Great Way of the Body
-Archetype Fourteen-

In the Law of One material, the archetypes form a fundamental part of understanding the structure and evolution of the mind, body, and spirit. The Great Way of the Body is the total environment within which the body evolves on its journey toward self-knowledge. It depicts the union of the conscious and unconscious body in perfect agreement, acting as one. Unlike the Transformation archetypes, which are brief and liminal, the Great Way is enduring: anyone who pursues inner evolution expresses it to some degree, and it remains active.

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Overview of the Archetype

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The Great Way of the Body is symbolized by an androgynous human figure with wings on their back and feet, standing facing to their left. The figure holds a silver cup in one hand and a gold cup in the other, pouring liquid from the silver into the gold. The figure is clad only in a sash draped over the left shoulder. Behind the figure’s head the sun shines, and above their head there is a tongue of fire.

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Symbolic Elements

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The Androgynous Figure and the Wings

The androgynous human figure represents a union of the conscious and unconscious body. The veil is not lifted in any special way; rather, the union represents perfect agreement between the two: they act as one. The wings on the back represent the wings of spirit. Note the resemblances between this image and the image for the Catalyst of the Mind: the unconscious mind holds a bird with wings in the same configuration and behind her head a sun shines. In both images the Logos informs and acts through the mind, opening the way for the flight of spirit. The wings signify the spirit’s incarnation into the physical world through its intimate contact with the mind. In this archetype we become angelic messengers rather than mere recipients of the message. The tongue of fire reiterates this same concept.

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The Winged Feet, Sash, and Cups

The winged feet, reminiscent of the Greek god Hermes, represent swift movement. This swiftness imparts a sense of urgency to the persona of this archetype, arising from the brevity of human life. The sash is the protection the archetype enjoys. In this image it is minimal and heavier on the left side. Vulnerability is one of the dominant features of the right-hand path in the body cycle. The right and left hands of the unified body are the conscious body and the unconscious body. The liquid poured from one cup to the other represents the stream of psychic energy. Coming from the silver cup, it has the characteristics of the mental states of the unconscious mind: emotion, image, and holistic concept. The pouring of the liquid represents the refinement and purification of crude and destructive desires and emotions into subtle and healthy emotional states. This purification happens because these energies have entered into the manifest reality and all the various consequences of these energies have played out.

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Functions and Dynamics

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The Great Way of the Body shows the inescapable nature of inner evolution for the body. The Fool, having developed critical distance from the Significator, can now identify with a different Significator. This capacity extends free will beyond mere articulation of the existing Significator; the Significator can become something different entirely. The Great Way is dependent upon its notable difference from the Significator because the veiling process has created a new architecture of the body within which choice is possible. The Alchemist is the persona of this archetype. Ra, when asked why the archetype is called “The Alchemist,” replies that one may see the body as providing the athanor through which the alchemist manifests gold. An athanor is an oven used by alchemists to accomplish the transmutation of lead into gold.

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The Role of Catalysts

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Catalysts continue to arise within the environment of the Great Way. The pouring of the liquid from silver to gold shows the refinement of energies that have already entered the manifest reality. Each choice of polarity reinforces and powers the last, carving a pathway that makes subsequent steps along the same path more likely. The winged feet indicate that forward motion occurs with a sense of urgency arising from the brevity of life. After each transformation the body rests, observes, and becomes familiar with the new configuration of the Significator before the next opportunity for critical distance arises.

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Veiling and Unveiling

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The veil between conscious and unconscious body remains present, yet the structure of the Great Way shows that the two act as one when they are in perfect agreement. The sash is minimal, indicating that vulnerability is characteristic of the right-hand path. The sun behind the head and the tongue of fire above show the Logos informing and acting through the body, opening the way for the flight of spirit. Unveiling occurs as the stream of psychic energy is refined through the consequences that have already played out in the physical world.

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Polarity and Balance

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On the right-hand path the body submits itself to the greater authority of the spirit, allowing the spirit to draw the body forward. On the left-hand path the body subjugates the spirit to its own authority, moving forward on willpower alone. The Alchemist has a clear sense of what is wanted and who is. There is no internal conflict; all inner resources are oriented in the same direction. This harmonic orientation is what gives the Alchemist strength. Choosing a morally polarized path is self-reinforcing: when the conscious body chooses to see the unconscious body according to a pure polarized ideal, the unconscious body responds with evidence that affirms that ideal, deepening the groove of the chosen path.

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Integration and Transformation

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The Great Way does not replace the Lesser Cycle; it provides the larger environment within which the Lesser Cycle continues. After each Transformation the body rests, observes, and becomes familiar with the new configuration of the Significator before the next opportunity for critical distance arises. The stop-and-go motion of the winged feet makes this alternation visible. Anyone who embraces and pursues inner evolution expresses the Great Way to some degree; when expressed purely and without significant distortion, it remains active. The body provides the athanor through which the alchemist manifests gold—the refinement of the energies of the body complex into a more polarized form.

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Practical Application

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In practical terms, working with the Great Way of the Body involves recognizing that the environment of the body is always present and that choices of polarity carve pathways that reinforce themselves. Meditation and body-awareness practices can reveal when the conscious and unconscious body are acting in agreement and when they are not. The work is not to force a final state but to notice the stream of psychic energy as it is refined through the consequences that have already played out and to align the body with the covenant of spirit so that forward motion continues with the urgency that arises from the brevity of life.

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Summary

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The Great Way of the Body is the total environment within which the body evolves toward self-knowledge. Through its symbolism of the androgynous figure with wings, the pouring of liquid from silver to gold, the minimal sash, and the sun and tongue of fire, it shows how the conscious and unconscious body may act as one, how psychic energy is refined through the consequences of manifestation, and how the spirit incarnates into the physical world through intimate contact with the mind. This archetype guides the seeker to recognize the enduring nature of inner evolution, to observe the self-reinforcing pathways carved by prior choices, and to allow the Alchemist within to guide the body forward in alignment with the spirit.