Alchemists covet Prima Materia or First Matter because this substance is the expression of life force from which everything that exists emerges. The first step in the Great Work is to find First Matter and use it to perfect oneself and other substances. Because everything comes from First Matter, which has been acted upon by the ultimate Source, alchemists believe it is everywhere, manifested in everything. Yet, because it is not understood, it is overlooked, discarded, not valued. The secret is how to recognize it and use it for perfection.

While working with my perennial beds last week, I rearranged one that was left with only a few tulip bulbs last fall. One red tulip had already broken the surface of the soil and blossomed. Single mindedly working the bed which will not have tulips this year, I pulled the tulip out breaking its stem away from its bulb of roots and tossed it aside. When my landscaping work was done for the day, I reached for the discarded tulip to throw it away with leaves, stones and branches but felt an impetus to stick it on top of a large pile of new top soil in the front yard. The sight brought a smile to my lips because the foot tall tulip seemed so incongruous sitting on top of this pile as if it had somehow grown out of it and I relished the thought of neighbors driving by and wondering what it was doing there. The next morning, the tulip was still standing tall and straight as if it belonged there! Fully expecting it to be falling over with its petals scattered, I took a picture of it to add to my collection of before and after photos of the yard. Each morning for the past five days, the tulip has stood straight and tall showing off its vibrant red petals seemingly nourished by only one brief rain fall and some water from me when I moved it to another part of the bed to do some more landscaping work.

This tulip has become an expression of First Matter for me, a reminder that the life force from which we have all come and still connects us is manifested in front of our eyes every day in many, many different ways. It is an abundant gift if we understand it and then see it because from it comes the energy to grow, change, accept, perfect the matter – what matters – in our lives.