Preface
This book is a treatise on the Philosopher’s Stone. Yet, this work is not presented in dark allegories and enigmatic symbols, but in clear and consistent reflections based on modern understandings of the nature of the human mind and body. Like the great alchemists of old, the author of this work has passed through all the stages of the Great Work, or Magnum Opus:
At first, he experienced Nigredo — the time of despair and darkness, when the soul confronts the harsh reality of the mortal world, fully feeling the burden of its own mortality and imperfection. Then came the stage of Albedo: for having rejected the life offered to him from birth, the author chose to challenge death itself, embarking upon a path of perilous and daring trials of body and spirit.
And in this encounter with death, he sensed the breath of true life; then the petty sorrows faded away, for he looked upon them through the ghostly veil of death and understood that neither they nor he himself have any place in infinity. Thus did he gain a luminous sadness, serenity of spirit, and freedom from earthly anxieties.
The third stage, Citrinitas, illuminated his life when he realized his purpose — to find the Philosopher’s Stone. Then the sun of a great goal shone upon his path, granting him inspiration, clarity of thought, and creative fury. And at last he reached the stage of Rubedo: the author found it — that very Lapis Philosophorum, the coveted Philosopher’s Stone. Now, all that remains is to take it — and then…
But the reader must clearly understand that the path to immortality does not lie in outward mysteries, but in the inner transmutation of the person himself. Many, even those endowed with deep knowledge and keen intellect, spend their whole lives asleep, unable to awaken to the reality of their own existence. And the reason for this (let us be honest!) is simple and bitter: people do not truly believe in their own death, and therefore cannot wholeheartedly desire immortality. Their desires are scattered throughout the world, like dust and ashes, directed toward wealth, power, love, self-development or self-destruction, toward petty joys and sorrows — anything to avoid facing the inevitability of the end.
But the Philosopher’s Stone will be granted only to the one who desires it with all the strength of their soul. And desires it — not for themselves! Only then can a person become the very source of Aqua vitae — the Water of Life, attain true longevity, and finally understand and embody within themselves the great mystery of the Philosopher’s Stone.
