger brother. When he came to take for thee corn he found me sitting alone; he said to me, “Come, let us stay together, tie up thy hair. Thus spake he to me. I did not listen to him, but thus spake I to him: 'Behold, am I not thy mother, is not thy elder brother to thee as a father?' And he feared, and he beat me to stop me from making report to thee, and if thou lettest him live I shall die.» — la acusación falsa: la mujer se golpea con un paquete de grasa y dice a su marido que el menor la agredió

«And the elder brother became as a panther of the south; he sharpened his knife; he took it in his hand; he stood behind the door of his stable to slay his younger brother as he came in the evening to bring his cattle into the stable.» — la respuesta de Anpu: afila el cuchillo y espera tras la puerta del establo para matar a su hermano

«Now the sun went down, and he loaded himself with herbs in his daily manner. He came, and his foremost cow entered the stable, and she said to her keeper, "Behold thou thy elder brother standing before thee with his knife to slay thee; flee from before him." He heard what his first cow had said; and the next entering, she also said likewise. He looked beneath the door of the stable; he saw the feet of his elder brother; he was standing behind the door, and his knife was in his hand. He cast down his load to the ground, and betook himself to flee swiftly; and his elder brother pursued after him with his knife.» — el aviso de las vacas, que hablan a su cuidador y le dicen que huya, y la persecución con el cuchillo

«cry; and Ra made a wide water between him and his elder brother, and it was full of crocodiles; and the one brother was on one bank, and the other on the other bank; and the elder brother smote twice on his hands at not slaying him. Thus did he. And the younger brother called to the elder on the bank, saying: "Stand still until the dawn of day; and when Ra ariseth, I shall judge with thee before him, and he discerneth between the good and the evil. For I shall not be with thee any more forever; I shall not be in the place in which thou art; I shall go to the valley of the acacia.» — la intervención divina del cuento: Ra abre entre los hermanos una anchura de agua llena de cocodrilos, y Bata anuncia que se irá al valle de la acacia

«Now when the land was lightened, and the next day appeared, Ra Harakhti arose, and one looked unto the other. And the youth spake with his elder brother, saying: "Wherefore earnest thou after me to slay me in craftiness, when thou didst not hear the words of my mouth? For I am thy brother in truth, and thou art to me as a father, and thy wife even as a mother: is it not so? Verily, when I was sent to bring for us corn, thy wife said to me, 'Come, stay with me'; for behold this has been turned over unto thee into another wise." And he caused him to understand of all that happened with him and his wife. And he swore an oath by Ra Harakhti, saying, "Thy coming to slay me by deceit with thy knife was an abomination.» — el juicio ante Ra Harakhti: Bata explica lo ocurrido con la mujer y jura que venir a matarlo con engaño fue abominación

«Then the youth took a knife, and cut off of his flesh, and cast it into the water, and the fish swallowed it. He failed; he became faint; and his elder brother cursed his own heart greatly; he stood weeping for him afar off; he knew not how to pass over to where his younger brother was, because of the crocodiles.» — la mutilación de Bata: se corta su carne y la echa al agua, donde el pez la traga, mientras el hermano llora sin poder cruzar

«And the younger brother called unto him, saying: "Whereas thou hast devised an evil thing, wilt thou not also devise a good thing, even like that which I would do unto thee? When thou goest to thy house thou must look to thy cattle, for I shall not stay in the place where thou art; I am going to the valley of the acacia. And now as to what thou shalt do for me; it is even that thou shalt come to seek after me, if thou perceivest a matter, namely, that there are things happening unto me. And this is what shall come to pass, that I shall draw out my soul, and I shall put it upon the top of the flowers of the acacia, and when the acacia is cut down, and it falls to the ground, and thou comest to seek for it, if thou searchest for it seven years do not let thy heart be wearied.» — el encargo que da nombre al apéndice: Bata pondrá su alma en la flor más alta de la acacia, y cuando el árbol sea talado su hermano habrá de buscarla sin cansarse aunque tarde siete años

«And the youth went to the valley of the acacia; and his elder brother went unto his house; his hand was laid on his head, and he cast dust on his head; he came to his house, and he slew his wife, he cast her to the dogs, and he sat in mourning for his younger brother.» — el desenlace de la primera parte: Anpu vuelve a casa, mata a su mujer, la echa a los perros y guarda luto por su hermano

«Now many days after these things, the younger brother was in the valley of the acacia; there was none with him; he spent his time in hunting the beasts of the desert, and he came back in the even to lie down under the acacia, which bore his soul upon the topmost flower. And after this he built himself a tower with his own hands, in the valley of the acacia; it was full of all good things, that he might provide for himself a home.» — la vida de Bata en el valle: caza en el desierto, duerme bajo la acacia que lleva su alma en la flor más alta y se construye una torre

«He took it to Pharaoh; and they brought the scribes and the wise men, and they said unto Pharaoh: "This lock of hair belongs to a daughter of Ra Harakhti: the essence of every god is in her, and it is a tribute to thee from another land. Let messengers go to every strange land to seek her: and as for the messenger who shall go to the valley of the acacia, let many men go with him to bring her.» — el dictamen de los escribas y sabios: el mechón sería de una hija de Ra Harakhti, con la esencia de todo dios, y se manda buscarla al valle de la acacia

«Then said his Majesty, "Excellent exceedingly is what has been said to us"; and they sent them. And many days after these things the people who were sent to strange lands came to give report unto the King: but there came not those who went to the valley of the acacia, for Bata had slain them, but let one of them return to give a report to the King. His Majesty sent many men and soldiers, as well as horsemen, to bring her back. And there was a woman among them, and to her had been given in her hand beautiful ornaments of a woman. And the girl came back with her, and they rejoiced over her in the whole land.» — la captura: los enviados al valle mueren a manos de Bata salvo uno, y una segunda expedición con una mujer y adornos la trae de vuelta

«And his Majesty loved her exceedingly, and raised her to high estate; and he spake unto her that she should tell him concerning her husband. And she said, "Let the acacia be cut down, and let» — la traición de la mujer: elevada por el faraón, pide que se tale la acacia; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido sin cambio de número

«And he went out from his tower, and he met the Nine Gods, who were walking forth to look upon the whole land. The Nine Gods talked one with another, and they said unto him: "Ho! Bata, bull of the Nine Gods, art thou remaining alone? Thou hast left thy village for the wife of Anpu, thy elder brother. Behold his wife is slain. Thou hast given him an answer to all that was transgressed against thee." And their hearts were vexed for him exceedingly.» — la aparición de los Nueve Dioses, que reprochan a Bata quedarse solo tras dejar su aldea por la mujer de Anpu

«And Ra Harakhti said to Khnumu, “Behold, frame thou a woman for Bata, that he may not remain alive alone.” And Khnumu made for him a mate to dwell with him. She was more beautiful in her limbs than any woman who is in the whole land. The essence of every god was in her. The seven Hathors came to see her: they said with one mouth, "She will die a sharp death.» — la creación de la compañera: Ra Harakhti manda a Jnum formar una mujer para Bata, más bella que ninguna, y las siete Hathores anuncian a una voz que morirá de muerte aguda

«And Bata loved her very exceedingly, and she dwelt in his house; he passed his time in hunting the beasts of the desert, and brought and laid them before her. He said: "Go not outside, lest the sea seize thee; for I cannot rescue thee from it, for I am a woman like thee; my soul is placed on the head of the flower of» — la advertencia de Bata a su mujer, que revela el secreto: su alma está puesta en la cabeza de la flor de la acacia; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«the acacia; and if another find it, I must fight with him." And he opened unto her his heart in all its nature.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: si otro halla esa alma, tendrá que pelear con él, y le abre el corazón entero

«Now after these things Bata went to hunt in his daily manner. And the young girl went to walk under the acacia which was by the side of her house. Then the sea saw her, and cast its waves up after her. She betook herself to flee from before it. She entered her house. And the sea called unto the acacia, saying, “Oh, would that I could seize her!" And the acacia brought a lock from her hair, and the sea carried it to Egypt» — el episodio del mechón: el mar embiste a la muchacha, la acacia le arranca un rizo y el mar lo lleva a Egipto

«and dropped it in the place of the fullers of Pharaoh's linen. The smell of the lock of hair entered into the clothes of Pharaoh; and they were wroth with the fullers of Pharaoh, saying, “The smell of ointment is in the clothes of Pharaoh." And the people were rebuked every day, they knew not what they should do. And the chief fuller of Pharaoh walked by the bank, and his heart was very evil within him after the daily quarrel with him. He stood still, he stood upon the sand opposite to the lock of hair, which was in the water, and he made one enter into the water and bring it to him; and there was found in it a smell, exceeding sweet.» — continuación: el rizo cae donde los bataneros del faraón, su olor impregna las ropas reales y el batanero jefe lo saca del agua

«one chop it up." And they sent men and soldiers with their weapons to cut down the acacia; and they came to the acacia, and they cut the flower upon which was the soul of Bata, and he fell dead suddenly.» — la tala de la acacia: cortada la flor donde estaba el alma de Bata, éste cae muerto de golpe

«And when the next day came, and the earth was lightened, the acacia was cut down. And Anpu, the elder brother of Bata, entered his house, and washed his hands; and one gave him a cup of beer, and it became troubled; and one gave him another of wine, and the smell of it was evil. Then he took his staff, and his sandals, and likewise his clothes, with his weapons of war; and he betook himself forth to the valley of the acacia. He entered the tower of his younger brother, and he found him lying upon his mat; he was dead.» — la señal convenida cumplida: a Anpu se le enturbia la cerveza y el vino le huele mal, y parte al valle de la acacia, donde halla muerto a su hermano

«And he went out to seek the soul of his younger brother under the acacia tree, under which his younger brother lay in the evening. He spent three years in seeking for it, but found it not. And when he began the fourth year, he desired in his heart to return into Egypt; he said, "I will go to-morrow morn." Thus spake he in his heart.» — la búsqueda del alma: tres años sin hallarla, y al empezar el cuarto Anpu piensa volver a Egipto

«Now when the land lightened, and the next day appeared, he was walking under the acacia; he was spending his time in seeking it. And he returned in the evening, and labored at seeking it again. He found a seed. He returned with it. Behold this was the soul of his younger brother. He brought a cup of cold water, and he cast the seed into it: and he sat down, as he was wont. Now when the night came his soul sucked up the water; Bata shuddered in all his limbs, and he looked on his elder brother; his soul was in the cup. Then Anpu took the cup of cold water, in which the soul of his younger brother was; Bata drank it, his soul stood again in its place, and he became as he had been. They embraced each other, and they conversed together.» — el hallazgo y la resurrección: encuentra una semilla, la echa en una copa de agua fría, el alma la absorbe y Bata vuelve a ser lo que era

«And when the land was lightened, and the next day appeared, Bata became in the form which he had told to his elder brother. And Anpu sat upon his back until the dawn. He came to the place where the King was, and they made his Majesty to know of him; he saw him, and he was exceeding joyful with him. He made for him great offerings, saying, "This is a great wonder which has come to pass." There were rejoicings over him in the whole land. They presented unto him silver and gold for his elder brother, who went and stayed in his village. They gave to the bull many men and many things, and Pharaoh loved him exceedingly above all that is in this land.» — el cumplimiento: Anpu lleva el toro ante el rey, recibe plata y oro y vuelve a su aldea, y el faraón ama al toro sobre todo lo de la tierra

«And after many days after these things, the bull entered the purified place; he stood in the place where the princess was; he began to speak with her, saying, “Behold, I am alive indeed." And she said to him, "And, pray, who art thou?" He said to her, "I am Bata. I perceived when thou causest that they should destroy the acacia of Pharaoh, which was my abode, that I might not be suffered to live. Behold, I am alive indeed, I am as an ox." Then the princess feared exceedingly for the words that her husband had spoken to her. And he went out from the purified place.» — el reconocimiento: el toro habla con la princesa y le dice que es Bata, vivo aún tras la destrucción de la acacia

«They grew as two great Persea trees, and each of them was excellent. And one went to tell unto his Majesty, "Two great Persea trees have grown, as a great marvel of his Majesty, in the night by the side of the great gate of his Majesty." And there was rejoicing for them in all the land, and there were offerings made to them.» — la tercera metamorfosis: de esas gotas crecen dos grandes árboles persea, celebrados como maravilla en todo el país

«And when the days were multiplied after these things, his Majesty was adorned with the blue crown, with garlands of flowers on his neck, and he was upon the chariot of pale gold, and he went out from the palace to behold the Persea trees: the princess also was going out with horses behind his Majesty. And his Majesty sat beneath one of the Persea trees, and it spake thus with his wife: "Oh thou deceitful one, I am Bata, I am alive, though I have been evilly entreated. I knew who caused the acacia to be cut down by Pharaoh at my dwelling. I then became an ox, and thou causedst that I should be killed.» — el segundo reconocimiento: sentado bajo uno de los perseas, Bata habla a su mujer y le enrostra las dos muertes

«And many days after these things the princess stood at the table of Pharaoh, and the King was pleased with her. And she said to his Majesty, "Swear to me by God, saying, 'That which the princess shall say to me I will obey it for her."" And he hearkened unto all she said. And he commanded, "Let these two Persea trees be cut down, and let them be made into goodly planks." And he hearkened unto all she said. And after this his Majesty sent skillful craftsmen, and they cut down the Persea trees of Pharaoh; and the princess, the royal wife, was standing looking on, and they did all that was in her heart unto the trees. But a chip flew up, and it entered into the mouth of the princess; she swallowed it, and after many days she bore a son.» — la tercera traición y la cuarta metamorfosis: la princesa hace talar los perseas, una astilla le entra en la boca, la traga y da a luz un hijo

«And one went to tell his Majesty, "There is born to thee a son." And they brought him, and gave to him a nurse and servants; and there were rejoicings in the whole land. And the King sat making a merry day, as they were about the naming of him, and his Majesty loved him exceedingly at that moment, and the King raised him to be the royal son of Kush.» — el desenlace dinástico: el niño es criado con nodriza y servidores y el rey lo eleva a hijo real de Kush

«Excellently finished in peace, for the ka of the scribe of the treasury Kagabu, of the treasury of Pharaoh, and for the scribe Hora, and the scribe Meremapt. Written by the scribe Anena, the owner of this roll. He who speaks against this roll, may Tahuti smite him.» — el colofón del papiro: la fórmula de conclusión para el ka de los escribas del tesoro y la maldición del escriba Anena contra quien hable contra el rollo

«And Bata said to his elder brother: "Behold I am to become as a great bull, which bears every good mark; no one knoweth its history, and thou must sit upon my back. When the sun arises I shall be in the place where my wife is, that I may return answer to her; and thou must take me to the place where the King is. For all good things shall be done for thee; for one shall lade thee with» — la primera metamorfosis anunciada: Bata se volverá un gran toro y su hermano lo llevará ante el rey; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«silver and gold, because thou bringest me to Pharaoh, for I become a great marvel, and they shall rejoice for me in all the land. And thou shalt go to thy village.» — continuación: por llevarlo se le cargará de plata y oro, porque será una gran maravilla y se regocijarán en toda la tierra

«And his Majesty was sitting, making a good day with her: she was at the table of his Majesty, and the King was exceeding pleased with her. And she said to his Majesty, "Swear to me by God, saying, 'What thou shalt say, I will obey it for thy sake."" He hearkened unto all that she said, even this. "Let me eat of the liver of the ox, because he is fit for naught." Thus spake she to him. And the King was exceeding sad at her words, the heart of Pharaoh grieved him greatly. And after the land was lightened, and the next day appeared, they proclaimed a great feast with offerings to the ox. And the King sent one of the chief butchers of his Majesty, to cause the ox to be sacrificed. And when he was sacrificed, as he was upon the shoulders of the people, he shook his neck, and he threw two drops of blood over against the two doors of his Majesty. The one fell upon the one side, on the great» — el segundo sacrificio: la princesa hace jurar al rey y pide comer el hígado del buey, que al ser sacrificado lanza dos gotas de sangre hacia las puertas de palacio; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«door of Pharaoh, and the other upon the other door. They grew as two great Persea trees, and each of them was excellent.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: una gota cayó en una puerta y la otra en la otra, y de ellas crecieron dos grandes perseas

«Now after the days had multiplied after these things, his Majesty made him heir of all the land. And many days after that,» — el desenlace dinástico: el rey lo hace heredero de toda la tierra; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«when he had fulfilled many years as heir, his Majesty flew up to heaven. And the heir said, “Let my great nobles of his Majesty be brought before me, that I may make them to know all that has happened to me." And they brought also before him his wife, and he judged with her before him, and they agreed with him. They brought to him his elder brother; he made him hereditary prince in all his land. He was thirty years King of Egypt, and he died, and his elder brother stood in his place on the day of burial.» — continuación en la plana siguiente: cumplidos muchos años como heredero, juzga a su mujer, hace príncipe hereditario a su hermano, reina treinta años y a su muerte lo sucede Anpu

«Psychedelics were revered by ancient cultures and used to explore and expand the higher realm that we call Consciousness. P.D. Newman's reinterpretation of Masonic symbolism brings us a step closer to reconnecting with the higher wisdom teachings of cultures in deep antiquity.» — elogio de contraportada firmado por Graham Hancock, autor de *Supernatural*: presenta la relectura de la simbología masónica que hace Newman como un acercamiento a las enseñanzas de sabiduría de la antigüedad profunda

«In his absorbing inquiry into the hypothesis that entheogenic drugs were used not only by archaic and shamanic cultures, but by modern esotericists in the very heart of Europe as well, P.D. Newman draws on the findings of numerous scholars of recent decades, who discovered cryptic references to psychedelic substances in some texts written by alchemist, Freemasons, and theosophists, combines them with his own remarkable research, and leads the reader along the unfolding hidden current of identifying the secret of the Philosophers' Stone with DMT, the powerful hallucinogenic drug found in the bark of acacia. From early-modern alchemists like John Dee and Edward Kelley, through the Masonic rituals of Count Cagliostro and Fratres Lucis, the secret of DMT extraction and application appears to have been transmitted to Madame Blavatsky and her milieu, as well as to the men behind the Fulcanelli affair. P.D. Newman's captivating narrative is often convincingly argued, sometimes with daring interpretations of abstruse symbols and enigmatic statements, but always entrancing.» — elogio de Rafał T. Prinke, coautor de *Splendor Solis*, que resume la cadena que el libro traza —de Dee y Kelley a Cagliostro, Blavatsky y el asunto Fulcanelli— y le pone su reserva: la argumentación le parece a menudo convincente y a veces de interpretación atrevida

«The challenge of deciphering the cryptic coded language of the ancient art of alchemy has long fascinated modern scholars. While other writers have pointed to psychoactive substances such as 'magic' mushrooms or diethyl ether to account for the mind-altering properties of certain types of Philosophers' Stone, in this absorbing and provocative work P.D. Newman uses the revolution in plant spagyrics instigated by Paracelsus as his key to identifying the alchemical agent of» — primera mitad del elogio de Hereward Tilton, que sitúa la propuesta frente a otras que apuntan a hongos o al éter dietílico; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«Tracing a chain of transmission from the Angelical Stone of John Dee via the Royal Society to the enigmatic acacia of Masonic ritual, Newman argues that the ruby-red elixir was in fact dimethyltryptamine (DMT), one of the principal psychoactive constituents of the fabled healing potion of Amazonia known as ayahuasca. At once entertaining and intriguing, Angels in Vermilion carries its readers through a little-known yet highly consequential chapter in the history of psychonautics.» — continuación del mismo elogio de Tilton en la plana siguiente, donde nombra la tesis: el elixir rojo rubí sería dimetiltriptamina

«In recent years, we have seen a surge in publications outlining the vital, yet often overlooked (or even repressed), role psychoactive substances» — apertura del elogio de Aaron Leitch, autor de *The Essential Enochian Grimoire*, sobre el auge de publicaciones acerca del papel de las sustancias psicoactivas en el esoterismo occidental; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«The sudden appearance of the acacia sprig in Masonic symbolism during John Theophilus Desagulier's term as Grand Master of the first Grand Lodge in London was no accident.» — el punto que Leitch destaca del libro: la aparición de la rama de acacia en la simbología masónica durante el mandato de Desaguliers no habría sido casual; el elogio imprime *Desagulier’s* en singular posesivo

«Writing with clear and engaging language, P.D. Newman presents a work that explores much-ignored areas of entheogenic occultism. Using a mix of primary and secondary source literature, Mr. Newman offers his evidence for underlying entheogenic protocols within secret societies like the Royal Society and Masonic Order, and by ceremonial magicians like John Dee and Edward Kelley. Angels in Vermilion is sure to cause a stir, as Newman dissects ideas and takes them to places many have yet to go. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his conclusions, Newman has produced an original and thoughtful work that should have a home in any psychedelic and/or occult library.» — elogio de Tom Hatsis, autor de *Psychedelic Mystery Traditions*, que recomienda el libro dejando expresamente abierto el acuerdo o desacuerdo con sus conclusiones

«Newman has shaken up the Masonic and occult literary world with his groundbreaking research into the role of psychoactive substances in alchemy and by initiatory societies connected with Freemasonry. His original research, that acacia may have been refined into chemical DMT by figures like Cagliostro and others, has given clear indications of the use of entheogenic substances in alchemy and Masonic-like initiations.» — elogio de Chris Bennett, autor de *Liber 420*, que enuncia la investigación original de Newman: la acacia habría sido refinada en DMT químico por figuras como Cagliostro

«Combining impeccable research, captivating narrative and eloquent prose, P.D. Newman recreates the 'mystical, scriptural, prophetic' worldview of 17th and 18th century alchemists and Freemasons. He unveils their elusive Philosophers' Stone as DMT the powerful psychedelic found in the acacia tree of ancient Egypt and the visionary brew of the Amazon. In the grand style of landmark discoveries of sacred plants and fungi in ancient, classical, and medieval cultures, Newman's Angels in Vermilion boldly expands the 'entheogen theory' to decipher the esoteric writings of early modern European mystics.» — elogio de Jerry B. Brown, coautor de *The Psychedelic Gospels*, que describe la operación del libro como una ampliación de la *entheogen theory* a los místicos europeos de la primera modernidad

«I'd like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in the editing and publishing of this eccentric title: Rebecca Newman, David Brown, Arturo de Hoyos, J. Erik LaPort, Jaime Paul Lamb, Cody Noconi, Chris Bennett, Tom Hatsis, Dick Khan, Erica Patton, Justin Ross, Jacob W. Trayer, Pat Shannahan, and David and Deborah Castles.» — los agradecimientos con que Newman nombra a quienes ayudaron en la edición y publicación de lo que él mismo llama un título excéntrico

«In order to properly appreciate the gravity of P.D. Newman's groundbreaking thesis regarding the inclusion of the symbolism of the sprig of acacia in Masonic ritual and, further, to the plant's history as chronicled in alchemical codices and lore, we must first try to orient ourselves to the perspective that an intellectual and a natural philosopher might have had in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Bearing this historical context in mind, we may conclude that the alchemists, the members of the Royal Society, and, ultimately, the founders of modern Freemasonry, would have approached the material from a markedly different vantage point than our own.» — apertura del foreword de Jaime Paul Lamb: para pesar la tesis de Newman, dice, hay que reponer primero la perspectiva del filósofo natural medieval y renacentista

«Unlike the men of our time, whose orientations on the subject have been conditioned by the puritanical rhetoric of Richard Nixon and Nancy Reagan's 'War on Drugs, the» — Lamb contrapone la mirada condicionada por la retórica de la guerra contra las drogas a la de los alquimistas; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, con el marcador de plana reemitido

«alchemists and Masons of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries would have viewed this work as sacred, secret and revelatory. Whereas the frame of reference to the psychedelic experience of the modern 'psychonaut' would be shaped by tired tropes associated with the Summer of Love or with rave culture, the seventeenth-century natural philosopher's orientation on the matter would have been mythical, scriptural, prophetic.» — continuación de la misma frase de Lamb al otro lado del corte: para el filósofo natural del siglo XVII la orientación ante el asunto habría sido mítica, escritural y profética

«The DMT entities described in today's New Age circles would have appeared to these men as angels, dæmons, and djinn. The lights, patterns and colors accompanying the recreational LSD trip of today, would have seemed to these men as Enochian, Jacobian or Johannine in their phantasmagoric breadth and scope.» — la equivalencia que Lamb propone entre las categorías de una época y otra: las entidades del DMT de los círculos New Age habrían sido para aquellos hombres ángeles, dæmones y djinn

«this perspective fixed in mind that one should endeavor to approach the material herein, lest they misinterpret the matter and hastily dismiss Newman's thesis out-of-hand based solely upon the prudish notions surrounding psychedelic drugs and the entheogenic experience modern society unfortunately holds today.» — la advertencia con que Lamb cierra el encuadre: leer el material desde las nociones actuales sobre las drogas psicodélicas llevaría a descartar la tesis de Newman de entrada

«The type of research Newman presents is illustrative of a new renaissance in Masonic thought and letters; one which the Craft has not enjoyed since, perhaps, before the World Wars. So often, Masonic authors are content to color inside the lines and cleave closely, comfortably, to histories and other established areas of study - and it is understandable. Frankly, it is nearly impossible to find the hidden gem of an original observation when writing about subjects such as alchemy and Freemasonry, which has been well-travelled nay, nearly picked clean! over the last few centuries. It is only with the fearless spirit of the avant garde in our research that we may begin to break out of the closed circuit of that which has been established and trod into the unknown. History has shown, fairly often, that today's 'crazy idea' is tomorrow's standing paradigm. To my knowledge, there hasn't been a more shattering new idea in Masonic or alchemical research than Newman's acacia thesis since, probably, Robert Hewitt Brown» — la comparación con que Lamb sitúa la novedad del planteo dentro de la literatura masónica, remitiéndola a *Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy* de Robert Hewitt Brown

«Newman was named Author of the Month for January, 2018 by the renowned author, researcher and psychonaut, Graham Hancock on his website;» — el dato de recepción que Lamb consigna: Graham Hancock nombró a Newman autor del mes en enero de 2018 en su sitio

«It is therefore clear that Newman has begun to make a significant impression on the global psychedelic and esoteric research communities and it is not inconceivable that, in time, Newman will be mentioned in the same breath as giants such as Ruck, Wasson, and Hofmann.» — el pronóstico con que Lamb cierra, en condicional: no le parece inconcebible que con el tiempo se mencione a Newman junto a Ruck, Wasson y Hofmann

«Jaime Paul Lamb Author of Myth, Magick & Masonry Phoenix, Arizona March 19, A.L. 6020» — la firma del foreword, con el cómputo masónico *anno lucis*

«In this seminal new publication, Newman traces the fascinating history of the mysterious red powder and its undeniable similarities to modern DMT extracts. It was just such a substance that brought Kelley to Dee - and resulted in their famous journals of angelic revelations. And this barely scratches the surface of what you will learn in this long-overdue exploration of the use of DMT in the Western Mysteries. I highly recommend Angels in Vermilion, not only for the information it contains, but also for its ability to grab and hold your fascination and imagination.» — versión abreviada del elogio de Aaron Leitch en la contracubierta, distinta de la que trae la plana 3: allí el elogio habla del polvo rojo misterioso y aquí no se nombra la acacia

«The challenge of deciphering the cryptic coded language of the ancient art of alchemy has long fascinated modern scholars. P.D. Newman uses the revolution in plant spagyrics instigated by Paracelsus as his key to identifying the alchemical agent of inner transmutation. At once entertaining and intriguing, Angels in Vermilion carries its readers through a little-known yet highly consequential chapter in the history of psychonautics.» — versión abreviada del elogio de Hereward Tilton en la contracubierta: suprime el cotejo con hongos y éter que trae la plana 2

«Once considered the "Holy Grail" of hallucinogens, over the last quarter century, DMT has entered the public mind like never before. No longer a taboo topic to be discussed in hushed tones among an esoteric elite, P.D. Newman's Angels in Vermilion traces a secret lineage of transmission, beginning with Elizabethan alchemists, Dr. John Dee and Sir Edward Kelley, winding through the Royal Society and Masonic fraternity, and leading all the way up to the "nineteenth-century" occult revival and beyond. Fathoming Hell and soaring angelic, Newman leaves no stone unturned in his quest to uncover the hidden, hallucinatory history of the "Spirit Molecule," DMT.» — el texto de contracubierta sin firma, presumiblemente editorial: resume la obra como el rastreo de un linaje secreto de transmisión que va de Dee y Kelley a la Royal Society, la masonería y el revival ocultista decimonónico

«Printed in the USA CPSIA information can be obtained at www.ICGtesting.com LVHW061150021024 792733LV00014B/368 9781716 094705» — el colofón de impresión bajo demanda que cierra el ejemplar, con el código de lote y el ISBN en el código de barras

Piedra filosofal (lapis philosophorum) — El eje del volumen: Newman la identifica con el extracto bermellón y enteogénico de ciertas acacias, rico en DMT, y reúne las descripciones cromáticas de Fulcanelli, Khunrath y Helvecio para sostener que el rasgo común es el tono rojizo.

Materia prima — Según Newman, la acacia es la prima materia del rito egipcio de Cagliostro y del séptimo grado de Melissino, y de ella se sacan la piedra cúbica y el licor rojo.

Nigredo (la obra al negro) — Primera de las fases que Newman enumera antes del rojo: el ennegrecimiento que precede al albedo y a la rubedo.

Albedo (la obra al blanco) — Segunda fase de esa secuencia, el emblanquecimiento, que Newman enlaza con el polvo blanco identificado por Jung como goma arábiga.

Rubedo (la obra al rojo) — Fase final de la magna obra, el rojo de aurora que un teósofo alemán llamó Morning Redness; una nota consigna que algunas autoridades intercalan la citrinitas.

Decknamen (nombres cubiertos) — La operación central del libro: leer dragón rojo, águilas vírgenes virginales, espuma verdosa y mar de los filósofos como nombres encubiertos de acacia, menstruo volátil, capa de melisa y lejía.

Mercurio de los filósofos (Mercurius) — Los versos de Kelley mandan llamar agua al mercurio y harina al azufre, y el epílogo cierra con el Mercurius del cuento alemán que los alquimistas querían mantener embotellado.

Mónada (el glifo que condensa el esquema entero) — La mónada jeroglífica de Dee aparece en la invitación de bodas del tercer manifiesto rosacruz, y Sendivogius se declara admirador de la Monas Hieroglyphica.

Theurgia (obra divina) — Newman encuadra el rito de Hécate en la teúrgia tardoantigua, donde las estatuas son receptáculos de energías divinas y los sunthemata se queman para ascender.

Daimon (entidad intermedia, ni ángel ni demonio) — El fragmento 149 de los Oráculos manda ofrecer la piedra mnizouris al percibir un demon terrestre, y el foreword de Lamb sostiene que las entidades del DMT habrían sido para el siglo XVII ángeles, dæmones y djinn.

Evocación (llamar y constreñir espíritus) — Las evocaciones de George H. Felt en la Sociedad Teosófica se lograban, según Deveney, quemando químicos, hierbas y plantas no especificados.

Transvection (el traslado corporal por seres demoníacos) — Los ungüentos que aparecen en las Acciones de Dee se identifican con los unguentos voladores de mandrágora, belladona, beleño y acónito.

Iniciación (recepción por grados / metamorfosis del ser) — Cagliostro, Melissino y los Fratres Lucis administrarían la sustancia por grados, y Newman lee el retiro de cuarenta días como una iniciación de traza chamánica.

Secreto (lo que se jura no fijar por escrito) — La naturaleza de la piedra se revelaba por grados y bajo pena de muerte, y Haywood explica el vocabulario críptico por la necesidad de impedir que los legos se dañaran con drogas que no entendían.

Cadena de transmisión (quién tomó de quién) — La estructura del libro: de Dee y Kelley a Ashmole y Boyle, de ahí a Desaguliers y la masonería, y luego a Cagliostro, Melissino, Blavatsky y el asunto Fulcanelli.

Crítica de fuentes (criterios de inclusión y descarte) — Newman consigna versiones divergentes sin arbitrarlas —el origen del polvo de Kelley, el de Seyler— y adjudica la figura de Fulcanelli a Champagne y Dujols siguiendo a Dubois.

Putrefacción (putrefactio) — Una nota glosa Macbenac como hijo de la putrefacción o médula del hueso, y de ahí su asociación con el reino animal en el esquema de Ragon.

Ocultismo (occultisme) — El revival decimonónico —Sociedad Teosófica, Martinismo, Hermandad de Luxor, Golden Dawn— reaviva el interés por la alquimia y, según Newman, la oscurece con interpretaciones forzadas.

Imaginación (phantasia) — En la lista de objetos que Boyle quería para la Royal Society figuran drogas potentes para alterar o exaltar la imaginación y procurar sueños placenteros.

Templo de Salomón (el escenario del oficio) — La rama de acacia habría marcado la tumba de Hiram Abif, arquitecto alegórico y maestro de obras del templo de Salomón.