Alchemists and other philosophers of the natural and esoteric sciences recited a mantra: Ora et Labora – Pray & Work. They believed that for the success of their work it was necessary to acknowledge and affirm their relatedness with the Soul of the Universe through special hermetic prayers.

This prayer written by a German adept whose name is not known was reprinted in Manly Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages:

O holy and hallowed Trinity, Thou undivided and triple Unity! Cause me to sink into the abyss of Thy limitless eternal Fire, for only in that Fire can the mortal nature of man be changed into humble dust, while the new body of the salt union lies in the light. Oh, melt me and transmute me in this Thy holy Fire, so that on the day at Thy command the fiery waters of the Holy Spirit draw me out from the dark dust, giving me new birth and making me alive with His breath. May I also be exalted through the humble humility of Thy Son, rising through His assistance out of the dust and ashes and changing into a pure spiritual body of rainbow colors like unto the transparent, crystal-like, paradisiacal gold, that my own nature may be redeemed and purified like the elements before me in these glasses and bottles. Diffuse me in the waters of life as though I were in the wine cellar of the eternal Solomon. Here the fire of Thy love will receive new fuel and will blaze forth so that no streams can extinguish it. Through the aid of this divine fire, may I in the end be found worthy to be called into the illumination of the righteous. May I then be sealed up with the light of the new world that I may also attain unto the immortality and glory where there shall be no more alternation of light and darkness. Amen.

The prayer still resonates today hundreds of years later as an affirmation of our connectedness with the Cosmos.

The image is a famous European alchemy woodcut of an esoteric mandala designed by Hienrich Khunrath, an alchemical adept. It includes elements of an alchemical laboratory. The alchemist kneels in prayer before beginning his work. In the smoke from the censor in Latin text are the words: “ascending smoke, sacrificial speech acceptable to God.”

I abandon myself to a life that emerges by following the messages from the Source of All Things.

I understand the fears I experience

Are created by me,

And now I see them

As challenges

And opportunities for learning.

I am a worthy person

And deserve all the

Support, love and abundance

The Universe gives me every day.

I am capable of fulfilling

The responsibility that comes

With accepting my worthiness

And living beyond my fears.

I abandon myself with love and trust

To You, the Source of All Things,

So your purpose can be realized by my life.

Guided by your will, I gratefully and with compassion,

Embrace and elevate this world and all living beings in it.

Nature, my Mother, my Father, hear me. I want to stand with you on the edge of the World each day as it continually comes into existence. There remains much work for me to first do within myself, of this I am aware, but this desire to feel your presence burns as an eternal flame in my soul.

Nature, my Mother, my Father, see me. This Flame of Desire moves me during the day, takes me to new heights and depths during the night then calls me back to your embrace in the dawn of the Sun’s rising. Each day I seek and learn more from watching and being with you.

Nature, my Mother, my Father, touch me. Stir me with the sounds of laughter and love of my sisters and brothers. Caress me with your breath as it stirs the leaves of the trees. Move me with the coming and goings of all your creatures, large and small. Thrill me with the birthing and blossoming that surrounds me. Take my hand, show me the way to be and what to do so that I may do my part to bring your Divine Dream into reality.