Daily Meditation: Sunday, August 20, 2023

Parable of the Prodigal Son - departure and return

08/20/2023

You know the parable of the prodigal son* who left his father’s house to go in search of adventure in the world and who, having encountered only trials and disappointment, returned at last to his father’s house. All the sacred books contain images and stories that illustrate this twofold process: departure and return, involution and evolution. And when alchemists speak of the two operations, ‘solve’ and ‘coagula’, they are presenting the same process in another way. Nature itself speaks to us of this. You can look up and see clear blue skies and a moment later it is as though a veil were drawn across the sky. The water vapour in the atmosphere condenses and forms clouds, and in a little while the clouds disappear and the sky is blue again. Everywhere throughout the universe you can see this phenomenon of alternation between appearance and disappearance, birth and death, creation and the return to nothingness. It is a message from nature, an invitation to disciples to reflect and understand.