Mold-Crystal Dichotomy
I have a belief that is very close to my heart. It's not something I really share with strangers, acquaintances or even friends. I only tell it to those closest to me or those who I feel could actually understand it, but nevertheless I feel the desire to write about it here now.
It's my belief that fungus, specifically mold, is demonic in nature. Conversely, I also think that crystals are angelic in nature. Why do I believe this? When you look at the property of these two things completely open-mindedly and without any prejudice (i.e. mushrooms are food they can't be evil) it becomes quite clear what their nature is.
Fungus, as mushrooms or truffle, is used culinarily the same way that most vegetables and fruits are. This, I think, leads people to mistakenly associate it with plant life, like fruits and vegetables. This is a misconception, as fungus is nothing like those. Most plants reproduce through seeds, which are created by the plant and encased within a fruit, flower or other seed-bearing structures created by the plant. These seeds go into the ground and through photosynthesis (getting solar energy) the plant grows and repeats the process. Fungus are unique in the sense that they don't really reproduce. They don't create seeds or offspring. They clone themselves by making spores. In a way, fungus often seems to come from nothing. It seems to appear from the aether, attracted by death and decay, where it thrives. Fungus does not grow by the process of photosynthesis. In fact, sunlight can damage spores. The way fungus lives is by keeping to the dark and the way it grows is by consuming, not energy from the sun, but by consuming death.
Fungus are decomposers. Many insects are also decomposers but these animals, like earth worms, are alive and reproduce in the same way most animals do. Fungus, again, do not reproduce but clone themselves with spores. Many fungus, like most mold and many varieties of mushroom, are toxic. Even breathing in the spores and gas released by some mold can be life threatening. Mold is black and dry, it is cracked and hides with the dark crevices of homes or feeds on the death and decay of insects carcasses.
If fungus were to be compared to a type of being, what would its attributes be? Physically repulsive, harmful, feeding on death and rot and emerging from the nothing, the aether, the veil beyond this world, in order to grow rapidly by forming a parasitic relationship with a dying life. The demonic quickly and unmistakably comes to mind.
I once ate pasta that had mold growing on it. I had cooked spaghetti and eaten it with a truffle alfredo sauce that was in the kitchen. Only after I ate the cooked spaghetti in fungus sauce is when I looked in the box and saw the mold on the uncooked portion. I became violently ill and felt extremely dissociated from reality. That night, I had negative dreams about mold spreading and covering my neighborhood. For the next few weeks, everything I touched began to mold rapidly. Ever since then I have been against the consumption of anything with mold on it, or any fungus at all.
I believe that fungus has psychedelic properties, even common mushrooms that are eaten by most people every day and not just the "magic mushroom" species that get traded around in drug circles. The spores of fungus are able to stay alive for an extremely long period of time, that's why it appears that they often come from nothing. I think it's entirely possible that the spores from fungus you eat or are in close proximity to remain and propagate in your body for long periods of time. I think I could have effects on the brain, similar to frequent drug use.
Contrast this with crystals. I know far less about them that I do about fungus, but I do know that they are visually appealing. I know many people claim that they have healing properties or can boost spiritual energy. Crystals, I believe, are tools of light. Though they don't require sunlight to form, they are often transparent or at least translucent. The phrase "crystal clear" is an example of this.
Another interesting thing about crystals is their relationship to ancient alchemy. Alchemy is often portrayed by stupid people as a pseudoscience or something crazy people did back in the Middle Ages that is akin to bloodletting and has been replaced by chemistry and physics...the REAL sciences. But in actuality, alchemy was simply the blend of spiritualism, symbology and chemistry. Elements, chemicals, compounds and their natures were all observed and categorized not only independently but also as they corresponded to the spiritual world.
The "philosopher's stone" was a material sought after by many alchemists of the Middle Ages. It was a mysterious and hypothetical substance that could turn other substances into gold and provide the user with eternal life, or some sort of energy boost. It was, obviously, never discovered and is now spoken about very little, only in the realm of myth.
Recently I was reading, and I came across something that interested me. There is an old alchemical acronym: V.I.T.R.I.O.L, which means Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem or in English, Visit the Interior of the Earth; by Rectification thou shalt Find the Hidden Stone. The "hidden stone" could potentially mean the "philosopher's stone". Interestingly enough, vitriol is also a word for a group of chemical compounds. The sulfates of two metals. They are copper sulfate (blue vitriol) and iron sulfate (green vitriol). They both form crystalline compounds and are both used as fungicides. Interesting stuff. Of course, the "philosopher's stone" of legend had to go through many other processes from its base form to become the substance that can turn metal to gold. So who knows if this means anything really? It probably doesn't, but it's neat to read about.