Page 68 - Attractive Deception - The False Hope of the Hebrew Roots Movement

Image from The Hermetic Garden of Daniel Stolcius (1620)

The Latin phrase circling the image translates as “Only he who knows how to make the Philosopher’s
Stone, understands what is said concerning the Stone.” Many people have become familiar with the
term “Philosopher’s Stone” through the wildly popular Harry Potter series of books and movies. The
Philosopher’s Stone is a concept found in Alchemy. In Alchemy, all things that exist come from the
black stone, the prima materia. The black stone is the stone of transformation. This is the
Philosopher’s Stone. This is the object that can change, or transmute mankind according to
alchemical lore.

The image above reveals the promise held forth by the Philosopher’s Stone. The man has two faces,
one being that of a child, and the other an adult. In this duality is portrayed youthfulness (or
immortality) and wisdom. Echoing this theme, the man is holding a serpent in his right hand and the
Phoenix in his left. The serpent from ancient times has represented wisdom, whereas the Phoenix
symbolizes immortality as it is reborn after being consumed in flames.

It is not coincidental that gnosis and immortality were two things Satan promised to mankind in his
first temptation in the Garden of Eden. He held out to Eve the forbidden fruit which grew on the Tree
of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He also promised Eve that if she partook of this fruit, she would
not die. Thirdly, Satan told Eve the fruit would make her godlike. These are the same promises held
forth by Alchemy through the instrumentality of the Philosopher’s Stone.

In the Middle Ages, Alchemy and brewing were closely related, not unlike the relationship between
the trade of Masonry and Kabbalah which led to Freemasonry, or Speculative Masonry. The