Now Cepheus and Cassiopeia are monarchs of mythical Aethiopia, which is various places for different Greek writers ranging anywhere from Ethiopia, to the Nile region, even to Israel and Syria. It is best to think of this as a mythopoeic mystery-land; but the chief characteristics are ancient humans with dark complexion. In Ethiopia is the Omo River Gorge, site of the oldest human bones… not far from the Old Duvai River gorge, site of the second oldest human bones. Egypt, land of the Nile is known as the Black Land because of the dark fertile soil of the river delta, washed down from the high-country of ancient Africa every Spring. The root-word of Alchemy (Khem, from Al + Khem) refers to the Blackness of the bottom-land soil. So the soil is black and the inhabitants are black-skinned and many of the gods and goddesses are black (such as Isis, the Black; relating to the Subconscious).

Let us now examine the aspects of this ‘Black Land’. As noted, the human race evolved from the first humans on the continent of Mother Africa. Needless to say this means that this is the region of the oldest humanity anywhere around. We find that in and around such ancient ‘burial grounds’, there are a lot of souls and a lot of blood entered into the ground. We have not covered another of Zeus’s brothers yet, that being Hades; ruler of the Underworld, so we shall leave off a great deal of discussion about the ground, except to say that over time the deposition of organic matter builds up making the soil deeper and richer. So we are dealing then with Old Soil. Old Soil is richer in diversity and contains more molds, spores and bacteria, as well as other soil-workers: worms, ants, grubs and a wide assortment of larvae. We don’t have time to consider the wonderful contribution of African Ants, but we are interested mainly here with the worms, grubs and ‘larvae’. In addition to the multitude of souls roaming about, we see a greater number of Astral larvae, thriving in the moist detritus of history; teeming with hatchlings in the tropical heat and humidity. In tropical conditions we also find rapid corruption and decay. Taken as a whole the Astral fertility is understandably conducive to the widespread psychic practices and voodoo typically performed here. While much of it is malevolent  such as spells, bindings, afflictions and curses, at least an equal amount would necessarily be protective; and rightly so. Disease is often epidemic in such regions so there is much curative magic and healing; both psychically and physically. Herbs and roots are used both to heal and to harm. All this is carried downstream and deposited along a river delta and piled into the alluvium in deep thick layers with the sediments. The Nile River is the world’s longest and picks up all the effluents of ancient humanity along the way. By the time it reaches Egypt the inhabitants there are paranoid and xenophobic about what it has in it. Therefore a great portion of Egyptian Religious Magic is concerned with the preservation (mummification) of the Astral Body and Moral Cleanliness. In the regions of Africa, where the Land meets the Sea (Where the ‘terrestrial’ Psyche meets the Depths of the Subconscious), there is considerable fright and superstition. Though the Coastal Regions are fabulously wealthy both in Gold and Diamonds, there is a Great Intermingling of Dwellers; both human and haunted. We might say that Psycho-Spiritual Ecology is greater in the Humus.

   Lest anybody become too glib here, let it be remembered that a goodly portion of the ancient African Sub-continent is imbedded into parts of North Carolina, remnants of Gondwanaland.

Here then, is the situation we discover when addressing the mythopoeic sea-coast of Aethiopia. As noted the tropics are conducive to rapid corruption and Cassiopeia was both arrogant and vain. This means that The vices of Kingship (usually defined as ‘conceit’) were present in the Soul of the Ruler; as present in his ‘consort’ Cassiopeia. Cepheus himself was merely mimicking the role of Ruler as he is universally depicted as clad in the garment of tragic actor; thereby empowering his charade as virulent King via his beautiful trophy-wife, Cassiopeia. His character is shallow and his prop is arrogant and vain.

   It is usually contingent upon a true Leader and King to have traversed Lands as well as the Oceans (a la the Sun) thereby earning the  right to rule both the Life and the Vehicle, and a good familiarity with the Subconscious Psyche is a big part of this.  Thus, Cepheus having done none of this and possessing a false character, propped up by a Soul who is character-deficient (his superficial wife who is inwardly repulsive) succeeds in angering the tempestuous King of the Subconscious Deep (related to the Gentleman who always tells the Truth) when she boasts that her daughter (her offspring; the issue of her inner feelings: thoughts) is more beautiful than the ‘guardian angels’ of the sea-faring professionals; true navigators of the swirling sea (Nereids).

This digression has been necessary to set the stage for the entrance of Andromeda, herself.

Now an inundation or a deluge relates to being swamped by the inexorable tides of one’s malpractice; in this case deception, unfitness and the paranoia that goes with it. And the Subconscious, thus primed, sent a subliminal monster to fan the tempest against the haunted coastline of the usurped kingdom of mythical Aethiopia. Not knowing himself how to rule the context, he and his vain Soul-mate consulted an Oracle of Ammon (Ammon-Ra: the Sun King! Of all things: Sphere of the Sun, seat of Kingly legitimacy and the  Sephirah of True Beauty!!!).  Vanity, anticipating an impending cataclysm, projected the cowardly answer of sacrificing her daughter, rather than herself, in atonement for her error. However, as she had projected this solution in concert with the Divine Oracle of Golden Light (through her reflection in the Golden Sun-disk of Ra), succeeded in revealing the one solution which would save her and her husband from being pummeled by the Dragon: the sacrifice of her Beautiful Daughter, which is really her vain thoughts and conceited feelings.

   In this light, a very spagyric process begins to take place. As Cassiopeia prepares for katharsis by the sacrifice of her arrogance and vanity; she strips her Beautiful Daughter bare and chains her to a rock in the Ocean. Removing the outer garments signifies that her Thoughts and Feelings (Daughter) are True and undisguised (Her soul is laid bare). Since it is the nature of the Intellect to take flight, or become ‘volatile’ (escape mechanism) it is necessary to prevent this until such time as the Alchemical process has run its course.  In this case, the Alchemical Process is Precipitatio: the volatized Truth of Atonement is being precipitated into a salt (which will ‘fix’ it ) until it can be digested by the Dragon of the Deep (the Entity of the Sub-Conscious Psyche) which acting as a Medicine will cure her anxieties as well as atone for her vices via sacrifice.

   The precipitation is brought about Spagyrically, the condition having been treated by the reagent of fermentation: Poseidon’s anger (the Subconscious Deep) which rendered the subjects reactive (acidified: the strong ‘waters’ of vinegar) until the alkali can be titrated- in (Spirit; via blood -of the sacrificial lamb-blood is slightly alkaline), thereby precipitating out the salt; Rectifying the vices (Rectificio), leaving the waters clear and sediment-free. In the realm of Nature, it is beneficial for the Sea to remain always tempestuous, as the constant stirring keeps it anti-mephitic (see Mephisto), but in the Art it is done safely. The operation is Spagyric because we are dealing with the Soul of the King (his mate) and not the King, himself, which would be metallic.

Now that things have been brought into proper Harmony through Alchemical Process (Harmony is also a feature of Tiphareth, the Sun), a very marvelous thing occurs. Perseus the pursuer just happens by and notices what a ravishing beauty this unadorned Truth is, affixed into Spiritual Medicine, amidst all the trappings of a Heroic Rescue (with himself as the Archetype). This is a Grand Demonstration of Spiritual Synchronicity (Divine Intervention and Connection with respect to Time and Place): all the conditions are present in their completeness. All that Perseus had to do was to show up.

   Fresh from his victory over the Gorgon Medusa and doubtless feeling confident, he stuns the Dragon of Psychic Hubris with the face of inner ugliness, severed from the mortal Medusa inside the cave of her subterranean interior, which she was incubating with her hurt feelings for being victimized and shamed. Like, in this case, acting upon like and affecting a cure: venom into anti-venom.

   The Magical Hero then weds the Rectified Truth.  Much more could be said about the Gorgon, etc. for example how two drops of the Blood fell into the Earth. From which sprang Pegasus the Magical and Perseus (by another name: Bellerophon) the tragic mortal; and having no horse to offer Polydectes with which to save his Mother Danae, Pegasus the Spirit allowed the mortal to capture him but in the tragic attempt to ascend to godliness the mortal part of himself died in sacrifice so that his Magic Spirit could complete the journey (thereby reciprocating the Winged Horse’s earlier sacrifice) and attain immortality; thence he became a constellation.