Steve Kalec Alchemystica

Notes on the Secret of the Golden Flower

by
Steve Kalec

This text is the ancient Chinese book of Life. It was

translated for the first time in 1929 by Richard Wilhelm .
Jung became very impressed with this text and is quoted
saying that, “The Secret of the Golden Flower is not only a
Taoist text of Chinese yoga but also an Alchemical tract ”.
For Carl Jung this book has helped him allot in his study
and understanding of the “Collective Unconscious”.

For me the words of the Master who wrote and thought

these principles has become a personal guru in explaining
and shedding light on the dynamic workings of the inner,
vital, mercurial, psychic energies, as the “Secret Fire” of
the alchemists through the explanations of a process he
terms as the “Circulation of the Light”.

The text combines Buddhist and Taoist directions for

meditation and spiritual exercises. The basic principle and
view is that at birth the two spheres or aspects of being
which are consciousness and the unconscious become
separated. Consciousness is the element and aspect that is
separated off, is individualized in a person, and the
unconscious is the element or aspect that unites him with
the Cosmic or that which is the Universal.

The text demonstrates well that the entire alchemical

process is in the unification of these two elements through

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meditation and spiritual exercise. Quoting from the book,

the master says, “ the unconscious must be inseminated by
consciousness being immersed in it”. This is exactly what
the Hermetic writings refer to when they say that, “the
philosophers’ stone is a combination of the male and
female seeds which beget gold and silver.” It is in this way
the unconscious is activated and together with an enriched
and elevated consciousness enters into a spiritual rebirth, or
a cosmic consciousness.

Those who have attained the higher levels of

consciousness through meditation and spiritual exercise
seek this union with that which is the universal for the
purpose of cosmic consciousness. The technique speaks of
the attainment of a spiritual body of light created out of its
own energy system through which one becomes immortal.

At death one does not become a mere shadow-being

doomed to dissolution but remains a conscious spirit.
Through this spiritual body of light the spiritual principle is
now fitted for an independent continuation of life.

The soul and consciousness now have a spiritual

vehicle. Through the concentration and constellation of its
ceaseless energy about its own self, the soul maintains its
entity in full consciousness and passes through a conscious
reincarnation.

This is the doctrine of the regenerated man as

consciousness awake within the purified astral body of light
that can never die.

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This is allegorized in Jesus being reborn in the Glorious

body, the body of light, the subtle body. This, it is said, can
be achieved while here on earth. It is within the mystery of
consciousness, that the secret of eternal life is truly
explained.

When one passes through reincarnation while having

attained such a spiritual vehicle or body of light, the
memory of one’s past life is incarnated along with one’s
consciousness. At around the age of twelve, in the new
incarnation, this memory slowly starts to dawn . This it is
said, is the symbolic meaning of Jesus as a child of twelve
years of age being presented to the high priest in the
temple, where he is recognized as to who he is. The
presentation to the high priest is the symbol of Jesus’
meeting the higher self as his remembering and awakening.
In the bible it is said that the high priest recognized him.
The high priest is allegorical of Jesus’ higher self,
recognizing him means that he himself recognized himself,
remembering himself as his past life begins to reawaken
within.

The Golden Flower is the true energy of the “Great

One” the ALL, and is found in the vital breath through
which one becomes alive. We cannot see the vital breath or
the Mercury as the Prana, the energy of life, just as a fish is
unaware of the water it lives in. Man dies when he has no
vital breath just as a fish dies without water. The Master
teaches that we must hold fast to and guard that which is
this primal essence of the One. We must nurture it through
the circulation of the light and the maintaining of the

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center. If one guards this true energy, one can prolong the
span of life, and then apply the method of creating an
immortal body by a process of melting and mixing.

This melting and mixing results in the creation of the

elixir of life that is originally set into motion by the
conscious action of stirring the inner light into circulation.
This, in our Hermetic Philosophy is the setting of the Secret
Fire. To circulate the light is also the gathering, the
collecting , the concentration and nurturing of the light.

The master says that this is a fire period and that a whole
year of this firing is needed before the embryo is born and
sheds off its shell and passes out of the ordinary world into
the Holy world. This is actually the tending to the Fire in
the Athenor of the alchemists.

The Secret of the Golden Flower says that, when one

begins to apply this magic it is as if, in the middle of being,
there were realized a non-being. When in the course of
time the work is completed, beyond the body there is
realized an other body; it is as if in the middle of non-
being, there were being.

Only after concentrated work of a hundred days will the

light be genuine, and then only will it become spirit fire.
After a hundred days there develops by itself in the true
light-pole of ( yang ), the soul. Then suddenly there
develops the seed pearl. It is as if man and woman embrace
and a conception took place. This is our alchemical

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wedding of the King and Queen. He says then one must be

quiet and wait.

The oriental sage tells us to master this circulation of

light, which is the epoch of fire. He speaks of keeping the
fire as if in a stove. This is also the Alchemist’s Athenor.
The alchemists say “Seek ye the secret fire, for without it
nothing can be attained in our work .”

He says that, “from the most ancient times till today, this
is not empty talk, but the sequence of the great way in the
true method of producing an eternally living and immortal
spirit and holy man.”

In the method of the work “The light is made to move

in a backward flowing way, meaning inwardly. The Light
is to be understood as Concentrated consciousness. When
the light is made to move in a circle, all the energies of
Heaven and Earth, of the Light and the Dark, are
crystallized. This is a purification of the inner energies.
This is the circulation of the true creative and formative
energies.” These are constructive and creative energies.
All this is done through contemplation, meditation and
metaphysics. We must reverse through reflection our self-
conscious heart, meaning our egos, towards our pre-natal
energies where the formative spirit is not yet manifest.

He says, “children take heed ! if for a day you do not

practice meditation, the light streams out who knows
wither? If you only meditate for a quarter of an hour, by it
you can do away with the ten thousand eons and a thousand

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births. All methods end in quietness. This marvelous magic

cannot be fathomed.”

He continues to say that, “when the practice is started,

one must press on from the obvious to the profound, from
the coarse to the fine.” This rings for us a Hermetic bell ?
In the Tabula Smargdina or the Emerald Tablet of Hermes,
it states, “Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from
the gross with great judgment and skill.” The oriental Sage
continues, he says, “everything depends on there being no
interruption. When one fixes the mind, on the mid-point of
the two eyes, the light streams in of its own accord. We
must bring the state of the heart to a rest. When thoughts
occur, just realize you had one and observe that it fades
away, do not analyze them and their origin.

Concentrating on the space between the two eyes allows

the light to penetrate. The spirit crystallizes and enters the
lower Elixir- field, the place of energy the (solar plexus).

Only after a hundred days of consistent work, will the

light be genuine: only then can one begin work with the
spirit fire. If one proceeds in a collected fashion, after a
hundred days there develops spontaneously in the light a
point of the genuine creative light.

Concentration is the one thing that must not be

interrupted. Daily repetition of the exercise ensures that the
energy of the psychic heat is sustained day and night and
the spirit awakens to life. One must guard against

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indolence, the sloth of idleness, too much passivity, this is

where we fall asleep. Also we must guard against to much
activity, distractions of the mind. We must master the
subjective state of a balanced passive activity. In other
words to be passive in an active state, or active in a passive
state.

The master says, “If the eye is not looking outward and
the ear is not hearkening outward, they close themselves
and are inclined to sink inward. Only when one looks and
hearkens inward does the organ not go outward nor sink
inward. In this way indolence and lethargy are done away
with. That is the union of the Sun and the Moon. As
consciousness is the sun, it is active and radiant, while the
Moon is our developed reflective nature, it is passive
receiving light from the sun and reflects it back to
consciousness so that it can be aware of itself. Thus
consciousness becomes conscious of consciousness. As
Rosicrucians say, this is the magnificence of the realization
of the Self.

Allot of stress is put onto rhythmical breathing. It is

most important for the circulation of the light, not only
because of the vital energies received from it, but also
because it helps to fix the thoughts of the heart and to
prevent the energy of the spirit from flowing outward.

One must be comfortable, relaxed, too much must not be

demanded of oneself. He says, “one must be careful that the
heart and energy be coordinated and in harmony. Not to
meditate because you have to or when you are angry, or

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simply when it is not the proper time. Only then can a state
of quietness be attained.

If, “when there is quiet, the spirit has continuously and

uninterruptedly a sense of great joy as if intoxicated or
freshly bathed, it is a sign that the light-principle is
harmonious in the whole body; then the Golden Flower
begins to bud. When furthermore, all openings are quiet,
and the silver moon stands in the middle of heaven, and one
has the feeling that this great earth is a world of light and
brightness, that is a sign that the body of the heart opens
itself to clarity. It is a sign that the Golden flower is
opening.” This is exactly what our Hermetic Philosophy
speaks of when they refer to the “whitening stage” being
Lunar in characteristics and as being our first order of
transmutation, from lead to silver, or from darkness to the
shimmering reflective light of the silvery moon.

Now follows a series of explanations of confirmatory

experiences that are common sign posts .

The great world is like a glassy jewel-world. The

brilliancy of the light gradually crystallizes. Hence a great
terrace arises upon it, in the course of time, the Buddha
appears. When the golden being appears who should it be
but the Buddha? For the Buddha is the golden holy man of
the great enlightenment. This is a great confirmatory
experience:

Now there are three confirmatory experiences which

can be tested. The first is that, when one has entered the

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state of meditation, the gods are in the valley. Men are

heard talking as though at a distance of several hundred
paces, each one quite clear but the sounds are all like an
echo in a valley. One can always hear them, but never
oneself. This is called the presence of the gods in the
valley.

At times the following can be experienced: “As soon as

one is quiet, the light of the eyes begins to blaze up, so that
everything before one becomes quite bright as if one were
in a cloud. If one opens one’s eye and seeks the body, it is
not to be found any more. This is called: “In the empty
chamber it grows light.” Inside and outside everything is
equally light. That is a very favorable sign.

At times one feels a real floating as he is drawn

upwards. This is called, “the spirit returns and touches
heaven.” “The whole body becomes light and would like
to fly. Gradually it goes to and fro quite softly, it rises and
falls. The pulse stops and breathing stops. This is the
moment of true creative union.

He says that not everything can be expressed since different

things appear to different people according to their own
disposition.

The beginning of such practices are a chore and will

power is needed to start each exercise because the light is
still scattered. With repeated exercises the light eventually
is gathered. When this is attained the light will start its own

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circulation, it will rotate on its own. Two such exercises a

day keeps the light circulating all day and night.

When the light circulates then the elixir of life is made

spontaneously without hindering daily life and routine. He
says that “the living manner of the circulation of the light
has just this meaning: to live mingling with the world and
yet in harmony with Light.

SUMMARY OF THE CHINESE CONCEPTS ON

WHICH IS BASED THE IDEA OF THE GOLDEN
FLOWER, OR IMMORTAL SPIRIT-BODY

The Tao, the undivided, great One, gives rise to two

opposite reality principles, the dark and the light, yin and
yang.

These are at first thought of only as forces of nature

apart from man. But in reality the sexual polarities and all
others as well are derived from them. From yin comes the
receptive feminine principle; from yang comes the creative
masculine principle; from yin comes life; from yang comes
consciousness.

Each individual contains a central monad, which, at the

moment of conception, splits into the (Universal Life
Essence) and (Consciousness) as soul personality. These
two are supra-individual principles, and so can be related to
Eros and Logos.

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In the personal bodily existence of the individual, two

polarities are represented, the Unconscious and
Consciousness of the entity. All during the life of the
individual these two are in conflict, each striving for
mastery.

If the Life-Energy flows downward into the outer world

without hindrance, without having control over it then
desires and passions are victorious over the Soul
Consciousness. Then no Spirit-Body or Golden Flower is
developed. If the Life Energy is led through the backward
flowing process, that is, conserved, and made to rise
instead of allowed to dissipate, the positive Soul
consciousness has been victorious and the purified Ego (
Soul Personality ) persists after death.. It then becomes a
spirit or god. A man who holds to the way of conservation
all through life may reach the stage of the Golden Flower,
which then frees the Ego from the conflict of the opposites,
and it again becomes part of the Tao, the undivided Great
One.

According to the law, but without exertion, one must

diligently fill oneself with Light. Forgetting appearance,
look within and help the true spiritual power !

Ten Months the embryo is under fire. After a year the

washings and baths become warm.

If thou wouldst complete the diamond body with no

outflowing, diligently heat the roots of Consciousness and

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Life. Kindle Light in the Blessed Country ever close at

hand, and there hidden, let thy true Self always Dwell.

When the energy gets strong enough and the embryo is

round and complete, it comes out at the top of the head.
This is what is called: the completed appearance which
comes forth as embryo and begets itself as the son of the
Buddha.

In our Rosicrucian teachings, very early in our study we are

introduced to a most powerful metaphysical exercise. Most
members underestimate its very powerful results in
spiritual attainments. It is known as the Overall exercise.
Overall in that with this exercise, if performed regularly
with discipline and perseverance its practice will develop in
one every aspect of the expressions of Spiritual attainment,
from psychic vision and hearing, to contact with the higher
forces of nature, health and healing, harmony of being and
positive creation. But most of all, it does cause the
generation of our own light and forming it into a veritable
body, the subtle body, the body of light, the glorious body
which will become our fourth vehicle through which we
can travel Space and time, and through the dimensions of
Being. I myself attest to all that which I have just
exclaimed as I have experienced the technique’s awesome
unfoldings.

These experiences have brought great change in my life

and because of my firm belief in it, and because of my wish
that everyone could feel and work with this most positive,
creative, life giving, cleansing, healing and elevating

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energies, I have created a CD recording for teaching

purposes that conducts this exercise. It is my voice with
carefully selected music in the background. It conducts in a
way to aid in visualization and concentration. Both these
faculties need to be mastered and at first it is not easy. It
requires effort. This sound file can be downloaded from my
drop box at,
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/51631607/Overall%20
Exercise.wma

Preparations before you start the exercise with the CD,

1 - Light a candle in a quiet place..

2- Do some deep breathing, take a deep breath and hold
it till comfortable and slowly release, repeat three
more times.
3- Just sit comfortably and follow the CD instructions.

Steve Kalec

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