GODFATHER

CHAKOTAY: 

You're being called back to your life again, Neelix. 

Don't turn your back on it. 

We're your family now. 

NEELIX: 

It's not enough. 

CHAKOTAY: 

It is for us.

 

‘His function on this crew is diverse.’

That's what Seven of Nine said about you.

 

Even our Borg understands how important you are on this ship. 

It's not just the duties you perform, 

it's the way you make people feel when you're around. 

NEELIX: 

That Neelix is gone. 

CHAKOTAY: 

I don't think he is. 

(Ensign Wildman enters.)

WILDMAN: 

Why didn't you answer me? 

I had to have the computer track you down. 

Naomi thought she saw a monster in the replicator. 

Neelix, what's going on? 

NEELIX: 

I'm trying to decide some things. 

CHAKOTAY: 

That little girl needs you, Neelix. 

Monsters in the replicator? 

Who else on this ship can handle that? 

(Neelix thinks about it, then turns off his tricorder and hands it to Chakotay.) 

NEELIX: 

Duty Calls.

“One reason we hesitate to carry our own gold is that it is dangerously close to God. Our gold has Godlike characteristics, and it is difficult to bear the weight of it.

In Indian culture, there’s a time-honored custom that you have the right to go to another person—a man, a woman, a strangerand ask him or her to be the incarnation of God for you. There are strict laws governing this. If the person agrees to be the incarnation of God for you, you must never pester him. You must never put a heavy weight on himit’s weighty enough as it is. And you must not engage in any other kind of relationship with that person. You don’t become friends, and you don’t marry him. The person becomes a kind of patron saint for you.

J. Krishnamurti was a wonderful man. Lots of people put gold on him. One afternoon, he and I went for a walk in Ojai, California, and a little old lady was kneeling alongside the path. We just walked by. Later he told me, “She has put the image of God on me. She knows what she’s doing. She never talks or asks anything of me. But when I go for a walk, she somehow knows where I’m going to be, and she’s always there.” What was most touching was his attitude. If she needed this, he would do it.

This is the original meaning of the terms godfather and godmother. That person is the carrier of Godlike qualities for you. Nowadays we think of a godparent as the one who will take care of us materially in case our parents are not able to see it through. But the original meaning was of someone who carries the subtle part of your life—a parent in an interior, Godlike way. It’s a wonderful custom. Most parents are worn out just seeing their child through to physical maturity. We need someone else who isn’t bothered with authority issues, like “How much is my allowance this week?” Being a godparent was originally a quiet arrangement for holding a child’s gold.

When I was sixteen, two years after meeting Thor, I desperately needed someone like that. So I appointed a godmother and godfather, and those two people saved my life. They knew instinctively the duties of this need, and they fulfilled them. My godmother died when I was twenty-two, and I wasn’t ready to give her up. It was the most difficult loss of my life. I was forced to take my gold back before I was ready. My godfather lived until I was in my fifties, and by then I was ready to let him go. 

 I love the idea of godparents. Sometimes young people come circling around me, and I bring up this language. “Do you want a godfather?” If it fits, we work out the necessary rules. “You may have this out of me, and you must not ask that.” These are the old godparent laws. It’s a version of the incarnation of God in Indian custom.

Sometimes Gold Is Dark

  I love India, but being there can be challenging, sometimes even dreadful. During one visit, I nearly sank in the darkness.

An Indian friend and I went to Calcutta. He wanted to see his father, who lived in a politically sensitive zone near the city, where foreigners were not allowed. So I said, “Please go. I’ll stay in Calcutta while you visit him.” My friend tried to help me get a hotel, but there were no good ones, so I ended up in a sleazy hotel in a dark part of town. Because he was so anxious to see his father, once he got me settled, I encouraged him to go.

Within hours, a woman on the street thrust a dead baby into my hands, children with amputated limbs poked their stumps into my ribs begging for money, and lepers and corpses were lying in the streets where I walked. It was too much for me, and I didn’t know how to get away from it. Normally I could just go to my room and hole up. As an introvert, that isn’t difficult for me. But my room in that hotel had paper-thin walls, and someone was actually dying in the room on one side, people were screaming and fighting in the room on the other side, and there was a nightlong political rally in the square outside my window. I just couldn’t take it. I had more in me than I could hold, and I started falling to pieces.

Gold comes in many varieties. Sometimes our gold is bright, but at other times it is heavy and difficult, and seems anything but golden. I had no friends and no telephone, and couldn’t cope. Then I remembered the custom I’d witnessed with Krishna-murti. I needed to ask someone to be the incarnation of God for me, someone with whom I could share my burden.

I went to a park nearby to look for a candidate. After standing still and observing many people for about twenty minutes, I selected a middle-aged man who was wearing traditional Indian garb. I felt a particular respect for him. He walked with great dignity. I continued to watch him closely.

Finally, trembling, I went up to him and asked, “Sir, do you speak English?”

“Yes.”

“Will you be the incarnation of God for me?” It was the second sentence I spoke to that man.

And, God bless him, he said, “Yes.”

I told him who I was and how frightened and burdened I was feeling, and that I was unable to stand it. I poured out my misery, and he just listened without saying a word. Finally I wound down and apologized for splashing all over him. I felt so much better. I had my feet under me again.

I thanked him, and then I asked, “And who are you?”

He told me his name. I said, “Yes, and who are you?” 

He said, “I am a Roman Catholic priest.” 

There are very few Catholic priests in India, and I had picked one to be the incarnation of God for me. 

He had listened, heard, and understood. 

Then we bowed to each other and went our separate ways. Because he did that for me, neither of us will ever be the same again. He did exactly what I needed with a grace and a dignity that lives with me to this day.

Excerpt from: "Inner Gold: Understanding Psychological Projection" by Arnie Kotler.

CHUD

In medieval Kabbalah, 

The Shekhinah is separated in Creation 

from The Sefirot by Man’s Sin, 

while in Lurianic Kabbalah 

Divinity is exiled in The Qlippot 

from prior initial Catastrophe in Creation. 

This causes “Sparks of Holiness” to be exiled in The Qlippot,

with physical objects redeeming mundane Nogah, 

while The Three Impure Qlippot 

are elevated indirectly through 

Negative prohibitions. 

Repentance out of Love retrospectively 

turns Sin into Virtue, Darkness into light. 

Creating a Ceremony

  It is possible to create a ceremony to mark the important occasion of returning someone’s gold. 

A young man I was seeing in analysis 

gave me a large chunk of his gold. 

From the beginning, he’d compliment me 

every time we saw each other. 

I’d say, “This is your value. You need to drape it around my neck for a while, but you’re going to take it back eventually,” using this language. 

He kept complimenting me, 

telling me how valuable I was to him, 

how lucky he was to have me as his therapist. 

“You’re talking about your own 

inner gold,” I told him.

He was an intelligent and powerful young man, a genius in his own right, and his gold was too heavy for him. He was desperate for someone to take it off his shoulders. So we discussed what was happening and the terms of the exchange, and he fully understood. This went on for almost five years. Then, one day, he said, “I want my gold back.” I had noticed that he was getting restless, so I agreed. “Things are changing,” I said. “Let’s do a 

ceremony to put the gold back in your pocket.”

I conjured up a small piece of gold, the size of a pea, and a few days later we had the ceremony. He held the kernel of gold, shaking, suddenly more aware of what he had been doing. Then he put it in my hands and said, anxiously, “Suppose you don’t give it back?”

I said, “Yeah, suppose.” 

I kept the gold for a while, 

held it in my hand, put it in my pocket, waited a bit, and produced it again. 

Then I ceremoniously put it back into his hands, and he was greatly relieved. I said, “This is your gold, and it belongs only in your pocket. I am honored that you would allow me to hold it for you all these years. But it’s yours, and now it needs to go back to you.” It was a profound moment, a coming-of-age. I had paved the way for returning it when the time was right. Being clear about what is taking place and what is the desired outcome can be very helpful.

It didn’t actually go this easily. The next day, he had his gold all over me again. He couldn’t hold it and wanted me to take it back. The exchange of gold is not entirely a voluntary matter. Sometimes it takes a few round trips. We traded the gold back and forth several more times until one day he could withstand it. Since then, I haven’t heard any more 

about him wanting it back.

Excerpt from: "Inner Gold: Understanding Psychological Projection" by Arnie Kotler. 

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Black Vomit

JOSEPH CAMPBELL:  

This is killing The Dragon. 

And you have Fears and things, 

This is The Dragon; 

That’s exactly what’s that all 

about. 

At least, The European Dragon; 

The Chinese Dragon is different.

BILL MOYERS: 

What is it?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

It represents The Vitality of The Swamps 

and The Dragon comes out beating his belly and saying 

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.” 

You know, that’s another kind of dragon. 

And he’s the one that yields the bounty and the waters and all that kind of thing. 

He’s the great glorious thing. 

1.3 Nigredo - Blackness

The wise man is not surprised by death
he is always ready to leave.
La Fontaine
This melancholic state is so powerful
that, according to scientists and doctors,
it can attract demons to the body,
even to such an extent
that one can get into mental confusion or get visions.
Agrippa

Nigredo, or blackness, in the alchemical sense, means putrefaction, decomposition. By the penetration of the external fire, the inner fire is activated and the matter starts to putrefy. The body is reduced to its primal matter from which it originally arose. This process is also called ‘cooking’. The black earth is closed up in a vessel or flask, and heated.

(Basilius Valentinus, Azoth, Paris, 1659)
The Body is to be decomposed, that is one shifts one's awareness to the inner self. The planets are both stages of the process and energies in the body to be transmuted. The Saturn star is black as Saturn reigns over Nigredo. Sun and Moon are the opposites to be united, and fire and air are the elements stimulating the decomposition. The black crow is another symbol for Nigredo. The two birds coming out of the body are the soul and the spirit. One needs to become aware of one's soul and spirit. The circle emphasizes the idea of union or unification.

"Putrefaction is so effective that it destroys the old nature and form of the rotting bodies; it transmutes them into a new state of being to give them a totally new fruit. Everything that has live, dies; everything that is dead putrefies and finds a new life." (Pernety, 1758)
On the mythological level, nigredo signifies the difficulties man has to overcome on his journey through the underworld. Nigredo is sometimes called ‘blacker than the blackest black’. Hercules had to accomplish twelve, almost impossible, tasks. The pilgrim traditionally encounters shadows, monsters, demons. In the ancient mysteries the candidates had to undergo difficult, sometimes painful and even dangerous initiation tests. 
In alchemy, one of the symbols of nigredo is the ‘decapitation’, and also the ‘raven’s head’ (caput corvi). Those symbols refer to the dying of the common man, the dying of his inner chaos and doubt because he is unable to find the truth in himself. In one of his works, Hercules cleanses the Augias stables. It is the cleansing of all the impurities in oneself. 
(Johann Daniel Mylius, Philosophia reformata, Frankfurt, 1622)

A monk in meditation in an earth crevice, shows that alchemy was in first instance a spiritual practice. The two bird-figures are the soul and spirit to become aware of.

Psychologically, nigredo is a process of directing oneself to find self-knowledge. A problem is given full attention and reduced to its core. This is not done so much in an intellectual way, but especially by feeling the emotions. By really going into to it, one causes putrefaction, the decomposition of that in which one had been stuck. The confrontation with the inner reality is often painful, and can lead to depression. But once in the depth of the darkness, with the discovery of the seed of the problem, the seed in the ‘prima materia’, the white light is born (=albedo, whiteness, the next phase). A state of rest arises. Insight into the problem has been gained, it has been worked out emotionally, and knowledge arises on how to handle it in a more positive way and to build a more pure attitude.
Alchemists talked about unraveling ‘the mixture’(=man with all his complexities) in order to return to the germ. "That from which a thing has been made in a natural way, by that same thing it must return to a dissolved state into its own nature. Everything has to be dissolved and reduced into that form from which is arose." (Anton Joseph Kirchweger, 1728)
‘Matter’ has to be stripped of its superfluities in order to arrive at the center, which contains all the power of ‘the mixture’. The seed is the essence and contains all the essential powers of the body. One has to go to the center of his problems, to the center of his emotions, to the center of himself. There is the power of transformation.
Saturn is the planet that rules nigredo. Saturn as an alchemical symbol is used, like Mercurius, as a symbol of chaos, the prima materia as rough stone, and as the philosopher’s stone. These are all symbols for man at the beginning of the alchemical process. Saturn, with his traditional scythe and hourglass, is the god of death and putrefaction, from which new life will arise. The scythe is another tool for penetration, as is the lance and the sword. Saturn is the philosopher’s lead. He is the god that can cause melancholy and devilish visions. ‘Melancholia’ is another term for nigredo. As melancholy can arise when alchemically working on oneself, the alchemists advised the use of music to lift the soul.
Saturn is also a god of fertility. Therefore "our black earth is fertile earth", an alchemical expression to express the transformation of death into new life, which is also clearly depicted in the thirteenth tarot card. The putrefaction is a necessary phase to start a new beginning. Life itself is a cycle of death and birth, ever creating new life, giving man the opportunity to work on himself and strife to improve his condition.
The alchemists say that nigredo lasts forty days. Forty days has a symbolic value. Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert. There are forty days of fasting between Easter and Ascension Day. The Israelites wandered for forty days in the desert. Saint Antonius spent forty years in the Sahara desert, being plagued by visions of extreme erotic scenes and devils.

 

1.4 The Peacock’s Tail

"What hinders men from seeing and hearing God, is their own hearing, seeing and willing; by their own wills they separate themselves from the will of God. They see and hear within their own desires, which obstructs them from seeing and hearing God. Terrestrial and material things overshadow them, and they cannot see beyond their own human nature. If they would be still, desist from thinking and feeling with their own self-hood, subdue the self-will, enter into a state of resignation, into a divine union with Christ, who sees God, and hears God, and speaks with him, who knows the word and will of God; then would the eternal hearing seeing and speaking become revealed to them. " 
Jacob Boehme (1575-1624 C.E.) 

‘Cauda Pavonis’, the peacock’s tail, or the peacock itself, is a phase in which many colors appear. Many alchemists place this phase before albedo, whiteness, although some of them place it after albedo. Gerhard Dorn (16th century): "This bird flies during the night without wings. By the first heavenly dew, after an uninterrupted process of cooking, ascending and descending, it first takes the shape of a raven’s head, then of a peacock’s tail; its feathers becoming very white and good smelling, and finally becoming fiery red, indicating its fiery character." The colors refer to the three stages of the Great Work, with rubedo, or redness, being the last one.

(18th century manuscript from the Collection of Dr.C.Rusch, Appenzell)
The drawing represents Distillatio, 'distillation'. At a certain point in the distillation the peacock('s tail) will appear.

The symbol of the peacock’s tail was chosen because of the many colorful and brilliant ‘eyes’. It is said that originally they were the eyes of the Greek Argus, whose name means ‘he who sees everything’. Argus was a very strong giant with a hundred eyes, of which at all times fifty were open and fifty were sleeping. He was decapitated by Hermes. Hera, the mother goddess, placed the eyes on the tail of her favorite bird, the peacock.
The phase of the many colors was also symbolized by the rainbow, or the goddess of the rainbow: Iris, the messenger of the gods, especially between Zeus and the mortals.
The peacock’s tail can have two meanings in the Great Work. It can be the collection and totality of all colors in the white light. Remember, the white light refers to the second stage, albedo, or whiteness. In this sense the peacock was seen as a royal bird in ancient times, and it corresponded with the phoenix.
The second meaning is that it represents the failure of the alchemical process. When the conscious enters the unconscious "each part of a thought can take shape and become visible in color and form", according to a Chinese text about yoga exercises. One starts seeing all kinds of forms which look real and which look like they have an independent life. But one cannot go into it as it leads to discord of the mind, and possibly to schizophrenia. The alchemist is seeking unity, expressed in the white light.
It is know that during meditation exalted feelings and unusual observations can happen. In essence there are two kinds of observations. The first one is wanting to escape the discipline of meditation, which Zen practitioners call makyo. Makyo are illusions we project onto reality in order to escape the guidelines of meditation. For example, the object of meditation is starting to radiate with a wonderful light or color, or it expands and contracts rhythmically. One starts to feel lighter or heavier, or one feels pleasant energies going through the body. All kinds of sensations can happen. Many meditators are readily distracted by these phenomena, and even take great interest in them, thereby neglecting the real purpose of their meditation. One needs to be aware of this.
A second cause of distraction is a change in consciousness whereby we look at the world in a different way than we did in the past. It can be quite a shock reverberating on the psychic or bodily level. The accompanying feelings can be quite wonderful. But the advice is: enjoy it, do not take it seriously, and continue with the meditation.
Visions are also distracting. Many wise men and mystics have pointed to this kind of danger. "We should not long for or expect visions. With all our power we should refrain from them and look at them with suspicion." (Ignatius of Loyola). They always stress that visions of lights, of angels, yes even of the great masters, should be neglected, because they block inner progress.

1.5 Albedo - Whiteness

Je ne craignais pas de mourir
mais de mourir sans etre illumine.
(I was not afraid to die,
but to die without having been enlightened)
Comte de Saint-Germain, La Tres Sainte Trinisophie
 
The herald of the light
is the morning star.
This way man and woman approach
the dawn of knowledge,
because in it is the germ of life,
being a blessing of the eternal.
Haji Ibrahim of Kerbala
 
Lucifer, Lucifer stretch your tail,
and lead me away, full speed through the narrow passage,
the valley of the death,
to the brilliant light, the palace of the gods.
Isanatha Muni

 

Being deep in nigredo, a white light appears. We have arrived at the second stage of the Great Work: albedo, or whiteness. The alchemist has discovered within himself the source from which his life comes forth. The fountain of life from which the water of life flows forth giving eternal youth.
The source is one: male and female are united. In alchemical images we see a fountain from which two streams of water flow into one basin.
Albedo is the discovery of the hermaphroditic nature of man. In the spiritual sense each man is a hermaphrodite. We can also see this in the first embryonic phase of the fetus. There is no sex until a certain number of weeks after conception.
When man descended into the physical world his body entered a world of duality. On the bodily level this is expressed by the sexes. But his spirit is still androgen, it contains duality in unity. Its unity is not bound to space, time or matter. Duality is an expression of unity in our physical world. It is temporal and will eventually cease to exist. When male and female are united again, one will experience his true self. Conscious and unconscious are totally united.
Albedo happens when the Sun rises at midnight. It is a symbolic expression for the rising of the light at the depth of darkness. It is the birth of Christ in the middle of the winter. In the depth of a psychological crises, a positive change happens.

(L'Aurore, Henri de Linthaut)
Albedo, symbolized by Aurora, by the dawn, the morning star (Venus-Aphrodite), and by the sun rising up from the Philosopher's Sea.

Albedo is also represented by Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn. Her brother is Helios, the Sun. With a play of words aurora was connected with aurea hora, ‘the hour of gold’. It is a supreme state of conscious. Pernety (1758): "When the Artist (=Alchemist) sees the perfect whiteness, the Philosophers say that one has to destroy the books, because they have become superfluous." 
Albedo is also symbolized by the morning star Venus/Aphrodite. Venus has a special place in the Great Work. In ancient times Lucifer was identified with the planet Venus. Originally Lucifer has a very positive meaning. In the Bible we find 2Petrus 1:19 "…till the day arrives and the morning star rises in your hearts". In Revelation 12:16 Christ says: "I am the shining morning star". Here Christ identifies himself with the Lucifer! We find the same in mystic literature. In ancient times Lucifer was a positive light being. It was just one man who changed all that: when a certain Hieronymous read a phrase from Jesaja 14:12 (Jesaja talking to a sinful king of Babylon): " How did you fall from heaven, you morning star, you son of the dawn; how did you fall to earth, conqueror of people". Hieronymous used this phrase to identify Lucifer with the dragon thrown out of heaven by Michael. By the interpretation of this one man, Lucifer was tuned from a shining light being into the darkest devilish being in the world.
We find Lucifer in alchemy associated with impure metals polluted by rough sulfur. It means that the light being Lucifer in ourselves is polluted by what the alchemists call ‘superfluities’, ‘dross’, caused by man himself. 
Mercury and Lucifer are one and the same. One talks about Mercury when he is pure, it is the white sulphur, the fire in heaven. As ‘spiritus’ he gives life. As ‘spiritus sapiens’ he teaches the alchemist the Great Work. Lucifer is the impure Mercury. Lucifer is the morning star fallen from (the golden) heaven. He descended into the earth and is now present in all humans. Lucifer is Mercury mixed with impure elements. He dissolved ‘in sulfur and salt’, ‘is wrapped with strings’, ‘darkened with black mud’. Keep in mind we are always talking about our consciousness. Lucifer represents our everyday consciousness, all the (psychological and other) complexes have clouded our pure consciousness, Mercury.
The light of Mercury that appears to us as Lucifer, because of the distortion caused by the impurities, gives the impression of what the alchemists called ‘red sulfur’. The red sulfur of Lucifer, as traditional devil, is actually an illusion. It does not exist by itself because it is only an image, a distorted image of Mercury. We ourselves caused the impurities, the blackness that veils our true light being. 
Red sulfur is the same as what is called Maya in eastern philosophies. Maya is the world of illusions, or the veil that prevents us from seeing and experiencing true reality, where the eternal light is. By the impurities of Maya, man has become ignorant. He has forgotten his origin and thinks he is in a world which in actuality is an illusion. 

(Les Rudiments de la Philosophie, Nicolas de Losques, Paris, 1665)
The union of Hermes and Aphrodite. The moon is above the retort, indicating this is the stage of Albedo. The sun above is the next stage of Rubedo. At the same time sun and moon are again the opposites to be united. Aphrodite has two torches. One pointing down, representing the lower passions to be transmuted. The upside down torch is the purified energies. Aphrodite is standing on a tetrahedron, the perfect three dimensional body, as all corners are equally distant from each other, resulting in a lack of tension.

As we mentioned above, Aphrodite/Venus as the morning star is a central image for the albedo phase of the Great Work. Aphrodite was born from the foam that arose when the genitals of Uranus (cut of by Chronos, out of hate and jealousy) fell into the sea. The cutting of the genitals represents repressed and tormented love. The sea, symbol of the soul, however will bring forth the love goddess. Liberation will happen when we become conscious again of the contents of the soul. As Aphrodite is born from the sea, she is the guide through the fearful world of the unconscious (the sea, or the underworld). The alchemist descends into these depths to find the ‘prima materia’, also called the ‘green lion’. The color green refers to the primal life forces. Venus also has the green color. An important characteristic of Aphrodite is that she helps us in our human shortcomings. She gives ideals and dreams to fulfill. But she also gives frightening images in order to make man aware of his lower nature. "By her beauty Venus attracts the imperfect metals and gives rise to desire, and pushes them to perfection and ripeness." (Basilius Valentinus, 1679) Liberation can only happen by becoming conscious of the lower nature and how we transmute it.
In Jungian psychology Venus/Aphrodite is the archetype of the anima (in alchemy also the ‘soror’ or ‘wife’ of the alchemist). The anima is the collective image of the woman in a man. It is an image especially tainted by his first contact with his mother. The anima represents all the female tendencies in the psyche of a man, such as feelings, emotions, moods, intuition, receptivity for the irrational, personal love and a feeling for nature. She is the bearer for the spiritual. Depending on the development of the man she can also be the seductress who lures him away to love, hopelessness, demise, and even destruction.
Other alchemical images for albedo are baptism and the white dove, both derived from Christianity. Baptism symbolizes the purification of both body and soul by ‘living water’. ‘Living water’ was regarded as the creative force of the divine. It allowed the soul to be received into the community of the holy spirit. Thus baptism allows the purified soul to bring forth the resurrection of Christ in oneself. This is the ‘hieros gamos’, the ‘sacred marriage’ between the soul and Christ. Christ here represent our own inner divine essence.
There are many other symbols in alchemy for the second phase, or albedo: the white swan, the rose, the white queen, and so on. As lead is the metal of nigredo, silver is the metal of albedo, transmuted from lead. As silver is the metal of the moon, the moon was also a symbol for albedo. Alchemists also talk about the white stone or white tincture. They all means basically the same thing, although one has to understand them in the context in which they were written.
 

1.6 Rubedo -Redness

The alchemical process
is a method for self knowledge
that the soul undergoes
far outside its realm of existence.
Marry Anne Atwood
 
The jewel has been lost in matter
and everybody is looking for it.
Some look for it in the east
and some in the west,
some in water
and some among stones.
But the servant Kabir
has found its value
and has it wrapped with care
in the seam of the mantle of his heart.
R. Tagore, Kabir 72

Albedo is a phase of which the meaning was kept secret for many centuries. The meaning of the third alchemical phase, rubedo or redness, is even more secret and not easy to explain or understand.  

(Philosophia reformata, Johann Mylius, Frankfurt, 1622)
The union of the Red King with the White Queen, symbolic of the union of male-female, albedo-rubedo. In other words, when after having attained albedo (having discovered the divine light in oneself), the 'spirit' must be fixated (the descending eagle), resulting in rubedo. The two lions with one head signifies the unified nature that has been attained. Out of its mouth flows the water of life.

Rubedo is the continuation of albedo. That is why they are often seen connected to each other, like the White Queen and the Red King. Once the inner light has been discovered it must be made into the only reality in our consciousness. After having descended into the unconscious, into the darkness, into the underworld, we found the Light, we found the volatile Spirit. Now the volatile Spirit, or quicksilver, has to be fixated or coagulated. This means that our conscious, or attention, must completely penetrate our unconscious, or soul, or everything that lies hidden in ourselves. By doing this we fixate (that is bring it into the conscious) the volatile and make it durable. When everything in ourselves has been purified and the Light appears, we have to fixate this Light and make it durable so it remains always present.
White sulfur, attained during albedo, is also called: "the bodies composed of pure essence of the metals". The metals are the contents of the soul, and now they have been reduced to their pure essence. Now that the soul has been penetrated with the pure light, the alchemist has to make it permanent.
In the eastern philosophies rubedo corresponds with the formation of the ‘diamond body’, an term fitting for the pure and permanent Stone of the Philosophers.

(Scritinium cinnabarium seu triga cinnabriorium, Godfred Schulz, Halle, 1680)
The ressurected alchemist stepping from the shadow into the Light.
In Christianity, rubedo corresponds with the resurrection of Christ. Jesus ‘fixates’ the light garment of Christ. Jesus has left behind the old body and brought his inner divine self, the Christ body, into his consciousness, and made it his own reality. What Jesus did two thousand years ago, each of us can do the same, because we are all sons and daughters of the divine, and we all carry the divine essence, or the Christ body, within ourselves. 

When rubedo has been realized the alchemist has accepted his spiritual inheritance. He has become what he always has been, but never knew he was. He has realized his divine essence while still in his physical body. It is the same as what the gnostici called pneuma, the divine spirit in each man that is concealed in the deep darkness of the world, but can be made conscious again. When rubedo has been manifested man is master over both the physical as the spiritual world. He has become a King master over himself. 
When the unification of all energies of the four aspects of totality has been achieved, a new state of being arises that is no longer subject to changes. Chinese alchemy calls it the ‘diamond body’ which corresponds with the ‘corpus incorruptibile’ (untouchable body) of the European alchemy. It is also the same as the ‘corpus glorificationis’ (glorified body) of the Christian tradition.
In yoga traditions, rubedo corresponds with the unification of the spirit of man, called atman, with brahman. Atman is a part of brahman. Brahman is the soul of the All, it is the breath or the energy flowing through you and giving you life and consciousness. Atman is the individual self, brahman is the univerself self.
"As the body used to be slow, rough, impure, dark and destructible because it lacked power and energy, so rebirth unifies it with the soul and spirit, vivified and volatile, light and penetrating, pure, refined and clear, overflowing with energy, indestructible and full of energy, and it is able to maintain this." (Franciscus Kieser, +/_1600).
 
 "Ascend above any height, descend further than any depth; receive all sensory impressions of the created: water, fire, dryness and wetness. Think that you are present everywhere: in the sea, on earth and in heaven; think that you were never born and that you are still in the embryonic state: young and old, dead and in the hereafter. Understand everything at the same time: time, place, things: quality and quantity." (Corpus hermeticum, 1460).
 
I feel that all stars
shine in me.
The world is breaking as flood
through my life.
The flowers are opening in my body.
Youthfulness of earth and water
is burning like incense in my heart,
and the breath of all things
is playing as on a flute
through my thoughts.

TREATMENT

The Guide for the first part of your Inward Journey is your Intellect, the Masculine Traits of Intelligence, Proportion and Good Sense.

The Lowest Level of Hell is the worst. It is FROZEN. 

To reach The Coldness of Life — Loneliness and Meaninglessness — is The worst experience a human being goes through, worse than the fiery aspects of Hell. Under the guidance of Virgil, Dante gets to the bottom of Hell and just keeps going. You don’t come out of Hell through the door you entered. You go through it and out the other side. On the other side of Hell lies Heaven.

Dante and Virgil are in the middle of the world, which is where the Devil lives. And Dante gets through that nodal point, the point of zero gravity at the center of the world, by shimmying down the hairy leg of the Devil, and finds himself in Purgatory. 

Hell lays out what’s Wrong — the hellish dimensions of life — and Purgatory begins The Repair, what you need in order to be restored. 

You need to be treated.

The verb ‘to treat’ comes from the Latin tractare “ to pull or drag.” 

The earliest therapists had a series of stones with increasingly smaller holes in them, and you were literally pulled through —the biggest one first, a smaller one next, until you couldn’t be pulled through any more. 

You came out of this experience minus a bit of skin, but you were treated. 

Dante is pulled through A hole from the center of the world and begins his ascent through Purgatory, its many levels and teachings.

At this point, Virgil approaches Dante and says, “I cannot take you any further. One Greater Than I will be your guide from here.” 

Dante is shaken, because he has depended entirely on Virgil. Virgil continues, 

“Beatrice will guide you from Here,” 

the same Beatrice who had opened the vision of Heaven for him on the Ponte Vecchio.

Excerpt from: 

"Inner Gold: Understanding Psychological Projection" 

by Arnie Kotler

[Hangar One]

COMMANDER: 

...Regula I, Tracy, USS Farragut... USS Enterprise, McGrath, USS ... Vader, USS Hood. 

Welcome to Starfleet, godspeed. 

KIRK: 

He didn't call my name. Commander! 

Sir, you didn't call my name. 

Kirk, James T.? 

COMMANDER: 

Kirk, you're on academic suspension. 

That means you're grounded, until the Academy board rules. 

MCCOY: 

Jim, the board'll rule in your favor. 

Most likely. Look, Jim, I got to go. 

KIRK: 

Yeah, get going. 

Be safe. 

OFFICER: 

Excuse me. 

KIRK: 

Yeah, yeah, sorry. 

MCCOY: 

....Dammit. Come with me. 

FEMALE ASSIGNER: 

...USS Neutral, 

Uhura, USS Farragut, 

Petroski, USS Antares. 

Go to your stations and good luck. 

(Gaila smiles wide past Uhura, who has a dour expression) 

KIRK: 

Bones, where are we going? 

MCCOY: 

You'll see. 

(they pass Uhura) 

[Medical Bay]

KIRK: 

What are you doing? 

MCCOY: 

I'm doing you a favor. 

I couldn't just leave you there looking all pathetic. 

Take a seat. I'm going to give you a vaccine against viral infection from Melvaran mud fleas. 

KIRK: 

Oww! What for? 

MCCOY: 

To give you the symptoms. 

KIRK: 

What are you talking about? 

MCCOY: 

You're going to start to lose vision in your left eye. 

KIRK: 

Yeah, I already have. 

MCCOY: 

Oh, and you're going to get a really bad headache and a flop sweat. 

KIRK: 

You call this a FAVOUR? 

MCCOY: 

Yeah, you owe me one.

[Hangar One]

MALE ASSIGNER: 

Kirk, James T. 

He's not cleared for duty aboard the Enterprise. 

MCCOY: 

Medical Code states the treatment and transport of a patient to be determined at the discretion of his attending physician, which is me. 

So, I'm taking Mister Kirk aboard. 

Or would you like to explain to Captain Pike why the Enterprise warped into a crisis without one of its senior medical officers? 

MALE ASSIGNER: 

As you were. 

KIRK: 

As you were. 

MCCOY: 

C'mon.

[Shuttlecraft Gilliam]

(as the shuttlecrafts head to their various ships, including the Enterprise) 

KIRK: 

I might throw up on you. 

MCCOY: 

Oh Jim, you got to look at this. 

Jim, look! 

KIRK: What? 

(they look out at Earth Spacedock and the massive Enterprise)

[Enterprise Shuttlebay]

MCCOY: 

We need to get you changed. 

KIRK: 

I don't feel right. 

I feel like I'm leaking. 

MCCOY:

Hell, it's that pointy-eared bastard. 

(Kirk and McCoy swerve to narrowly avoid being spotted by Spock. Spock enters a turbolift and arrives on the bridge)

[Sickbay]

KIRK: 

Where are we? 

MCCOY: 

Medical bay. 

KIRK: 

This is worth it. 

MCCOY: 

A little suffering's good for the soul. 

KIRK: (to a nurse) 

Hi, how are you. 

MCCOY: 

Over here. 

KIRK: 

My mouth is itchy, is that normal? 

MCCOY: 

Well, those symptoms won't last long. 

I'm going to give you a mild sedative. 

KIRK: 

Agh, I wish I didn't know you. 

MCCOY: 

Don't be such an infant. 

(he applies the sedative to Kirk) 

KIRK: 

Aggh... how long is it supposed to... 

(he falls unconscious) 

MCCOY: 

Unbelievable.

(Kirk awakes in front of the monitor) 

Kirk: 

Lightning storm! 

MCCOY: 

Uh, Jim, you're awake. 

How do you feel? 

KIRK: 

ah.. uh... 

MCCOY: 

Good god, man! 

KIRK: 

What? Ah! 

(His hands come into view, extremely swollen) 

KIRK: 

What the hell's this?! 

MCCOY: 

Reaction to the vaccine. 

Dammit! 

Nurse Chapel, I need fifty cc's of cortazone. 

CHAPEL: (offscreen) 

Yes, sir. 

(Kirk replays Chekov's message as McCoy scans Kirk) 

KIRK: 

Nice. We got to stop the ship!

[Corridor]

(Kirk and McCoy are frantically running through the corridors) 

MCCOY: 

Jim! I'm not kidding, we need to keep your heart rate down! 

KIRK: 

Computer, locate crew member Uhura! 

MCCOY: 

I haven't seen a reaction this severe since med school. 

KIRK: 

We're flying into a trap! 

MCCOY: 

Dammit Jim, stand still. 

(McCoy hypos Kirk in the neck) 

KIRK: 

Ow! Stop it! 

(Kirk runs and finds Uhura) 

KIRK: 

Uhura, Uhura. 

UHURA: 

Kirk, what are you doing here? 

KIRK: 

The transmission from the Klingon prison planet, what exactly was... 

UHURA: 

Oh my god, what's wrong with your hands?! 

(McCoy begins scanning Kirk again) 

KIRK:

It-it-it... look, who is responsible for the Klingon attack? 

Was the ship Romul... 

UHURA: 

Was the ship what? 

KIRK: (to McCoy) 

What's happening to my mouth? 

MCCOY: 

You got numb tongue? 

KIRK: (mumbled) 

Numb tongue! 

MCCOY: 

I can fix that! 

(McCoy briefly leaves) 

UHURA: 

Was the ship what? 

KIRK: (mumbled) Romulan! 

UHURA: What? 

KIRK: (mumbled, but clearer) Romulan 

UHURA:

Romulan? 

KIRK: (mumbled) 

Yeah 

UHURA: 

Yes. 

KIRK: (mumbled) 

Yes! 

(Kirk is hypoed again by McCoy) 

KIRK: (mumbled) 

Ahh... dammit! 

[Vulcan] 

(a massive drill platform is in the atmosphere, from the Narada. Amanda sees it from her home, just beyond the Vasquez Rocks)

[Narada Bridge]

AYEL: 

Lord Nero, seven Federation ships are on their way. 

[Enterprise Corridor] 

(Kirk, McCoy, and Uhura are now running through the corridors) 

MCCOY: 

Jim! 

UHURA: 

What's going on?! 

MCCOY: 

Jim, come back! 

UHURA: 

Kirk!

[Bridge]

KIRK: 

Captain! 

MCCOY: 

Jim, no! 

KIRK: 

Captain Pike, we have to stop the ship! 

PIKE:

Kirk, how the hell did you get on board the Enterprise! 

MCCOY: 

Captain, this man's under the influence of a severe reaction of a Melvaran flea vaccine, completely...

 

KIRK: 

Bones, Bones... 

MCCOY:

...delusional. 

I take full responsibility. 

KIRK: 

Vulcan is not experiencing a natural disaster. 

It's being attacked by Romulans.

 

PIKE: Romulans? Cadet Kirk, I think you've had enough attention for one day. McCoy take him back to medical, we'll have words later. 

MCCOY: Aye Captain. 

KIRK: Look, sir, that same anomaly... 

PIKE: Mister Kirk... 

SPOCK: Mister Kirk is not cleared to be aboard this vessel. 

KIRK: Look, I get it, you're a great orator. I'd love to do it again with you to. 

SPOCK: I can remove the Cadet... 

KIRK: Try it! This Cadet is trying to save the bridge. 

SPOCK: By recommending a full stop mid-warp during a rescue mission? 

KIRK: It's not a rescue mission, listen, it's an attack. 

SPOCK: Based on what facts? 

KIRK: That same anomaly, a lightning storm in space that we saw today, also occurred on the day of my birth. Before a Romulan ship attacked the USS Kelvin. (to Pike) You know that, sir, I read your dissertation. That ship which had formidable and advanced weaponry was never seen or heard from again. The Kelvin attack to place on the edge of Klingon space and at twenty-three hundred hours last night, there was an attack. Forty-seven Klingon warbirds destroyed by a Romulan, sir. It was reported that the Romulans were in one ship, one massive ship. 

PIKE: And you know of this Klingon attack how? 

UHURA: Sir, I intercepted and translated the message myself. Kirk's report is accurate. 

KIRK: We're warping into a trap, sir. The Romulans are waiting for us, I promise you that. 

SPOCK: The Cadet's logic is sound. And Lieutenant Uhura is unmatched in xenolinguistics, we would be wise to accept her conclusion. 

PIKE: Scan Vulcan space, check for any transmissions in Romulan. 

MALE LIEUTENANT: Sir, I'm not sure I can distinguish the Romulan language from Vulcan. 

PIKE: (to Uhura) What about you? Do you speak Romulan, Cadet? 

UHURA: Uhura. All three dialects, sir. 

PIKE: Uhura, relieve the lieutenant. 

UHURA: Yes sir. 

PIKE: Hannity, hail the USS Truman. 

HANNITY: All the other ships are out of warp, sir, and have arrived at Vulcan, but we seemed to have lost all contact. 

UHURA: Sir, I pick up no Romulan transmission, or transmission of any kind in the area. 

KIRK: It's because they're being attacked. 

PIKE: Shields up, red alert. 

SULU: Arrival in Vulcan in five seconds... four... three... two... 

(the arrive into a huge space battle) 

PIKE: Emergency evasive. 

OFFICER: Running sir. 

(bridge officers begin their reporting) 

PIKE: Damage report. 

OFFICER: Deflector shields are holding. 

PIKE: All stations. Engineer Olson, report. 

PIKE: Full reverse, come about starboard ninety degrees, drop us underneath and... 

(everyone is amazed at the massive Narada)

Tuvok and security arrive.)

NEELIX: 

Something's wrong with him. 

EMH:

Don't you know it's rude to refer to somebody in the third person. 

You had a choice, Mister Neelix. Should I do something rude or not do something rude? 

TUVOK: Doctor, we must return to Sickbay. 

EMH: Why should I? What if I don't want to return to Sickbay? What if I decide not to return to Sickbay? No, I don't choose this. Leave me alone! Let me go! Why did she have to die? Why did I kill her? Why did I decide to kill her? Why? Somebody tell me why!

[Computer control room]

JANEWAY: It was downhill from there. You developed a feedback loop between your ethical and cognitive subroutines. You were having the same thoughts over and over again. We couldn't stop it.     

TORRES: Our only option was to erase your memories of those events. 

EMH: You were right. I didn't deserve to keep those memories, not after what I did. 

JANEWAY: You were performing your duty. 

EMH: Two patients, which do I kill? 

JANEWAY: Doctor.     

EMH: Doctor? Hardly! A doctor retains his objectivity. I didn't do that, did I? Two patients, equal chances of survival and I chose the one I was closer to? I chose my friend? That's not in my programming! That's not what I was designed to do! Go ahead! Reprogramme me! I'll lend you a hand! Let's start with this very day, this hour, this second! 

JANEWAY: Computer, deactivate the EMH. 

TORRES: Here we go again. Captain? 

JANEWAY: It's as though there's a battle being fought inside him, between his original programming and what he's become. Our solution was to end that battle. What if we were wrong? 

TORRES: We've seen what happens to him. In fact, we've seen it twice. 

JANEWAY: Still, we allowed him to evolve, and at the first sign of trouble? We gave him a soul, B'Elanna. Do we have the right to take it away now? 

TORRES: We gave him personality subroutines. I'd hardly call that a soul.

[Cargo Bay two]

(Janeway brings Seven out of regeneration.)

SEVEN: Captain. 

JANEWAY: I'm having trouble with the nature of individuality. 

SEVEN: You require a philosophical discussion? 

JANEWAY: There's a time and a place for it. This is one of them. After I freed you from the Collective, you were transformed. It's been a difficult process. Was it worth it? 

SEVEN: I had no choice. 

JANEWAY; That's not what I asked you. 

SEVEN: If I could change what happened, erase what you did to me, would I? No.

Captain's log, supplemental. Our Doctor is now our patient. It's been two weeks since I've ordered a round the clock vigil. A crew member has stayed with him at all times, offering a sounding board and a familiar presence while he struggles to understand his memories and thoughts. The chance of recovery? Uncertain.

[Holodeck]

EMH: The more I think about it, the more I realise there's nothing I could've done differently. 

JANEWAY: What do you mean? 

EMH: The primordial atom burst, sending out its radiation, setting everything in motion. One particle collides with another, gases expand, planets contract, and before you know it we've got starships and holodecks and chicken soup. In fact, you can't help but have starships and holodecks and chicken soup, because it was all determined twenty billion years ago!  

(Tuvok enters during this outburst.)

TUVOK: There is a certain logic to your logic. Progress? 

JANEWAY: I'm not sure if he's making any sense of this experience, or if his programme's just running in circles. 

TUVOK: You've been here for sixteen hours. Let me continue while you rest. 

JANEWAY: I'll be all right. Go back to the bridge.  

(Tuvok leaves. Janeway returns to her book.)

EMH: How can you read at a time like this? 

JANEWAY: It helps me think. 

EMH: Think? What do you need to think about? 

JANEWAY: You. This book is relevant to your situation. 

EMH: Oh? What is it? 

JANEWAY: Poetry, written on Earth a thousand years ago. La Vita Nuova. 

EMH: La Vita Nuova. The New Life? Ha! Tell that to Ensign Jetal. Actually, I killed her countless times. 

JANEWAY: What do you mean? 

EMH: Causality, probability. For every action, there's an infinite number of reactions and in each one of them, I killed her. Or did I? Too many possibilities. Too many pathways for my programme to follow. Impossible to choose. Still, I can't live with the knowledge of what I've done. I can't. 

(Janeway has fallen asleep.)

EMH: Captain? Captain? 

JANEWAY: Oh, sorry. 

EMH: How could you sleep at a time like this? 

JANEWAY: It's been a long day. You were saying? 

EMH: What's wrong? 

JANEWAY: Nothing. 

EMH: You're ill! 

JANEWAY: I have a headache. 

EMH: Fever, you have a fever. 

JANEWAY: I'll live. 

EMH: Medical emergency! 

JANEWAY: Doctor. 

EMH: Someone's got to treat you immediately. Call Mister Paris. You've got to get to Sickbay. 

JANEWAY: Doctor, I'm a little busy right now, helping a friend. 

EMH: I, I'll be all right. Go, sleep, please. I'll still be here in the morning. 

JANEWAY: Are you sure? 

EMH: Yes. Please, I don't want to be responsible for any more suffering. 

(Janeway leave her book open at the first page.)

JANEWAY: Good night. If you need anything. 

EMH: I'll call. Thank you, Captain. (Janeway leaves. The EMH picks up the book and reads aloud.)

EMH: In that book which is my memory, on the first page of the chapter that is the day when I first met you, appear the words - Here begins a new life.

MY APPETITE KNOWS NO LIMITS

The lineage of the Patriarchs, not only defines the structure of the tree-of-life, but delineates a cleansing process, whereby the holy sparks of life were separated from the inherent evil inclinations with each generation. 

Ishmael was born first and received the brunt of any negativity Abraham had to pass on. 

Esau was born first and likewise received most of the negativity that Isaac had to pass on, which set up the dynamic of good vs evil between the two brothers 

Jacob and Esau.

20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.

23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

OF THE DARKENING OF VALINOR 

When Manwë heard of the ways that Melkor had taken, it seemed plain to him that he purposed to escape to his old strongholds in the north of Middle-earth; and Oromë and Tulkas went with all speed northward, seeking to overtake him if they might, but they found no trace or rumour of him beyond the shores of the Teleri, in the unpeopled wastes that drew near to the Ice. 

Thereafter the watch was redoubled along the northern fences of Aman; but to no purpose, for ere ever the pursuit set out Melkor had turned back, and in secrecy passed away far to the south. For he was yet as one of the Valar, and could change his form, or walk unclad, as could his brethren; though that power he was soon to lose for ever. 

Thus unseen he came at last to the dark region of Avathar. That narrow land lay south of the Bay of Eldamar, beneath the eastern feet of the Pelóri, and its long and mournful shores stretched away into the south, lightless and unexplored. There, beneath the sheer walls of the mountains and the cold dark sea, the shadows were deepest and thickest in the world; and there in Avathar, secret and unknown, Ungoliant had made her abode. 

The Eldar knew not whence she came; but some have said that in ages long before she descended from the darkness that lies about Arda, when Melkor first looked down in envy upon the Kingdom of Manwë, and that in the beginning she was one of those that he corrupted to his service. 

But she had disowned her Master, desiring to be mistress of her own lust, taking all things to herself to feed her emptiness; and she fled to the south, escaping the assaults of the Valar and the hunters of Oromë, for their vigilance had ever been to the north, and the south was long unheeded. 

Thence she had crept towards the light of the Blessed Realm; for she hungered for light and hated it. In a ravine she lived, and took shape as a spider of monstrous form, weaving her black webs in a cleft of the mountains. There she sucked up all light that she could find, and spun it forth again in dark nets of strangling gloom, until no light more could come to her abode; and she was famished. 

Now Melkor came to Avathar and sought her out; and he put on again the form that he had worn as the tyrant of Utumno: a dark Lord, tall and terrible. In that form he remained ever after. There in the black shadows, beyond the sight even of Manwë in his highest halls, Melkor with Ungoliant plotted his revenge. But when Ungoliant understood the purpose of Melkor, she was torn between lust and great fear; for she was loath to dare the perils of Aman and the power of the dreadful Lords, and she would not stir from her hiding. Therefore Melkor said to her: ‘Do as I bid; and if thou hunger still when all is done, then I will give thee whatsoever thy lust may demand. Yea, with both hands.’ Lightly he made this vow, as he ever did; and he laughed in his heart. Thus did the great thief set his lure for the lesser. A cloak of darkness she wove about them when Melkor and Ungoliant set forth: an Unlight, in which things seemed to be no more, and which eyes could not pierce, for it was void. Then slowly she wrought her webs: rope by rope from cleft to cleft, from jutting rock to pinnacle of stone, ever climbing upwards, crawling and clinging, until at last she reached the very summit of Hyarmentir, the highest mountain in that region of the world, far south of great Taniquetil. There the Valar were not vigilant; for west of the Pelóri was an empty land in twilight, and eastward the mountains looked out, save for forgotten Avathar, only upon the dim waters of the pathless sea. But now upon the mountain-top dark Ungoliant lay; and she made a ladder of woven ropes and cast it down, and Melkor climbed upon it and came to that high place, and stood beside her, looking down upon the Guarded Realm. Below them lay the woods of Oromë, and westward shimmered the fields and pastures of Yavanna, gold beneath the tall wheat of the gods. But Melkor looked north, and saw afar the shining plain, and the silver domes of Valmar gleaming in the mingling of the lights of Telperion and Laurelin. Then Melkor laughed aloud, and leapt swiftly down the long western slopes; and Ungoliant was at his side, and her darkness covered them. Now it was a time of festival, as Melkor knew well. Though all tides and seasons were at the will of the Valar, and in Valinor there was no winter of death, nonetheless they dwelt then in the Kingdom of Arda, and that was but a small realm in the halls of Eä, whose life is Time, which flows ever from the first note to the last chord of Eru. And even as it was then the delight of the Valar (as is told in the Ainulindalë) to clothe themselves as in a vesture in the forms of the Children of Ilúvatar, so also did they eat and drink, and gather the fruits of Yavanna from the Earth, which under Eru they had made. Therefore Yavanna set times for the flowering and the ripening of all things that grew in Valinor; and at each first gathering of fruits Manwë made a high feast for the praising of Eru, when all the peoples of Valinor poured forth their joy in music and song upon Taniquetil. This now was the hour, and Manwë decreed a feast more glorious than any that had been held since the coming of the Eldar to Aman. For though the escape of Melkor portended toils and sorrows to come, and indeed none could tell what further hurts would be done to Arda ere he could be subdued again, at this time Manwë designed to heal the evil that had arisen among the Noldor; and all were bidden to come to his halls upon Taniquetil, there to put aside the griefs that lay between their princes, and forget utterly the lies of their Enemy. There came the Vanyar, and there came the Noldor of Tirion, and the Maiar were gathered together, and the Valar were arrayed in their beauty and majesty; and they sang before Manwë and Varda in their lofty halls, or danced upon the green slopes of the Mountain that looked west towards the Trees. In that day the streets of Valmar were empty, and the stairs of Tirion were silent; and all the land lay sleeping in peace. Only the Teleri beyond the mountains still sang upon the shores of the sea; for they recked little of seasons or times, and gave no thought to the cares of the Rulers of Arda, or the shadow that had fallen on Valinor, for it had not touched them, as yet. One thing only marred the design of Manwë. Fëanor came indeed, for him alone Manwë had commanded to come; but Finwë came not, nor any others of the Noldor of Formenos. For said Finwë: ‘While the ban lasts upon Fëanor my son, that he may not go to Tirion, I hold myself unkinged, and I will not meet my people.’ And Fëanor came not in raiment of festival, and he wore no ornament, neither silver nor gold nor any gem; and he denied the sight of the Silmarils to the Valar and the Eldar, and left them locked in Formenos in their chamber of iron. Nevertheless he met Fingolfin before the throne of Manwë, and was reconciled, in word; and Fingolfin set at naught the unsheathing of the sword. For Fingolfin held forth his hand, saying: ‘As I promised, I do now. I release thee, and remember no grievance.’ Then Fëanor took his hand in silence; but Fingolfin said: ‘Half-brother in blood, full brother in heart will I be. Thou shalt lead and I will follow. May no new grief divide us.’ ‘I hear thee,’ said Fëanor. ‘So be it.’ But they did not know the meaning that their words would bear. It is told that even as Fëanor and Fingolfin stood before Manwë there came the mingling of the lights, when both Trees were shining, and the silent city of Valmar was filled with a radiance of silver and gold. And in that very hour Melkor and Ungoliant came hastening over the fields of Valinor, as the shadow of a black cloud upon the wind fleets over the sunlit earth; and they came before the green mound Ezellohar. Then the Unlight of Ungoliant rose up even to the roots of the Trees, and Melkor sprang upon the mound; and with his black spear he smote each Tree to its core, wounded them deep, and their sap poured forth as it were their blood, and was spilled upon the ground. But Ungoliant sucked it up, and going then from Tree to Tree she set her black beak to their wounds, till they were drained; and the poison of Death that was in her went into their tissues and withered them, root, branch, and leaf; and they died. 

And still she thirsted, and going to the Wells of Varda she drank them dry; but Ungoliant belched forth black vapours as she drank, and swelled to a shape so vast and hideous that Melkor was afraid. 

So the great darkness fell upon Valinor. Of the deeds of that day much is told in the Aldudénië, that Elemmírë of the Vanyar made and is known to all the Eldar. Yet no song or tale could contain all the grief and terror that then befell. The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than loss of light. 

In that hour was made a Darkness that seemed not lack but a thing with being of its own: for it was indeed made by malice out of Light, and it had power to pierce the eye, and to enter heart and mind, and strangle the very will. Varda looked down from Taniquetil, and beheld the Shadow soaring up in sudden towers of gloom; Valmar had foundered in a deep sea of night. Soon the Holy Mountain stood alone, a last island in a world that was drowned. All song ceased. There was silence in Valinor, and no sound could be heard, save only from afar there came on the wind through the pass of the mountains the wailing of the Teleri like the cold cry of gulls. For it blew chill from the East in that hour, and the vast shadows of the sea were rolled against the walls of the shore. But Manwë from his high seat looked out, and his eyes alone pierced through the night, until they saw a Darkness beyond dark which they could not penetrate, huge but far away, moving now northward with great speed; and he knew that Melkor had come and gone. Then the pursuit was begun; and the earth shook beneath the horses of the host of Oromë, and the fire that was stricken from the hooves of Nahar was the first light that returned to Valinor. But so soon as any came up with the Cloud of Ungoliant the riders of the Valar were blinded and dismayed, and they were scattered, and went they knew not whither; and the sound of the Valaróma faltered and failed. And Tulkas was as one caught in a black net at night, and he stood powerless and beat the air in vain. But when the Darkness had passed, it was too late: Melkor had gone whither he would, and his vengeance was achieved.

INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - LOBBY - DAY (1970)

The SEAL of the CIA:  
"You shall know The Truth 

and The Truth shall 

make you free." 
 We CRANE BACK, revealing that the seal is on the floor of the LOBBY as NIXON strides in with his ENTOURAGE.

LT. GENERAL ROBERT CUSHMAN hurries out, ruffled, to meet NIXON.

 CUSHMAN 
Mr. President, I don't know what to say. 
As soon as we learned from the Secret Service you were en route, the Director was notified. 
He should be here any minute.

 NIXON 
Where the hell is he?

 CUSHMAN 
Uh, he's rushing back from his tennis game, sir ...

 NIXON (impatient) 
So ... let's go ...

 CUSHMAN (walking with Nixon) 
He told me to take you to his conference room.

 NIXON 
No. His office. (aside) 
I want a very private conversation. 

I don't want to be bugged.

 CUSHMAN 

Then his office will be fine.

INT. OPERATIONS CENTER & HELM'S OFFICE - DAY

They walk past ANALYSTS laboring in isolation behind Plexiglass walls; the hum of computers, a dark austerity to the place. 
They all glance up as NIXON strides past.

 NIXON 
How's the job coming, Bob?

 CUSHMAN 
Frankly, sir, it stinks. I have no access. 

I'm lucky Helms lets me have a staff.

 NIXON (ominous) 
We'll see about that ...

 CUSHMAN (sensing change) 
He's nervous, sir. 

He's heard you're looking 

for a new director.

 NIXON 
Well, he certainly isn't acting like it.

 CUSHMAN 
That's Helms. He's "sang-froid," 

a world-class poker player.

 NIXON (under his breath) 
Yeah? Well, I own the fucking casino.

INT. HELMS OFFICE - DAY

A DUTY OFFICER opens the door 

of The Director's office with a flourish. 

NIXON catches RICHARD HELMS throwing 

his trench coat and tennis racket 

on a chair, obviously hurrying in 

from a secret door. 

Helms spots Nixon, extends his hand 

with a reptilian smile.

 HELMS 
I'm honored, Dick, that you've come 

all this way out here to Virginia 

to visit us at last.

 NIXON 
My friends call me "Mister President."

 HELMS 
And so shall I. 
(to Cushman) 
Arrange some coffee, would you General Cushman?

Cushman stares back a beat, bitterly. 
Nixon signals to Haldeman and Ehrlichman that he, too, wants to be alone. The door closes.

 NIXON 
Robert Cushman is a lieutenant general in the Marine Corps, the Deputy Director of the CIA ... and this is what you use him for?

 HELMS 
I didn't choose him as my deputy, Mr. President. You did.

Nixon paces the office, which is festooned with photos, awards and an abundance of flowers, particularly orchids. A collector.

 NIXON 
You live pretty well out here. Now I understand why you want to keep your budget classified.

Helms sits on a settee, a hard-to-read man.

 HELMS 
I suppose, "Mister President," you're unhappy that we have not implemented your Domestic Intelligence plan, but ...

NIXON 

You're correct. 

I'm concerned these students are being funded by foreign interests, whether they know it or not. 

The FBI is worthless in this area. 

I want your full concentration on this matter ...

HELMS 

Of course we've tried, but so far we've come up with nothing that ...

 NIXON (stern) 

Then find something. And I want these leaks stopped.

 Jack Anderson, the New York Times, the State Department -- 
I want to know who's talking to them.

 HELMS 
I'm sure you realize this is a very tricky area, Mr. President, given our charter and the congressional oversight committees ...

NIXON 

Screw congressional oversight. I know damn well, going back to the '50's, this agency reports what it wants, and buries what it doesn't want Congress to know. 
I pay close attention to this.

Nixon fixes him with his stare. 
Helms clears his throat.

 HELMS 

Is there something else that's bothering you, Mr. President?

 NIXON 

Yes ... It involves some old and forgotten papers. 

Things I signed as Vice President. 

I want the originals in my office and I don't want copies anywhere else.

Now knowing Nixon's cards, Helms relaxes -- about an inch.

 HELMS 
You're referring, of course, to chairing the Special Operations Group as Vice President.

 NIXON 
Yes ...

Helms wanders over to his prize orchids, fingers them.

HELMS 
As you know ... that was unique. Not so much an operation as much as ... an organic phenomenon. 

It grew, it changed shape, it developed ... appetites. 

(then) It's not uncommon in such cases that things are not committed to paper. 

That could be very ... embarrassing.

Nixon is embarrassed, and does not like it. 

Suddenly, The Beast is in the room.

 HELMS (CONT'D) (reminding him) 

I, for one, saw to it that my name was never connected to any of those operations.

On Nixon, waiting.

 HELMS (CONT'D) (fishing) 
Diem? Trujillo? Lumumba? Guatemala? Cuba? 
... It's a shame you didn't take similar precautions, Dick.

 NIXON (very uncomfortable) 
I'm interested in the documents that put your people together with 
... the others. All of them ...

A beat. This is the fastball. Helms pours himself a coffee.

 HELMS 
President Kennedy threatened to smash the CIA into a thousand pieces. 
You could do the same ...

 NIXON 
I'm not Jack Kennedy. 
Your agency is secure.

 HELMS (stirs the coffee) 
Not if I give you all the cards ...

 NIXON 
I promised the American people peace with honor in Southeast Asia. 
That could take time -- two, maybe three years 
... In the meantime, your agency will continue at current levels of funding.

 HELMS (sips his coffee) 
Current levels may not be sufficient.

 NIXON 
The President would support a reasonable request for an increase.

Helms smiles.

 HELMS 
And me? ...

 NIXON

Of course you'll continue as DCI, Dick -. 
You're doing a magnificent job.

 HELMS 
And of course I accept. I'm flattered. 
And I want you to know, I work for only one president at a time.

 NIXON 
Yes. And you will give General Cushman full access.

 HELMS (grudgingly accepts that) 
It will take a little time, but I'll order a search for your papers. 
Though it does raise a disturbing issue.

 NIXON 
What?

 HELMS 
Mr. Castro.

 NIXON (tense) 
Yes.

 HELMS 
We have recent intelligence that a Soviet nuclear submarine has docked at Cienfuegos.

 NIXON 
Well, we'll lodge a formal protest.

 HELMS
I don't think we can treat this as a formality. Mr. Kennedy made a verbal promise to the Russians not to invade Cuba. But you authorized Dr. Kissinger to put this in writing.

Nixon is taken aback by Helms's inside knowledge.

 NIXON 
Are you tapping Kissinger...?

 HELMS 

My job, unpleasant sometimes, is to know what others don't want me to know.

 NIXON (cold) 

Not if you have spies in the White House, it isn't your job.

 HELMS 

It is not my practice to spy on The President. Doctor Kissinger manages to convey his innermost secrets to the world at large on his own.

 NIXON (absorbs this) 
We’ve  lived with Communism in Cuba for ten years ...

 HELMS 
... But it has never been the policy of this government to accept that. 

And it is certainly not CIA policy.

 NIXON 

CIA policy? The CIA has no policy, Mr. Helms. 
Except what I dictate to you ... (beat, they stare at each other) 
I try to adjust to the world as it is today, not as you or I wanted it to be ten years ago.

HELMS 

Is that why you and Kissinger are negotiating with the Chinese?

A beat. Nixon stares.

 HELMS (CONT'D) 

This is an extremely dangerous direction, Mr. President. 

Terrible consequences can result from 

such enormous errors in judgement.

 NIXON 
But ... if we were able to separate China 

from Russia once and for all, we can -- 
we could create a balance of power 

that would secure the peace 

into the next century.

 HELMS 
By offering Cuba to the Russians as a consolation prize?

 NIXON 
Cuba would be a small price to pay.

 HELMS 
So President Kennedy thought.

A disturbing image suddenly appears in Nixon's mind -- KENNEDY with his head blown off in Dallas. 

Followed by an IMAGE of his own death. In a coffin.

The smell of the orchids in the room is overwhelming. 

Nixon feels himself dizzy.

NIXON 

I never thought Jack was ready for the presidency. 

But I would never, never consider ... (then) 

His death was awful, an awful thing for this country. 

(then) Do you ever think of Death, Dick?

HELMS 

Flowers are continual reminders of our mortality. 

Do you appreciate flowers?

 NIXON 
No. They make me sick. 
They smell like death ... I had two brothers die young. 

But let me tell you, 

there are worse things 

than Death. 
There is such a thing as Evil.

 HELMS 
You must be familiar with my favorite poem 

by Yeats? "The Second Coming"?

 NIXON 
No.

 HELMS 
Black Irishman. Very moving. 

"Turning and turning in the widening gyre,

The falcon cannot hear the falconer,

Things fall apart, 

The Centre cannot hold,

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

And everywhere, the ceremony 

of innocence is drowned,

The best lack all conviction, 

while the worst are full 

of passionate intensity" ... 

But it ends so beautifully ominous -- 

"What rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?" ... 

Yes -- This Country stands at such a juncture.