As it turned out, around 410 AD I successfully DID destroy myself – or at least my identity as Ambrosius. My superbug project for The Brotherhood worked — wiping out an entire colony of people!
(I’ll tell you more about that event later, for now just remember two words: Tower Bay.
Nevertheless, because I couldn’t control the virus itself, The Brotherhood considered all my work to be a failure and abandoned Ambrosius to die. (Gee, thanks, friends).
Wallowing in self-pity, I was ripe for Lazarus and Mary to again convince me in The Commission and in the early 450’s, we brought down Attila as The Beast. We quickly concluded we were wrong (again) since we did not bring about Jesus’ Second Coming – as a result, I again deserted my friends (again).
Eventually I made my way back to the island of Great Britain. Although this was the country in which I had experienced the failure of Tower Bay, this time around I vowed things would be different – and I was correct — for upon this occasion another legendary character was born.
Now I realize that you probably won’t believe what I tell you next, but it is the truth…
From about 490 to 540 AD, I used The Sight to help bring about the rise of a man named Arthur Pendragon while I was under the identity none other than Merlinus Ambrosius.
(I picked that moniker because I wanted a chance to clear the Ambrosius surname).
Come on, did Merlin really exist? Isn’t that just a fairy tale?
Look, I can’t help it if Disney made a movie about me and I’m not going to sit here and have an argument with you about whether or not I was really Merlin or if there ever was a famed magician by that name. All I can tell you is what I’ve experienced in my life, and the bottom line is that I am the man who was the source of all those legends – and many of them are pretty accurate — whether or not you choose to believe them is your business.
Now, if you don’t mind, let’s continue – since there is already quite a bit of writing about Merlin, I won’t recap it all here – expect to say that eventually I did allow myself to get duped by a woman and that still rubs me the wrong way!
If you know anything about Merlin, then you know that I foolishly allowed Nimue to learn some of my magical secrets — in fact, after she thought she had drained me of all of my knowledge, she trapped me in a cave in an obscure part of western Britain and left me for dead. So yes, all that part of the legend is true.
This was not my best moment
But let’s be clear here — I was not so dumb as to NOT realize what Nimue was doing. I knew full well what she intended, but the fact of the matter was that Nimue had become such a powerful Sorceress that I actually let myself believe that she might well be able to accomplish what I could not…
I really thought Nimue might be able to kill me once and for all!
That’s why I let her trap me – unfortunately I didn’t die.
Instead, Nimue merely succeeded in leaving me in a comatose state. For all intents and purposes, I appeared dead (and for a time I actually thought I was dead), but eventually Death didn’t take and thus I found myself merely stuck in a drafty and dank cave.
(In point of fact, I actually stayed in that God-forsaken hole for nearly 300 years. And it was not until around 850 AD that I finally, rather unceremoniously, emerged – only to lose myself again into the wide world).
And that’s when things got a bit more interesting…
As I basked in God’s love, it was like being born again — as if streams of living water welled up within me. Oh how I wish you could experience it for yourself.
To be washed clean by Him. To be loved by Him – it is All and Everything!
Gabriel let me have some time to relish the moment. Then, when he deemed I was ready, he added softly, “And yet, this doesn’t change the consequences of your sins. These must still be accounted for.”
“As you know, for every action there is a reaction — for every sin, a price. Sometimes even the Innocent must suffer.”
“My friends will suffer the Armageddon Rite because of my sins…”
“Indeed. And furthermore, your Vision is no more.”
This new revelation caught me off guard, “What? Why?”
“John, your Vision was merely a crutch – a blessing granted to you out of love by The Lord — given to help you through your time in the desert. Yet now you must rebuild your great faith – for you will need all of it and more when you confront The Beast on That Fateful Day.”
“But, how can I find my friends without my vision? Surely you don—“
“Hush, John. You will take no action against The Beast until December 21st of this year.” As he spoke, the color drained from my face — for the implications this signified for my friends were dire indeed. As if reading my mind, Gabriel continued, “Yes, your friends are in grave danger. And much disaster will befell this world prior to the Fateful Day. Yet, there is nothing you can do about that, John, – the consequences will unfold as they will. YOUR role is to Repent and Rebuild… Repent and Rebuild.”
“But, you expect me to just sit here and let everything fall apart – even when I might be able to act to stop it?”
“John, have you learned nothing?” Gabriel rose up in frustration, causing me to cower down.
“Destroy your arrogance! Down with your pride!” God’s great angel roared at me. “Now is not the time for you to act. Now is the time for you to accept God’s Plan and let events unfold on HIS time. Trust that The Lord is working all things for the Good. All you must do, John, is the part that has been assigned to you. Stay here, repent and rebuild yourself, and if you do as I tell you, then on December 21st… ALL WILL BE WELL IN THE END.”
Before I could reply, Gabriel continued, “Be thankful you still have a part to play — if it were up to me you would not. But alas, I am only His Servant and lucky for you Our Lord still believes in you. ”
Displaying his power, the mighty angel proclaimed, “Ready yourself for The Last Battle. The time is approaching. On December 21st, you will finally open the Scroll of the Illuminated Angels. With these wonders YOU will be given the power to destroy The Beast and make the way for The Christ to return and break the bonds of Evil.” And pointing down at me, Gabriel cried, “John of Salome — I charge YOU with defeating The Beast!”
Suddenly I was overwhelmed with power – with the POWER OF THE ONE TRUE GOD!!!
My JOY was Indescribable! Uncontainable! And all I could think at that moment was…
“Nooooo! It can’t be!” I wailed in frustration. “After all this, I am still here… in this… life?”
Obviously I was not dead.
Instead I found myself standing outside on the grounds of my farmland – on the very spot where my alchemical workshop had previously stood but which now was no more – the garage was gone, as if it had never existed.
Curiouser still was the fact that I was not alone — for before me stood a man clothed in garments whiter than snow. My initial reaction was to shield my eyes from the brightness of the light emanating forth from the man’s presence. Yet even as I did so, the being before me seemed to grow in stature – for this was no man, but instead Gabriel — the mighty Angel of the Lord!
Angel Gabriel
Spreading wide his shoulders, the great being revealed his Wings – it was a gesture of both Grace and Awesome Power and one that forced me to my knees – not because I was bowing to the power of Gabriel, but instead because of the fact that I knew — oh how I knew — that I was at last utterly and truly defeated.
“Folly!” The angel condemned. “You dare test God, John?”
“What choice had I?” My anger rose in vain. “I am prisoner in this life, a man who wastes away – like a garment eaten by moths. Jesus left me here alone. He’s never coming back!”
“You of all men know that is not true. Where is your Patience?”
Resisting what I knew to be true, I wheedled, “The Patience you require is impossible for any man. Two thousand years? Nobody told me I would have to wait so long.”
“John, with all your knowledge, have you ever stopped to reason that perhaps The Christ would have come back sooner, if YOU had not tried to take matters into your own hands?”
Even as he said it, I knew he spoke the truth. And I knew that it was something that I had known for a very long time. Yet still I couldn’t give in, “I-I…don’t understand.”
“Ah, but we both know that you understand completely: YOU have delayed the Coming of Jesus! Why did you forsake The Commission in favor of The Craft? Do you not realize that ALL of the people that you surmised to be The Beast were correct? You could have ended the reign of The Beast long ago – had YOU not tried to play God yourself.”
“Then why didn’t anyone stop me? Why didn’t YOU tell me this before?”
“You know as well as I that God has given mankind the giftcurse of Free Will. Like anyone else, John, you were allowed to CHOOSE.”
“And I chose The Great Work.” I anguished, finally naming my sin.
“And because of your choice, all previous potential rises of The Beast were stopped. The spirit of Satan’s son was commanded to return again and again back to Hell – gone but not defeated. Doomed to return to plague this world again – each time worse than before!”
It was true. I had failed. It was a crushing blow to accept.
Before I could wallow too much, Gabriel added softly, “And yet, the Grand Tapestry of Our Master is beautiful beyond compare…”
Even as the angel spoke I gained a new revelation; and through bitter laughter I said, “God knew all along that I would eventually complete the Magnus Opum. He allowed the Wheel of Time to spin events to coincide with my completion of The Great Work.” And carrying the thought further, I lifted my head in shock, “But that means that Lazarus and Mary were right – The Time of The Beast’s FINAL rising is now!”
“Correct. However, consider this — had you never taken up The Craft, had The Christ been able to return immediately — as was the initial plan – then His return would have been much more… pleasant. Yet, that is no longer the case – for now He will come upon the Horse of Judgment and the reaping will be harsh. Because of YOUR actions, John, all the horrors you wrote about in Revelationwill be fulfilled.”
“Noooooo!” I was utterly ashamed. And then, at last, after nearly two thousand years, finally, I realized that I had been wrong — about everything.
Raising my arms up to the heavens, I wailed, “Be merciful to me, Oh Lord, for my soul is in anguish. Oh how my eyes grow weak with sorrow – they fail me because of all my great sins.” I fell to the ground, “I have sinned! And now my guilt festers inside me. Oh, Lord, hear your servant John as I attest — why didn’t I trust your son Jesus? He really DID love me. And yet, I’ve let Him down. I’ve let everybody down. All because I didn’t have patience and let events unfold on YOUR time – not my own.” Then, to Gabriel, “Please, don’t let everyone suffer because of me. I’m sorry; so very, TRULY sorry!”
(I really was – surely you can see that, right?)
Kneeling in the mud, I repented, “Forgive my iniquity, Oh Lord, though it is great. Create in me a clean heart, so that I may worship thee again. Please forgive me — if only so that I may do your work again.”
Gabriel let me wallow in my remorse for a while longer, and then, after a time, he advised, “His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. He knows that you have a broken and contrite heart, therefore, your apology has been accepted, John. You are forgiven your sins.”
Still on the ground, I was unable to speak.
Then Gabriel added something else that I have known about for a long while, but which I refused to believe (until now). “But, John, your sins were ALREADY forgiven – you just needed to understand that. God loved you before, and He loves you now. He sent His only son to show you that love.”
And then it was that I could finally feel His Love again – and it It was amazing!
The Celestial Powers infused me! It was both sublime and awesome…
I was <complete>.
I could taste Victory over Death, nay, over Life Itself!!!
However, in that very instant of my great triumph, from Everywhere and from Nowhere, a Voice not my own finished the end of Azoth’s Chant, “This is the end of The Work; you are all the miracles that have ever been. You hold Life… and Death… in the palm of your hand. As the Keeper of the Secret, you have the power even to see God’s Holy Seat.”
There was a pause, one that seemed to span the whole of eternity.
Finally the Voice asked, “Do you wish to use this power or shall you keep it closed within the cabinet of your heart? Speak, else it will remain beneath the Seal of Silence — for you shall not pass this way again.”
I remember taking almost no time to answer, screaming with all the power of my Soul, “I want to be free!””
I am about to finally do it — my terrible life is about to end!
“Let Fire and Azoc suffice.” <Power> was all around me as I spoke the words of the Greek master Aristeus while at last I neared the completion of the Magnus Opum. “The Golden Key rules all, it alone shall open what has been shut — the great Gift of the Divine.”
Alone in my workshop, I was not longer just John of Salome; instead I was Azoth – Penultimate Master of Alchemy!
I am Azoth
Standing before a small altar in front of the furnace near the rear of my garage, I felt the heat biting at my back. With the oven door open, flames were licking forth, tasting the air – tongues of yellow and red continuously snaked out and more than a few flares came into contact with my body — yet to no effect.
After working for nearly two weeks without rest, I had (again) completed the first three steps of The Great Work – during the Negrido I had purified myself by using fire to burn my iniquity away from the inside out; later I had attained further enlightenment via the Albedo, and after that I’d quickly worked through the Citrinitas stage (opening my soul to the solar dawn of creation). Therefore as it stood now, at this stage of the rite, my physical body was beyond harm from anything in the natural world – for, as Azoth, I had again reached the beginning of Rubedo — wherein I endeavored to achieve….
The unification of the limited with the unlimited – in the hopes of breaking the bonds of Death and achieving a <oneness> with God himself!
This was not the first time, I had reached this stage of The Great Work.
Yet always before my experiments had ended in failure.
This time, however I vowed things would turn out differently.
Thankfully, for the past two weeks God had not forced any visions upon me, allowing me the freedom to continue my work. I was now more convinced than ever that my only hope in breaking the bonds that held me captive in this forsaken life was via the completion of the Magnus Opum. And so, I had once more transformed myself into Azoth and I had been busy working through the Rites of The Great Work ever since.
“By Life, the Beginnings of things are known. Air is the Life of things, therefore the Beginning of things.” I continued my chant, my voice growing deeper, richer, more alive. “To catch Air is to use the Golden Key of Nature, a window to Heaven’s Aeythr!” And here I raised my arms on high, drawing Air and Aethyr into myself – even as the flames nearly engulfed me!
A sudden stillness settled upon the room as I lowered my arms. After the incantation, I turned my attention back to the altar below and specifically to three large tomes open before me. Two were sacred texts of Alchemy – one from Aristeus, written centuries before Christ’s birth, while the other contained the scientific works of Apollonius of Tyana, a contemporary of mine (during what would have been my original lifetime). Although far from the only references that I used to conduct my experiments, these two authors held the most esteem in my eyes.
As for the third book, it was written in my own hand and nearly twice the size of the other two books combined – for it contained the sum of MY knowledge on the subject of Alchemy – every thought, every experiment, every inkling or idea which I ever had for the past millennia or more during which I had worked The Rites, all of it was written within this book.
My book on Alchemy was a living thing
I made cursory checks of Aristaeus and Apollonius – scanning through their instructions on the Rite; yet in truth, I cast but a hasty glance at each, for I had read their texts so many times I knew them by heart and I knew there was nothing more they could teach me.
Therefore, it was to the larger volume – to my own work — that I now turned; flipping through its pages, I searched for that one piece of knowledge that had always eluded me, seeking the <key> by which I could finally complete The Great Work.
For I now knew that the secret lay within MY own words – of this I was absolutely certain – and yet, I just didn’t know WHERE within the journal’s thousands of pages that key piece of knowledge might be.
Riffling through my notes, I muttered as I read…
Spirit of the Air comes out of the rays of the Sun and the Moon without which none can live…
“No. Not it.” And I turned ahead a couple hundred pages…
Consider that you must have a permanent Water, that which congeals in the Fire and is joined with the perfect bodies… After this, give in to the Spirit made from the Air…
“I’ve done this before too!” I was frustrated.
But then, as a new thought emerged, I quickly flipped back halfway through my book, turning over so many pages that I had to use both hands to move such a weight of paper.
After finding the place I sought, I pondered, “Is there more to Air than I have ever imagined?”
Suddenly I moved to the very end of the text, to a blank page, and scrawled…
Air. It is breathed by all living things, yet it is not the life of all – why? Unless… unless… you would go back to the First Chaos from which God formed all things!
“Ah, it is ONLY from the First Chaos that one can draw the Truth.” I spoke aloud. Then back to my book, I continued writing…
Aristeus was wrong! Verily, I do agree with him that every species of beings has its own species of Air, its own Lifeforce. Yet, he makes no mention as to the Principle of each being and I now say this is the real key! For regardless of the species, is not the <Essence> of each altogether ‘Aerial?’
Again, I began to flit backwards through my manual, searching… seeking… at last going back to very first few pages – to a time when I wrote well over a thousand years past!
…Air is truly Divine, it is the subject of the search of all philosophers — for therein resides Life!
“And so it goes – there IS a difference between the Air which we breathe, and the Aerial substance which is within the Soul.” I was flabbergasted. “Oh, the time I have wasted – to discover that which I had known all along!”
That’s when I realized that for centuries I had been making The Great Work so much harder than it had to be.
Now, as I stood there, I finally understood that it was the very essence of Simplicity.
Working hard to contain my enthusiasm, I looked down upon my altar, wherein sat a silver bowl filled with mercury — within the interior of the dish, the color of the elixir mixed so well with the metal of the bowl that it was impossible to tell where the viscous mineral ended and the vessel began. Yet hanging over the lip of the dish were twelve golden keys of various shapes and sizes, all of them piercing into the mercurial soup. Reaching down, now picked up the Second Key, now brimming with confidence.
Holding the key aloft, I admired it. Silver droplets cascaded down – yet not a single one reached the floor, for flames from the furnace flashed out and consumed them as they fell – surrounding me in a wreath of Fire.
“The Golden Key shall open the Door.” I chanted, <power> once more filling my words. “Air catches Aire. Matter from the Earth is the same as that which is in Heaven. This is the infallible Truth!”
<Rroom-boom-bOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!>
Thunder rolled suddenly outside – yet rather than startle me, it only caused me to cackle in delight, for I was at last certain that I had discovered the <key> to completing the Rubedo.
In my very soul I could feel that <Oneness> was close.
Lightening continued to crack, yet I roared above the din, “I seek the Simple, an <essence> universal to all! I have been purified by The Fires of Corruption, I have been quenched by The Waters of Life, my body is of the detestable Earth, yet my Soul is from the Aire, and above all, I am The Quintessence!!!”
A long while past, once I knew that Jesus had truly deserted me, I, John Salom, perhaps better known to the world as Saint John the Divine, decided to come up with my own mission…
Eventually, in spite of all my accomplishments (and they were many), when I surveyed all that my hands had done, just like King Solomon, I realized that everything was meaningless – a chasing after the wind.
Like most people, you probably think is has something to do with transforming common metals into valuable gold. Or, like Miriam, you might have heard of the fabled Philosopher’s Stone. Or perhaps you know of its connection to the mysterious Elixir of Life. And yet, while all of those might be a part of this science, Alchemy is so much more.
Understand that Alchemy is both a philosophy and a practice. It is the art of transformation and transmutation by which you can create whatever you desire using substances that you already have.
I desired to create my own death and I believed alchemy could show me the way.
So how did alchemy become so cliché?
The answer is really quite practical. Historically alchemy was always a spiritual discipline, but during the Middle Ages (especially in Europe), my friends and I found ourselves suddenly at odds with the Christian Church – and although I survived more than a few sessions with The Inquisition’s rack, my mortal friends did not.
Since it takes a rather long time to train a new alchemy master, I knew we had to convince the church that we alchemists were NOT trespassing on their spiritual grounds, so my friends and I came up with a plan to mislead the world (and the church) into thinking that alchemy’s primary focus was about the transmutation of metals into gold – and once we promised the Catholic Church a cut of the gold, they happily left us alone.
As a result, my fellow alchemists and I played up the physical science nature of alchemy over its spiritual goals.
Yet to those in the know, molecular processes were really just metaphors for spiritual transformations and the literal meanings of the alchemical formulas we published were actually a way for us to hide our true spiritual philosophies.
(Pretty clever, neh?)
And so, for the public at large, the alchemical texts we put out were filled with cryptic symbols, unusual diagrams, and mystical viewpoints…
Can you understand this?
All these symbols, etc. contained multiple layers of references to other equally cryptic works – and all of which had to be laboriously decoded in order to discover their true meaning. (Since most people don’t like putting in the time to do real work, alchemy’s true goals quickly became lost in the mists of time – exactly like my friends and I had hoped).
As for myself – during my past 2,000 years on this planet, I’ve lived under many names — and quite a few of them have been alchemists.
During the late 1400’s to mid 1500’s I fancied myself as a fellow named “Paracelsus” and lived all over Europe. Under that pen name I published a work called an Alchemical Catechism, and one of my most famous quotes is rather applicable to our discussion today: “alterius non sit qui suus esse potest” which means “let no man that can belong to himself be of another.”
Do you see what I am trying to tell you?
If God was not willing to help me get control over my own life, then I was determined to wrest that control away from Him and do it myself!
In time, I realized that the most certain way to do that was via The Great Work.
And now, today – this very day! – at long last, I was about to accomplish a task that no other alchemist in history had ever completed…
The Last Temptation of John 