Lunacy + The Fool's Journey: The Magician

[Failmingo]

So it doesn't get buried in the magical avalanche that's to come, here's the link to this month's Lunacy blend, beaming to you all the way from Saturn's moon Telesto:

 

One of the Oceanids, the Three-Thousand Daughters of Tethys and Oceanus. Draped in a sun-bright peplos of flowing champaca, Bengal oudh, golden vanilla, neroli, and amber cream, she personifies divine blessings.

And now, as promised:

 

The Fool's Journey hasn't ended, oh no -- it's just begun! The next steps are perilous and will contain many "teachable moments." But fear not, because in this collection of 14 limited edition perfume blends, THE MAGICIAN is here in his many aspects to instruct, challenge, and entertain:

 

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/limited-edition/the-fools-journey/the-magician/

(Here's our video teaser for the collection!)

“If one wants to form a picture of the symbolic process, the series of pictures found in alchemy are good examples, though the symbols they contain are for the most part traditional despite their often obscure origin and significance… It also seems as if the set of pictures in the Tarot cards were distantly descended from the archetypes of transformation…

“The symbolic process is an experience in images and of images. Its development usually shows an enantiodromian structure like the text of the I Ching, and so presents a rhythm of negative and positive, loss and gain, dark and light. Its beginning is almost invariably characterized by one’s getting stuck in a blind alley or in some impossible situation; and its goal is, broadly speaking, illumination or higher consciousness, by means of which the initial situation is overcome on a higher level. As regards the time factor, the process may be compressed into a single dream or into a short moment of experience, or it may extend over months and years, depending on the nature of the initial situation, the person involved in the process, and the goal to be reached. The wealth of symbols naturally varies enormously from case to case. Although everything is experienced in image form, i.e., symbolically, it is by no means a question of fictitious dangers but of very real risks upon which the fate of a whole life may depend.”

- Carl Jung, Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious

++ THE FOOL'S JOURNEY: ASPECTS OF THE MAGICIAN

The First Trump, the Master of Ceremonies, the Compère, the Doorkeeper of the Tarot. Originally the Juggler – the prototypical Trickster – he was transformed by the shifting currents of collective consciousness into the consummate Magus. He is the Carnival King and the Lord of Gamblers, the First Diviner and the Master of Chance. He is Hermes, he is Mercury, he is Apollo; he is the opening note and the final triumph of the Opus and the Messenger of the Divine. He commands, controls, and synthesizes the Four Elements; he is Aleph, he is the first substance, he is the source of all numbers. He is the intersection of Heaven and Earth.

The Magician in his current incarnation embodies action in all forms, skill and perspicacity, the utilization of innate talents, and deliberate, conscious transformation, yet he is still the Juggler - the Supreme Trickster – forever playing Three-card Monte with your fate.


THE MAGICIAN'S WAND
Energy, will, and the manifested Word of the Magus. It is the generative process, the act of creation: ash, rowan, oak, and elder wood, polished with sweet resins but handworn, glowing with inner fire.


THE MAGICIAN'S GARDEN
Flos campi and lilium convallium, Rose of Sharon and Lily of the Valley: the blossoms of transcendence and spiritual aspiration.


THE MAGICIAN'S BELT
The Ouroboros, the serpent as he consumes his own tail. Within this everlasting cycle, the spirit is reborn into eternity: frankincense, white rose, balsam, almond flower, and benzoin.


THE MAGICIAN'S TOOLS
With the Wand createth He.
With the Cup preserveth He.
With the Dagger destroyeth He.
With the Coin redeemeth He.
- Liber B vel Magi sub Figura I

Clary sage and patchouli for Earth, lavender and yarrow for Air, tobacco and Dracaena cinnabari for Fire, lotus root and myrrh for Water.


THE MAGICIAN’S HANDS
The Magician’s right hand bears the wand of Will aloft, while his left hand points earthward. This is the descent of grace, the act of drawing Divine light and inspiration to the material, mortal realm.

Sweet myrrh, calamus, ambrette seed, and Ceylon cinnamon.


THE MAGICIAN’S ROBES
The Red King and White Queen, sulfur and mercury, Rubedo and Albedo. The unification of opposites, putrefaction and individuation, the culmination of the Great Work.

ὁδὸς ἄνω κάτω μία καὶ ὡυτή: red and white musks alight with frankincense, white oudh, sweet labdanum, and saffron. The way up and the way down are one and the same.


THE LEMNISCATE
The sign of life, the sigil of eternity. The mathematics that form the structure of the universe, the finality of Omega, yet also the inconceivable, endless space beyond. Immortality and rebirth, the perfect aspiration of Spirit.

Frankincense and black pepper, Himalayan cedar, cognac, and tobacco.


++ THE FOOL'S JOURNEY: FACES OF THE MAGICIAN

THE MOUNTEBANK
The Hustler, the Scoundrel, the Grifter, using the magic of misdirection, charm, and subtlety to swindle his way through this world, and through all worlds, seen and unseen. Eloquent and glib, he is the quintessential knave. He is the Guardian of Gamblers and the Protector of Con-Men.

A confidence trick: leather, sweet balsam, white sandalwood, thieves’ rosin, and dusty lavender.


TASCHENSPIELER
The master of sleight-of-hand and trickery: dexterous, clever, and roguish. He is the mischief-maker whose tricks propel men to action, or dupe the foolish into traps of their own creation.

Peru balsam, tobacco absolute, leather, white sage, and blackberry juice.


THE MAGUS
The Sorcerer, the Cunning-Man, the Sage. He is the Kerux, Initiator and Psychopomp, the Divine Messenger who leads neophytes on their paths through the Mysteries and shepherds the souls to the underworld.

Honey absolute, Oman frankincense, and asphodel.


IL BAGATELLA
The Carnival King, the embodiment of the liminal space that exists between the death and resurrection of Christ: pomegranate and Lebanese cedar, the martyr’s red rose, and an aspergillum of wine-soaked hyssop.


THE STORYTELLER
The Raconteur, the Town Gossip, and the first character to appear on the stage in the first act. He is the Minstrel of the Heavens, the Devil’s Messenger, spinning morality tales, singing songs of loss, laughter, and triumph, and murmuring prophecies to all.

Beeswax, leather, hearth wood, and campfire smoke.

THE HARLEQUIN
The Divine Comedian, the Eternal Jester, instructing through pranks and buffoonery: vetiver-steeped raspberry and red currant.


THE LEGERDEMAIN
The twilight in between the stage performer and the Magus; the sleight of hand trick transforms into true sorcerous skill: black silken musk, dark clove, guiac wood, black pepper, frankincense, and cardamom.