The Magi who were featured in the story of Jesus were probably not completely Zoroastrian. As the Zoroastrian faith, and the Persian empire, expanded westward into the territory of Media, the priests of an extremely ancient religion, the Magi, adopted themselves into Zoroastrianism, though not without major social upheavals. The general scholarly opinion is that these priests of the old Indo-Iranian faith, which Zarathustra preached
against in the
Gathas, re-adapted many practices of the old religion back into the faith - such as reverence for subordinate divinities, the haoma - sacrifice, and purity rituals. [..]
What, then, were the Magi searching for in the story of the birth of Jesus recounted by Fulcanelli as a clue to the alchemical transformation?
When we look into the matter of Zoroastrian mysticism - the Magian influence from the more ancient sources - we find that it posits individuals who have had a direct experience of the Deity, or God. Such individuals live their lives in the presence of God, a God to which the mystic relates as a Beloved as well as a Source of Wisdom. This Zoroastrian mysticism is
rationally tested but transcends any rational explanation.
Some of the basic results of such a mystical life are: a powerful sense of a divine Presence, with which one can engage in inner dialogue and prayer, the loving and friendly quality of that Presence, the
increase in intelligence and alertness it brings - which is often related to a concept of God as Divine Wisdom - a feeling of happiness and peace, and, as a sign, the inner perception of brilliant light - a STAR.
These experiences certainly can be counterfeited, by various mind- altering techniques of drugs, but
the true experience can be measured by its power to bring about personal and moral transformation towards what is good and constructive - what Zoroastrians call the path of ASHA, or Righteousness.
The Gathas of Zarathustra show that their author, is speaking from just such an authentic mystical experience. These mystical experiences are easily describable in Zoroastrian terms. The mystical perception of God in the "inner eye" or "imagination", the mystical Light, the sense of divine Wisdom, the love between God and human, the infusion of virtue, courage, and perseverence - all these basic factors clearly exist in the Gathas. In the Gathas (and other texts) mysticism is hidden in plain sight.
In Zarathustra's Gathas, Yasna 28, the first song of the Gathas, verse 28,2 Zarathustra speaks of the mystical means of that relationship, how it comes about: "Wise God, I approach you through
good mind..." (234: Jafarey translation)
The simple phrase "through good mind," speaks of a high level of mystical experience. S. Insler, another modern translator of the Gathas, translates
vohu manah, the original Avestan, as "Good Thinking;" but this misses the point of the Prophet's mystical way. Good Thinking is a human virtue, and approaching God through good thinking is something a non-mystical liberal Protestant or rationalist humanist would say. It is far more than "good thinking" to Zarathustra. Good Mind is a living emanation of the Wise Lord.
To approach ("be encircled by" in literal translation) Good Mind is to achieve communion, through the mind, with the Divine Mind, or Divine Intelligence. It is a sharing of the divine Mind through the cooperation of human mind and Divine communication. Through this union of minds comes perception of divine information, the laws of humanity and nature - perception of ASHA.
Eugene Canseliet write in his Preface to the second edition of Fulcanelli's Alchemical Masterpiece,
The Dwellings of the Philosophers
According to the meaning of the Latin word adeptus, the alchemist has then received the Gift of God, or even better, the Present, a cabalistic pun on the double meaning of the word, underlining that he thus enjoys the infinite duration of the Now. [...] 'In the Kingdom of Sulpur there exists a Mirror in which the entire World can be seen. Whosoever looks into this Mirror can see and learn the three parts of Wisdom of the entire World.
This is what Fulcanelli means by the Star that heralds the birth of the Christ within.