Was Dracula a mushroom eater?

Was Dracula a Mushroom eater?

Connecting some dots

The other day there was an article about researchers finding Vlad the Impaler's, or Dracula's tomb. And I saw some things that got me thinking.

http://news.discovery.com/history/draculas-tomb-found-in-italy-er-not-really-140617.htm

      I noticed that Vlad was a secret society member, know as Order of the Dragon. The order was based on protecting Christianity: and they wore an emblem with the Ouroboros on it.  Consider that the Order of the Dragon was created to resists the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Europe. 

The Order of the Dragon (Latin: Societas Draconistarum, lit. "Society of the Dragonists") was a monarchical chivalric order for selected nobility,^[1]founded in 1408 by Sigismund, King of Hungary (r. 1387–1437) and later Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1433–1437). It was fashioned after the military ordersof the Crusades, requiring its initiates to defend the cross and fight the enemies of Christianity, in particular the Ottoman Turks.

The main  goal of the society was to:

 to crush the pernicious deeds of the same perfidious Enemy, and of the followers of the ancient Dragon, and (as one would expect) of the pagan knights, schismatics, and other nations of the Orthodox faith, and those envious of the Cross of Christ, and of our kingdoms, and of his holy and saving religion of faith, under the banner of the triumphant Cross of Christ.. Wikipedia 

When we consider the what Dracula means:

Historically, the name "Dracula" is derived from a Chivalric order called the Order of the Dragon, founded by Sigismund of Luxembourg (then king ofHungary) to uphold Christianity and defend the Empire against the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II Dracul, father of Vlad III, was admitted to the order around 1431, after which Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and later, as ruler of Wallachia, his coinage bore the dragon symbol. The name Dracula means "Son of Dracul".

     While Bram Stroker's novel Dracula is loosely based on the real life character of Vlad the Impaler, it is just that loosely based.  For instance it leaves out the part that Vlad was taken prisoner, and while imprisoned, his father and brother were killed by their fellow noblemen; thus, setting the stage for the young Vlad to avenge their deaths, and wage a bloody war against the Ottoman Empire.  I am not saying the guy was not brutal, just that he had an ax to grind.

Consider the following portrait of Vlad, and notice the red and white motif of his outfit.

Vlad

The red and white cap is similar to mitres or hats worn by popes, bishops, and Santa Claus.

The red and white cap of Santa and the Roman Catholic church has been associated with the mushroom Amanita muscaria.  And in addition to the red and white cap pictured on Vlad, was the emblem worn by the order, the Ouroboros:

The Ouroboros was an ancient symbol, going al the way back to Ancient Greece, where Plato mentions it.

The Ouroboros or Uroboros (/jʊərɵˈbɒrəs/; /ɔːˈrɒbɔrəs/, from the Greek οὐροβόρος ὄφις tail-devouring snake) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpentor dragon eating its own tail.

The Ouroboros often symbolizes self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return, and other things such as the phoenix which operate in cycles that begin anew as soon as they end. It can also represent the idea of primordial unity related to something existing in or persisting from the beginning with such force or qualities it cannot be extinguished. While first emerging in Ancient Egypt, the Ouroboros has been important in religious and mythological symbolism, but has also been frequently used in alchemical illustrations, where it symbolizes the circular nature of the alchemist's opus. It is also often associated with Gnosticism, and Hermeticism. Wikipedia 

Consider that Plato suggested that it was the first living thing, and it was circular:

Plato described a self-eating, circular being as the first living thing—the universe as an immortal, mythologically constructed entity.

The living being had no need of eyes because there was nothing outside of him to be seen; nor of ears because there was nothing to be heard; and there was no surrounding atmosphere to be breathed; nor would there have been any use of organs by the help of which he might receive his food or get rid of what he had already digested, since there was nothing which went from him or came into him: for there was nothing beside him. Of design he created thus; his own waste providing his own food, and all that he did or suffered taking place in and by himself. For the Creator conceived that a being which was self-sufficient would be far more excellent than one which lacked anything; and, as he had no need to take anything or defend himself against any one, the Creator did not think it necessary to bestow upon him hands: nor had he any need of feet, nor of the whole apparatus of walking; but the movement suited to his spherical form which was designed by him, being of all the seven that which is most appropriate to mind and intelligence; and he was made to move in the same manner and on the same spot, within his own limits revolving in a circle. All the other six motions were taken away from him, and he was made not to partake of their deviations. And as this circular movement required no feet, the universe was created without legs and without feet.^{[6][7] Wikipedia}

And again it appears in the Middle-ages via Order of the Dragon, and the mystical art of alchemy.

In alchemy, it represents the spirit of Mercury (the substance that permeates all matter), and symbolizes continuous renewal (a snake is often a symbol of resurrection, as it appears to be continually reborn as it sheds its skin.), the cycle of life and death, and harmony of opposites. As a symbol of the eternal unity of all things, the cycle of birth and death from which the alchemist sought release and liberation. It unites opposites: the conscious and unconscious mind. Alchemically, the ouroboros is also used as a purifying glyph. http://www.tokenrock.com/explain-ouroboros-70.html

     So this one symbol which goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt and continues through the Middle ages has been identified by many researchers: Jan Irving, Clark Heinrich, myself,  as the mushroom Amanita muscaria. Amanita muscaria mushrooms have a mycorrhizal relationship with pine trees, and can be found among the fallen brown pine needles.  The mushroom itself is bright red, perhaps appearing as if on fire; Moses and the Burning Bush.  Then as the elements take their toll on the mushroom, it disintegrates back into the pine needles and resembles ash, as if something had burned there.  And later when conditions are right, the mushroom will grow back in the same spot, repeating the cycle.

 So I was just thinking that maybe the blood that Vlad drank was just another allegory for his ritualistic use of the mushroom. I realize this is a stretch , but stranger things have proven to be true.

Mushrooms cure depression and stimulate the growth of new brain cells

According to research from the University of South Florida, psilocybin, the active component within psychedelic mushrooms, is able to grow new brain cells—potentially offering treatment for mental illness and improving cognition.

The study, published in Experimental Brain Research, says psilocybin is able to bind to special receptors in the brain that stimulate healing and growth. In the case of these mushrooms, brain cell growth occurs. In mice, the researchers found psilocybin to actually help repair damaged brain cells and cure or relieve PTSD and depression.

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/research-suggests-psychedelic-mushrooms-offer-valuable-brain-treatments/#ixzz5PWR7r54U 
Follow us: @naturalsociety on Twitter | NaturalSociety on Facebook

William Blake's Tiger, Tiger (the alchemical mushroom symbol)

I am the true green and Golden Lion without cares,


In me all the secrets of the Philosophers are hidden. 

Rosarium Philosophorum or 

Rosary of the Philosophers, Book 5

In alchemy the lion, the "royal" beast, is a synonym for Mercurius, or, to be more accurate, for a stage in his transformation. He is the warm-blooded form of the devouring, predatory monster who first appears as the dragon. Usually the lion-form succeeds the dragon's death and eventual dismemberment. Carl Jung (Fabricius 1976, p. 295).[1]

Medieval alchemy used animal symbols including: the eagle, dove, snake, salamander, raven, unicorn, and lion.  Ultimately they were all symbols for the Amanita muscaria mushroom.  Many alchemists would copy each other’s work, and change the symbols to their own.  William Blake continued this tradition when he substituted the tiger for the lion.  Tigers and lions are very similar animals, with the exception of their coloring.  Furthermore, when one compares the artistic lions of alchemy, with Blake’s tiger it is apparent that Blake is working with an alchemical model, not a real tiger.

Consider the following illustration of an lion from ----, then compare it to Blake's tiger below:

Many interpretations have been offered up as to the meaning of The Tiger, but unless viewed from an alchemical perspective, one will never uncover Blake's linguistic veil.  Consider the first stanza:

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

The image of an orange and black tiger could resemble something on fire, hence the amanita muscaria, or burning bush.  From a symmetrical standpoint, a tiger's pattern is not exactly symmetrical, and nowhere in Blake's art does he portray the tiger as symmetrical. However, the gills beneath an amanita cap creates a striped pattern.  Consider the following example:

The next stanza :

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?      7
What the hand dare seize the fire?

Lines 7 mentions wings, and these wings have two interpretations relating to the mushroom.  First is the cross section of a mushroom, which resembles a bird in flight, often depicted as the eagle or raven, or dragon. Notice in the image below, the eagle's wings are like a mushrooms spread open cap.

The next part of the wings, relates to getting high, or going to heaven.  The mushroom is the vehicle which takes the user to this other worldly consciousness.  Line 8 asks which hand dare to seize the fire, and the fire is is also reference to the red-capped mushroom.  Who would grab the tiger, or who would pick the mushroom?

     Stanzas three and four ask rhetorical questions to the creator of the tiger.  In stanza three, the persona of the poem asks who's shoulders and by what art constructed the heart of the tiger.  The speaker goes on to ask an awkward questions of what dread hand and what dread feet.  However, if one look's a Blake's notebook, he originally completes the thought of line 12.  Consider stanza three, with Blake's struck-out notebook version of the original stanza four (italicized), with the published:

stanza 3

And what shoulder and what art  

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?  

And when thy heart began to beat,  

What dread hand & what dread feet?

notebook -stanza 4

Could fetch it from the furnace deep

and in thy horrid ribs dare steep

In the well of sanguine woe

Published - stanza 4

What the hammer? what the chain?  

In what furnace was thy brain?  

What the anvil? What dread grasp   

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

From reading the original, it is apparent the third stanza is asking what hand could take the heart of the lion from the depths of a furnace; and allow for it to "steep" into the horrid ribs; the well of blood red woe.  Meanwhile we can see that the published version of the poem, skips this detail and continues with the questioning.  Furthermore, this detail never makes it back into the published version.  The published version avoids asking who could grasp it, instead asks "in what furnace was they brain?"  And changes the image to a blacksmith grasping the brain with tongs out of a fiery furnace.

     From an alchemical point of view, the blacksmith represents the creator, and transformer. However, the same arts can be used to enslave, hence the chain.  Also, the original 4th stanza, Blake uses the image of a deep furnace, combined with ribs, followed by the image of a sanguine or blood-red well.  This deep furnace is hell, and if that is the case than Satan must be the creator whom the speaker is addressing.  He also changes the image from the heart to the brain.  From a Blake perspective, one would assume that the he wanted to represent reason rather than imagination as being created by the Satan.  While this may seem a bit of a stretch, Stanza five adds details which supports this claim. Consider stanza five:

When the stars threw down their spears,  

And water'd heaven with their tears,  

Did He smile His work to see?  

Did He who made the lamb make thee?

The first two lines a reference to Satan trying to over throw God in Genesis, and then the question of did the creator enjoy the revolution; and did the same creator make the lamb as well.  Blake is making the point that the creator of all is just that; the generator of both good and evil (as represented by the lamb and tiger).  Does God enjoy creating evil?  At the same time, the lines have mushrooms connotations as well.

To be continued...

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[1] http://www.antlionpit.com/alchemy.html

William Blake's Book of Urizen

Book of Urizen

   William Blake’s, Book of Urizen represents Blake’s attempt at rewriting the Bible, and incorporating Gnostic ideals.  Rather than try to interpret the work, I just want to examine the art for their mushroom implications.  Take the title page for example; it has an old man, sitting beneath a tree, writing a book.  In the background, are the two-tablet like tombstones, which represent Moses’ Ten Commandments.  These two tablets form the silhouette of a mushroom.  In addition, Urizen is sitting under a tree.  Is this the tree of knowledge of good and evil?  Also, many of Blake’s works are framed as a mushroom; the canopy of the trees forms the cap, and the two tablets and the man form the stalk.

Object 4 of Urizen has Urizen reading a rainbow colored book, and his head appearing to emanate light.  His arms are outstretched like the cap of a mushroom.

Object 5 is of an upside-down figure, entwined with a snake, with arms outstretched; Blake’s version of the staff of Asclepius.  The snake is a symbol for the serpent from the Garden of Eden.  And it appears underground, representing the mycelium of the mushroom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepius

Object 15 has a bent over figure, atop a red globe.  I suspect the red globe to be the mushroom cap of the Amanita muscaria.

Object 20, shows Urizen chained, and mostly white.  Emanating from his head, appears to be a red light.  His body is the white stalk of the mushroom, which meets the red cap of the mushroom. 

Object 21  has Urizen walking and carrying the red globe.  He is clothed in white, while the globe is red.  

     These are just the obvious examples.

William Blake's Sick Rose was amanita muscaria.

William Blake’s and his Rosicrucian Signature Poem: The Sick Rose

     After examining Isaac Newton, I was left with the impression that William Blake was involved with the Rosicrucians, or as they are known today, the Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosy Cross.  The more I read about the Rosicrucians and their beliefs, the more it appears Blake was one of them.  Furthermore, I keep thinking of Blake’s poem The Sick Rose.  I had to read it a few times throughout my education, and never thought much of it.  In fact, found it to be too esoteric.  Then I got the message as it were, and things like The Sick Rose were so obvious to the initiated. Anyway here’s a little bit about the Rosicrucians and their history.  There’s an abundant amount of information online about the Order, including texts.

According to their website, the Order traces it lineage back to 1500 B.C. and claims that Egyptian Pharaohs’ and Greek Philosophers’ among their members.  They also claim many of the same mystical writers Blake references in his writings.  Consider the following from the Order’s website:

Thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt select bodies or schools were formed to explore the mysteries of life and learn the secrets of this hidden wisdom. Only sincere students, displaying a desire for knowledge and meeting certain tests were considered worthy of being inducted into these mysteries… It is further traditionally related that the Order’s first member-students met in secluded chambers in magnificent old temples, where, as candidates, they were initiated into the great mysteries.… Contrary to what historians affirm, our tradition relates that the Giza pyramids were not built to be the tombs of pharaohs, but were actually places of study and mystical initiation.[1] 

Consider the two images below, the one on the left is from?   and the one on the right is by Blake.

The Order goes on to claim to have its share shakers and movers:

Throughout history a number of prominent persons in the fields of science and the arts have been associated with the Rosicrucian movement, such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Cornelius Heinrich Agrippa (1486-1535), Paracelsus (1493-1541), François Rabelais (1494-1553), Theresa of Avila (1515-1582), John of the Cross (1542-1591), Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Robert Fludd (1574-1637), Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), René Descartes (1596-1650), Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), Isaac Newton (1642-1727), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1646-1716), Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Michael Faraday (1791-1867), Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919), Marie Corelli (1855-1924), Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Erik Satie (1866-1925), and Edith Piaf (1916-1963).[2]

But what exactly do the Rosicrucians believe?  What is their belief system?  According to their website:The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC is a community of Seekers who study and practice the metaphysical laws governing the universe.[3] According to the original Christian Rosencrantz myth:

... Christian Rosenkreuz was a doctor who discovered and learned esoteric wisdom on a pilgrimage to the Middle East among Turkish, Arab and Persian sages, possibly Sufi or Zoroastrian masters, supposedly in the early 15th century (see section below on Symbolism); returned and founded the "Fraternity of the Rose Cross" with himself (Frater C.R.C.) as Head of the Order. Under his direction a Temple, called Sanctus Spiritus, or "The House of the Holy Spirit", was built.[4]

During Rosenkreuz's lifetime, the Order was said to consist of no more than eight members, each a doctor and a sworn bachelor. Each member undertook an oath to heal the sick without payment, to maintain a secret fellowship, and to find a replacement for himself before he died. Three such generations had supposedly passed between c.1500 and c.1600, a time when scientific, philosophical and religious freedom had grown so that the public might benefit from the Rosicrucians' knowledge, so that they were now seeking good men.[5]

Between 1607 and 1616, two anonymous manifestos were published, first in Germany and later throughout Europe.[2] These were the Fama Fraternitatis RC (The Fame of the Brotherhood of RC) and the Confessio Fraternitatis (The Confession of the Brotherhood of RC). The influence of these documents, presenting a "most laudable Order" of mystic-philosopher-doctors and promoting a "Universal Reformation of Mankind", gave rise to an enthusiasm called by its historian Dame Frances Yates the "Rosicrucian Enlightenment".[6]

Early seventeenth-century occult philosophers such as Michael Maier, Robert Fludd and Thomas Vaughan interested themselves in the Rosicrucian world view. According to historian David Stevenson it was also influential to Freemasonry as it was emerging in Scotland. In later centuries, many esoteric societies have claimed to derive their doctrines, in whole or in part, from the original Rosicrucians. Several modern societies have been formed for the study of Rosicrucianism and allied subjects.[7]

Considering the works and writings of Blake, seems like the perfect representation of such a society.  But why the Rosy Cross symbol? What is it?  More than you ever wanted to know about the possible symbolic interpretations from Fra. Thomas D Worrel, VII:

The cross is a symbol that is about as universal and ancient as any symbol that has emerged out of man's psyche. The cross symbolizes the meeting at right angles of horizontals and perpendiculars. Forces going in quite opposite directions but meeting at a central point, a common ground. It can symbolize the union of opposites and the dualism in nature. It can be the outstretch archetypal man with the infinite possibilities of growth being immortal. It represents eternal life. The cross can symbolize the decent of Spirit into matter. It is the intersection of the level of time with the Eternity of the Spirit.

The cross is the axis of the cycle of the year whose spokes are the equinoxes and solstices. It is the crossroads where the four directions meet. In a Christian sense the cross signifies acceptance of sacrifice, suffering, and death as well as immortality. There is a legend that the cross of Christ was made out of wood from the Tree of Knowledge, the cause of the Fall, making it the instrument of Redemption. In the Egyptian mythos the crux ansata or - a type of cross - was a symbol of life, immortality, and health. It is held by the gods and goddesses. It also represented the union of Isis and Osiris.

Numerologically, the cross is sometimes represented by the number four. Within our own teachings: "No.4 is the Mystic number, and indicates the operative influence of the four elements. Under this number, or the geometrical square, Pythagoras communicated the Ineffable Name of God to his chosen disciples." In the Hebrew alphabet the last letter is called Tav. And Tav means "mark" or "cross" and its original form was written much like ankh or cross. I could go on with many more examples but I think we can see that the cross transcends human culture in both time and space. It is a symbol that ties us all together as a Brotherhood of Mankind. It is a symbol that goes to the very root of our being.

The rose (Latin, rosa, in Greek, rhodon) also is a symbol that has a rich and ancient history. And like the cross, it can have paradoxical meanings. It is at once a symbol of purity and a symbol of passion, heavenly perfection and earthly passion; virginity and fertility; death and life. The rose is the flower of the goddess Venus but also the blood of Adonis and of Christ. It is a symbol of transmutation - that of taking food from the earth and transmuting it into the beautiful fragrant rose. The rose garden is a symbol of Paradise. It is the place of the mystic marriage. In ancient Rome, roses were grown in the funerary gardens to symbolize resurrection. The thorns have represented suffering and sacrifice as well as the sins of the Fall from Paradise.

The rose has also been used as a sign of silence and secrecy. The word sub rosa "under the rose" referring to the demand for discretion whenever a rose was hung from the ceiling at a meeting. In the Mysteries roses were sacred to Isis. It is also the flower of her son Harpocrates or younger Horus, the god of silence.

Numerologically, the rose represents the number 5. This is because the wild rose has 5 petals. And the petals on roses are in multiples of five. Geometrically, the rose corresponds with the pentagram and pentagon. Our teachings state: "No.5 is the emblem of Health and Safety; ...it represents Spirit and the four elements." The Pythagorean brotherhood used the pentagram as the symbol of their school.

The number five being associated with the rose has linked them with the 5 senses. In an absolute sense the rose has represented the expanding awareness of being through the development of the senses.[8] 

Yeah sure? Or it could be the “bloody cross” a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion, an allegory for the Amanita muscaria mushroom, which I mentioned in my book.  So I am suggesting that Blake was a Rosicrucian and that his poem the sick rose, is a poem which he establishes himself as a member by writing an allegorical poem about a rose which is really the mushroom amanita muscaria, or the Rosy Cross. Consider the poem, a short poem about a worm which comes in the night to destroy its crimson bed of joy:

O Rose thou art sick.

The invisible worm,

That flies in the night

In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy:

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy.

     The worm that flies in the night is the larvae of a mushroom gnat., and it does not fly. The very small gnat, lays its eggs on the mushroom. The eggs hatch into worm larvae witch the feed off of the mushroom.  Mushrooms often grow after a storm, and the gnat finds the mushroom before first light and has already laid her eggs. So Blake is lamenting that the mushrooms he wanted to eat, were spoiled by the larvae of the gnat.  That is what this poem is about.  All that symbolic interpretation from above can be true, but they too, serve as only more veils over the plain ans simple fact that, all relgions, mystical philosophies are derived from the mushroom Amanita muscaria, including William Blake’s The Sick Rose.  

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[1] http://www.rosicrucian.org/about/mastery/mastery08history.html

[2] http://www.rosicrucian.org/about/mastery/mastery08history.html

[3] http://www.rosicrucian.org/about/index.html

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Rosenkreuz

[5]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucianism

[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucianism

[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucianism

[8] http://www.sricf-ca.org/paper3.htm

William Blake and Newton's Apple

     In William Blake’s Newton, one sees a nude Newton sitting in a very uncomfortable position on a rock measuring out something out with a compass.  The compass is a symbol for geometry, with its most recent use by the Freemasons.  Upon closer examination of the engraving, one notices that the paper Newton is using the compass on is rolled up into a stylized “G”, another symbol for Freemasonry. And the last clue is on the paper that Newton is composing on, a right angle, or symbol for the Mason Square.  All of this arguable, and am not convinced myself, I decided to look more closely into Newton.  What little I knew of him came from rumors and few scientific principles I learned in college; however, the man himself or of his other works, I knew nothing. 

Newton's Coat of Arms

     The most popular thing I remember about Newton was his discovery of gravity while under an apple tree.  This image was always reinforced in TV via cartoons and sitcoms with Newton getting hit by an apple, and the hit serving as the impetus for his “discovery” of Gravity.  Or what I would come to learn as Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.  But what I remember most, is the idea that he received his inspiration from under a tree; similar to Adam and Eve.  So before I even Google Newton, I had the feeling that I was going to connect him with Alchemy and the Occult, and sure enough I did; he even has his own WIKI entry under Isaac Newton’s Occult Writings.  Seemed like a good place to start.

     The first thing that jumped out at me was a quote from economist John Maynard Keynes, who purchased some of Newton’s work.  Consider the following:

after purchasing and studying Newton's alchemical works in 1942, economist John Maynard Keynes, for example, opined that "Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians". [1]

Newton lived in an age when many of the sciences where still being developed and had not come into their own, and alchemy was a science in Newton’s time.  Newton lived from 1642-1727.  Most of his work on alchemy was never published and much of it was purchased by John Maynard Keynes at an auction in 1936.  Among his writings were also the writing of others, and it turns out Newton had a great interest in the philosopher’s stone.  From Wiki:

Of the material sold during the 1936 Sotheby's auction, several documents indicate an interest by Newton in the procurement or development of the Philosopher's Stone. Most notably are documents entitled Artephius his secret Book, followed by The Epistle of Iohn Pontanus, wherein he beareth witness of ye book of Artephius; these are themselves a collection of excerpts from another work entitled Nicholas Flammel, His Exposition of the Hieroglyphicall Figures which he caused to be painted upon an Arch in St Innocents Church-yard in Paris. Together with The secret Booke of Artephius, And the Epistle of Iohn Pontanus: Containing both the Theoricke and the Practicke of the Philosophers Stone.[2]

And:

Also in the 1936 auction of Newton's collection was, The Epitome of the treasure of health written by Edwardus Generosus Anglicus innominatus who lived Anno Domini 1562. This is a twenty-eight page treatise on the Philosopher's Stone, the Animal or Angelicall Stone, the Prospective stone or magical stone of Moses, and the vegetable or the growing stone.[3]

So, it appears that just by the name of the texts that Newton had, he was in a position to attempt to figure out mystery of the Philosopher’s stone.  He had a treatise with a title connecting the Philosopher’s Stone and the magical stone of Moses?  What if he had discovered that the Philosopher’s stone was the Amanita mushroom, and ingested it, became inspired as he did?  Then he too, is weaved into the mushroom mythology?  

In fact, one of the ancient texts, which Newton translated, was The Emerald Tablet.  

The Emerald Tablet, also known as the Smaragdine Table, or Tabula Smaragdina, is a compact and cryptic piece of Hermetica reputed to contain the secret of the prima materia and its transmutation. It was highly regarded by European alchemists as the foundation of their art and its Hermetic tradition. Although Hermes Trismegistus is the author named in the text, the first known appearance of the Emerald Tablet is in a book written in Arabic between the sixth and eighth centuries. The text was first translated into Latin in the twelfth century. Numerous translations, interpretations and commentaries followed.[4]

Here is his translation:

1. Tis true without lying, certain & most true.
2. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing
3. And as all things have been & arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
4. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse.
5. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
6. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
7. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.
8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth & receives the force of things superior & inferior.
9. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world
10. & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
11. Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing.
12. So was the world created.
13. From this are & do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world[5]
14. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.

     If Newton did discover the identity of the philosopher’s stone, did he enjoy it, or did he suffer a psychosis associated with a bad trip?  In 1692, Newton was to suffer what was called a nervous breakdown that would last for 18 months.  Consider the following behavior exhibited by Newton:

Newton recorded in his notebook of experimenting with chemicals during June of 1693. The limited evidence for symptomatic mental illness of Newton during this period stem from correspondences (c.f. The Royal Society) revealing melancholia, desire for withdrawal from relations including his good friends, insomnia, apathy, loss of appetite, delusion of persecution, possibly failures in memory (amnesia), and bipolar. In a letter written to Samuel Pepys, Newton stated he was...

extremely troubled by the embroilment I am in, have neither ate nor slept well in the last twelve months, nor have my former consistency of mind

13th September 1693 [8]

It has been suggested that mercury poising caused this, since he mentions ingesting it, and high traces were found in his hair samples after death.  The problem with this diagnosis is that Mercury poisoning caused by ingesting can be irreversible, and fatal[6].  However, compare Newton’s behavior to the effects of psilocybin mushrooms:

Reactions characterized by violence, aggression, homicidal and suicidal attempts, prolonged schizophrenia-like psychosis, and convulsions have been reported in the literature. A 2005 survey conducted in the United Kingdom found that almost a quarter of those who had used psilocybin mushrooms in the past year had experienced a panic attack. Other adverse effects less frequently reported include paranoia, confusion, derealization, disconnection from reality, and mania. Psilocybin usage can temporarily induce a state of depersonalization disorder. Usage by those with schizophrenia can induce acute psychotic states requiring hospitalization.[7]

Also, it is likely Newton would have used alchemical terms rather than actual terms to keep it secret.  Consider too the implications of mercury in the context of alchemy, it has been identified as Prima materia, or the first matter.  Alchemists thought of mercury as the First Matter from which all metals were formed.[8]  By 1612 Martin Ruland the Younger had compiled a list with over 50 synonyms for Prima material:

Names assigned to the Prima Materia in Ruland's 1612 alchemical dictionary, Lexicon alchemiae sive dictionarium alchemistarum.[9]

Microcosmos, The Philosophical Stone, The Eagle Stone,Water of Life,Venom, Poison, Chamber, Spirit, Medicine, Heaven, Clouds, Nebula or Fog, Dew, Shade, Moon, Stella Signata and Lucifer, Permanent Water, Fiery and Burning Water, Salt of Nitre and Saltpetre ,Lye, Bride, Spouse, Mother, Eve, Pure and Uncontaminated Virgin, Milk of Virgin, or the Fig, Boiling Milk, Honey, A Spiritual Blood, Bath, A Syrup,Vinegar, Lead, Tin, Sulphur of Nature, Spittle of the Moon, Ore, The Serpent, The Dragon, Marble, Crystal, Glass, Scottish Gem, Urine, Magnesia, Magnet,White Ethesia,White Moisture, White Smoke, Dung, Metallic Entity,Mercury, The Soul and Heaven of the Elements,The Matter of all Forms, Tartar of the Philosophers,Dissolved Refuse,The Rainbow,Indian Gold, Heart of the Sun, Chaos, Venus[9] 

Since there are so many words used to describe prima materia, I feel it would be difficult to actually assert what Newton ingested.  While mercury poising might be a possibility, I feel if he was really that damaged, it would have been permanently, and he would not of have been able to go on and be as productive as he was after his depression.  Consider the fact that he would go on to become warden of the Royal Mint, makes it suspicious that he would have endured any lasting effects of mercury poising associated with ingesting it.  

     What about Newton and secret societies?  Apparently there are secret societies that maintain secrecy.  According to one researcher trying to prove Rene Descartes was a memeber of the Rosicrucians, said this:

In identifying certain historical persons involved with Rosicrucianism we need to keep in mind that because of various religious and political persecutions of centuries past, Rosicrucians, for obvious reasons, were sworn to secrecy regarding their membership. Even known Rosicrucian apologists such as Robert Fludd and Michael Maier never publicly verified their Rosicrucian affiliation.

And yet, we know that a number of historical figures were Rosicrucian, and if one looks closely there are various references suggesting Rosicrucian affiliation that are often overlooked by historians as being insignificant. For example, the Royal Society of today is derived from the efforts of a group of known Rosicrucians: Theodore Haak, John Pell, and Samuel Hartlib, to name but a few. The group was first known as the "Invisible College," later as the "Rosicrucian College," and finally as the "Royal Society" a name conferred by King Charles II in 1662.

Newton was President of the Royal Society.  Consider that Newton’s occult work didn’t come to light until 1936, and was bought by another member of a secret society member John Maynard Keynes.  Keynes was a member of the Cambridge Apostles.[10]  It has been suggested by some that based on his work and associations that Newton was a member of the Rosicrucians, furthermore the Rosicrucians have claimed him as a member.[11]  Lastly, upon his death, Newton was in possession of over 160 manuscripts dedicated to alchemy, and some even Rosicrucian manifestos. 

At the time of his death, Isaac Newton had 169 books on the topic of alchemy in his personal library, and was believed to have considerably more books on this topic during his Cambridge years, though he may have sold them before moving to London in 1696. For its time, his was considered one of the finest alchemical libraries in the world. In his library, Newton left behind a heavily annotated personal copy of The Fame and Confession of the Fraternity R.C., by Thomas Vaughan which represents an English translation of The Rosicrucian Manifestos. Newton also possessed copies of Themis Aurea and Symbola Aurea Mensae Duodecium by the learned alchemist Michael Maier, both of which are significant early books about the Rosicrucian movement. These books were also extensively annotated by Newton.[12]

                                            

Also, the Masonic Square and Compass, images that led to this research, also come from the alchemical tradition, and first appear in a manuscript by Valentinus, called Materia Prima, in 1612.  Sound familiar?  Consider the following image in which a two-head hermaphrodite is holding the compass in one hand and the square in the other.  Here’s what Al Pike had to say about the mason and the square and what they represent:

You see at the beginning of this reading, an old Hermetic Symbol, copied from the "MATERIA PRIMA" of Valentinus, printed at Franckfurt, in 1613, with a treatise entitled "AZOTH." Upon it you see a Triangle upon a Square, both of these contained in a circle; and above this, standing upon a dragon, a human body, with two arms only, but two heads, one male and the other female. By the side of the male head is the Sun, and by that of the female head, the Moon, the crescent within the circle of the full moon. And the hand on the male side holds a Compass, and that on the female side, a Square. [13] 

And:

The Hermaphroditic figure is the Symbol of the double nature anciently assigned to the Deity, as Generator and Producer, as BRAHM and MAYA among the Aryans, Osiris and Isis among the Egyptians. As the Sun was male, so the Moon was female; and Isis was both the sister and the wife of Osiris. The Compass, therefore, is the Hermetic Symbol of the Creative Deity, and the Square of the productive Earth or Universe.

The COMPASS, therefore, as the Symbol of the Heavens, represents the spiritual, intellectual, and moral portion of this double nature of Humanity; and the SQUARE, as the Symbol of the Earth, its material, sensual, and baser portion. [14]

     I only wanted to try to show that Newton and Blake might be connected through Masonry, but I now feel it was through alchemy.  And I feel that Newton also discovered the identity of the Philosopher’s stone as a magic mushroom.  And that Blake knew of this and incorporated it into his art.

The first clue is the shape that Newton is drawn in, an incredibly uncomfortable position, with happens to resemble the shape of the mushroom.  Another hint adding to this, is the only piece of clothing appears like a white veil draping his arm.  This appears like the stalk of the amanita rising up to meet Newton’s red hair, like the cap of the mushroom.  Another mushroom hint is also hidden between crevice between Newton’s stomach and thigh; there is what appears to be a mushroom.  And the last hint is the fact that Newton is sitting on a stone or the philosopher’s stone, while he makes calculations.  Newton literally drew his inspiration from the philosopher’s stone, and Blake illustrated it here. And this is just one engraving.   

---

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton's_occult_studies

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Tablet

[5] Ibid

[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning

[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin

[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(element)

[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prima_materia

[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Apostles

[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Mystical_Order_Rosae_Crucis

[12] White, Michael (1999). Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer. Da Capo Press. p. 117.

[13] Morals and Dogma: Consistory: XXXII. Sublime of the Royal Secret pg. 850-51

[14] Ibid