According to the ancient Roman mythology, there was a period
in the history of mankind when nature provided freely and harmony prevailed. This
was known as the Golden Age. When man discovered real gold, the era of harmony ended. Mankind deteriorated because of greed and people started killing
each other. The Silver, Bronze and Iron Ages (present era) followed. Ironically,
the Golden Age was characterised by the absence of gold whilst the discovery of
actual gold meant the end of the Golden Age.
Two things come to mind when I consider the symbolism of
gold: value and purity. When someone has an intrinsically good character we say
that she has a heart of gold. When man discovered gold outside of him, he was
so mesmerised by its beauty that he wanted to possess it. This gave rise to
corruption. Man’s soul turned black because of his need to be in possession of
something that didn’t belong to him.
Before the arrival of greed, the earth was a garden of
harmony. Gold was within the earth, which produced all we needed to keep us
happy. The test that the discovery of gold posed was whether man could remember
that value was within. When we appreciate the beauty of something, it leaves
its footprint in our heart. The fact that we can see it and understand its
value means that it is inside us also. If we recognise the earth as our
paradise then we would not need to take forcefully from her because she is part
of us.
The advent of consciousness also introduced the potential vice of
cunning. The message of gold is that we should use our intelligence wisely: to
heal and not to destroy. If we do, the earth will become our paradise once more
and life will be a wonder.
Alchemy is the art of turning lead into gold. If we change
all our bad ideas about who we are, we can return to a state of purity,
reversing the blackness that came about by our need to possess. On the positive
side, our relationship with gold was one of love to start with. If we realise
that love is free and natural and we don’t need anything to experience it, we
can transform our relationship with money. Then we will live in harmony with
each other and the earth once more.
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