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The Age of Piety, or of the three sacrificial fires, is the state of innocence. The human race does not remain in it, but sinks down into sin. Thus, the Age of Piety descends to the Age of Sin. However, between the two lies the Age of Doubt. One can also make it through this stage. In general, it is said that since people do not become bad suddenly, but only successively, it is quite appropriate that a new age forces itself between the Age of Piety and that of Sin. This age represents the successive transition from piety to sin. But why must this age be specifically that of doubt? A text can be found to explain this. Many people who commit a sin begin by doubting that what they are about to do is a sin. For example, someone who steals often begins by telling himself that it is not sinful to appropriate the property of his fellow man. He convinces himself that he has this or that right to it, and therefore he wants to stand up for the right that others have no interest in representing. The inner judge calls out to him: "You are not on the right path," but the temptation to evil holds the opposing view. If the inner judge, the conscience, were not there, the idea that "I have a right to what I want to take" would step absolutely into the foreground. But now, where the inner judge asserts his right and temptation triumphs nonetheless, the absolute "I have a right to do as I do" is modified into: "I am not entirely right, but I am halfway right." This is precisely the doubt regarding the morality of one's actions: the doubt that precedes sin. Now, one might say that doubt, so conceived, is already sin. To stay with the previous example, one might say that whoever harbors a doubt about whether stealing from his fellow man is a sin is already deep in sin before he has even stolen. In this way, the doubt lying between piety and sin seems to stand on very weak legs. This is certainly correct. However, we do not wish to go that far. We want to defend the standpoints of the three last world ages and say that acting sinfully and wanting to act sinfully are two different things. Therefore, from an alchemical standpoint, it is justified for us to separate the doubt, which represents the will, and the sin, which represents the action, the fait accompli an accomplished fact. Thus we obtain three world ages: the Age of Piety, the Age of Doubt, and the Age of Sin.

But where is the first world age, that of Truth? We do not know. We do not know how we should employ utilize it. And so we do not know how the Indian World Ages are suited to be exploited in the sense of the problem of the progress from good to evil in the human race. We observe the fact that the archetype of the World Age doctrine resists being manipulated for that specific problem of progress. Given this state of affairs, which we pointed out above, the alchemists mystified the public by claiming the doctrine of world ages was intended to show us how humans were generally good and honest at first, then gradually became worse until they reached their current state of corruption. This state of affairs does not even constitute a finely crafted mystification. The last three world ages seem suited to support this smuggled-in doctrine, but anyone who opens their eyes even a little will soon see that they are left hanging in the air with the first world age. On that basis, the ground is pulled out from under all the world ages when interpreted in that sense.

From the alchemical standpoint, which alone is the correct one, the doctrine of the World Ages is as follows:
When it is said that this is the Age of Truth, Piety, Doubt, or Sin, it means that the human living in that respective age paid homage to truth, piety, doubt, or sin. This "human" is the generalized alchemical physician. The world ages in which he lives are the phases that the alchemical healing method undergoes at his hand, and the phases he undergoes in relation to the alchemical healing method. That these phases become world ages is simply the juxtaposition of alchemy against the world, which we already encounter in Indian cosmology, albeit in a different sense. In this relationship, the world ages are defined as follows:

1.) Age of Truth, Kritayuga or Satyayuga. In this phase, the alchemical physician finds the truth of the alchemical healing method: he discovers the Arcana secret, powerful remedies.

2.) Age of the Three Sacrificial Fires or of Piety, Tretayuga. In this phase, the physician enjoys what was found in the first phase: he utilizes the Arcana at the sickbed.

3.) Age of Doubt, Dvāparayuga. In this phase, doubt overcomes the alchemical physician as to whether he, by being an alchemical physician and not a physician who cures with meaningless herbs and charms, has chosen the best path. From the outset, one might say that if there are two physicians, one a real physician and the other a pseudo-physician, there is no doubt that the former is superior to the latter. But if one examines the matter closely, one sees that while this is a correct subjective judgment, it is not a correct objective judgment. The world cannot judge the quality of a physician. In the public's judgment, the superior person is not the one who is a good physician, but the one who appears to be a good physician. The one who is a pseudo-physician, and feels this most strongly within himself, does everything possible to maintain the appearance. In contrast, the one who feels himself to be a true physician all too easily disregards appearance. He neglects to practice the arts and considers it beneath his dignity to engage in the tricks that fascinate the public more than true cures, which the public is often unable to grasp. Thus, it happens that the charlatan often triumphs over the solid physician. Such triumphs of the pseudo-physician are sad experiences for the genuine physician, so sad that he says to himself: "What use is all my knowledge and skill if the world does not recognize it?" In saying this, doubt overcomes him as to whether he chose rightly in the first phase by taking the side of the physicians of action rather than the side of those who throw sand in people's eyes. This is the doubt phase of the alchemical healing method.

4.) Age of Sin, Kaliyuga. In this phase, the physician, who in the previous period still doubted whether he had chosen the right part, has become certain that by siding with the alchemical method, he did not choose the best part. Having reached this conclusion, he says: "Away with these Arcana! Why take an isolated stand against these pseudo-physicians where you too often come out on the losing end? Do what they do; the world is satisfied with that: what more do you want?" And so, the physician holds his magnificent remedies in his hand and does not use them. Instead of healing, he chatters and pursues other noble arts that throw sand in the public's eyes. Just as he was a son of piety in the second phase, where he utilized the Arcana at the sickbed, he is now a son of sin, having turned his back on them.

This is the interpretation of the four World Ages!
Once one understands the world ages in this view, one stands at the general viewpoint. Closely following this is a specific viewpoint, which lies in answering the question: How long did each world age last? In answering this question, we will immediately see how the qualitative standpoint regarding the four world ages organically links to the quantitative.

1.) Duration of the first world age. This age cannot be given too short a duration. Its duration must be prominent among all the world ages, for truly, the Arcana were not found so quickly; a considerable amount of time passed. By giving the first world age a prominent duration, it points to the fact that discovering the Arcana was a difficult thing. The Amrita nectar of immortality shakers A reference to the Hindu myth of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk to obtain the nectar of immortality.

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in the second Avatar incarnation of a deity shake for thousands of years before they reach their goal. This indicates that it was a difficult thing, a matter of long time, to discover the Arcana.

2.) Duration of the second world age. This age also cannot be given too short a duration, for it is obvious that the physician will not lightly give up in the second phase what he found with great effort in the first phase. The only question is, what lasted longer: the period of finding the Arcana, the period of their application at the sickbed, or the third phase when doubt arises? We think such a thing, taken abstractly, cannot be determined at all. However, the following calculation suggests itself. In the period of finding the Arcana, the situation of the physicians was much more laborious than in the second period. It is a much more convenient thing to apply the Arcana at the sickbed after they have been discovered than it is to discover them. The first age thus encompasses the more laborious time, one might say the time of tribulations. For those who lived before the time the goal was reached lived in the highly painful position of sensing the truth without achieving it, despite all their toil and effort. Their toil and efforts were nothing other than preparatory work for their descendants, of whom they did not even know if they would reach the goal. That was certainly a time of tribulations. If one considers that the time of tribulations has lead on its feet, whereas the time of easy living hurries along with winged shoes, one can have no hesitation in assigning the longest duration to the first world age, if not directly and quantitatively, then indirectly and qualitatively. By giving the second age a shorter duration than the first, it is indicated that the physician in the second world age has a much easier standpoint than in the first, and he should allow himself to be moved by this to remain in the second world age and not cross over into the third, that of doubt. What possesses you, you narrow-minded one, to move from the phase of piety into that of doubt? You are aggrieved by the world, which does not recognize your actions and work. Be aggrieved at yourself, at your selfishness. Do you make such a fuss if recognition is not immediately granted to you, which you think must be granted? How do you come to sit on such a high horse? Would you do that if the Arcana were yours? No, they are not yours; they belong to those who found them in the first world age, who enjoy the fruits of their diligence. If they were to sit on a high horse, it would be appropriate for them. But you, who are a simple imitator, what possesses you not to remain in the second age, not to stay true to piety, and to quietly apply the Arcana at the sickbed? Make the situation clear to yourself regarding the first and second world ages, and you will prevent the third world age.

3.) Duration of the third world age. Its duration is to be drawn shorter than that of the second world age. As soon as the physician falls from the second world age into the third, he gets onto a sloping path, and on such a path, a ball rolls faster. Thus, by drawing the third world age shorter than the second, the hint is given that the physician who leaves the second world age to enter the third gets onto a downward slope and leaves the path of right.

4.) Duration of the fourth world age. It is drawn as the shortest, and by being drawn as the shortest, the triumph of piety over sin is established. The perverse state of having the Arcana but not using them cannot and should not last long. Let it have the shortest duration of all world ages to push virtue to the foreground and vice to the background, in order to glorify the Arcana over the non-Arcana. The last world age will not last long; the physician will soon leave his perverse standpoint again to return to his Arcana.

By moving from the general standpoint of the world age doctrine to the specific standpoint

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and considering the duration of the world ages, specifically in such a way that:
the first world age is given the longest duration,
the second world age a shorter duration,
the third world age an even shorter duration,
and the fourth world age the absolute shortest duration,
one constructs an organic whole. The matter is not such that one makes a leap from one thing to another when moving from the world age doctrine in general to the duration of the world ages.

As soon as one is led from the world ages to their duration, it is also natural not to be satisfied with the general data—that this age lasted longer and that one shorter—but to approach the specific question: exactly how long did each individual world age last? In answering this question, we must approach the specific time duration of each individual world age. Determining this duration by months, weeks, days, and so forth would be too meticulous; the year suggests itself eo ipso by that very fact. By obtaining the year in this way, the key is given for how the Indians came to lean the originally given philosophical numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 against the year, and thus arrived at the expanded philosophical numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12.

To find out how many years each individual world age lasted, the Indians take the following path.
The philosophical numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 are simultaneously arcanological related to the secret chemistry of the Arcana numbers; the philosophical number 12 is not an arcanological number. Two groups of numbers are now established. In one group are the arcanological numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6; in the other group is the non-arcanological number 12. Both groups are then placed opposite each other for multiplication; that is, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 are successively multiplied by 12. Thus the following setup is made:

one obtains the products: 12, 24, 36, 48, 72. These numbers then give the years that each individual world age lasts. It would, of course, be too meticulous if the world ages were to last only 12, 24, 36, 48, or 72 years. So, on top of that, each individual number is multiplied by 100; that is, two cumulative zeros are appended to each. Thus one obtains the numbers: 1200, 2400, 3600, 4800, 7200.

It is now to be noted that there are only 4 world ages, or there should be only 4. Therefore, one of the five numbers we have just obtained must fall away. The number 7200 is dropped, specifically because the organic progression of the number sequence from 12 to 12 is disturbed in it, and would be even more disturbed if one kept it and dropped another number instead. We therefore only have to deal with 1200, 2400, 3600, 4800.

By assigning the number of years calculated here to the individual world ages, the longest is given the largest number, the less long the smaller number, and so on. And so it turns out:
The first world age lasts 4800 years,
the second " 3600 ",
the third " 2400 ",
the fourth " 1200 ".
And that is exactly the setup the Indians make for the duration of their world ages.
Regarding the fact that there are only four world ages, whereby the setup 6 . 12 falls away, we obtain the datum that in the calculation of the years for the duration of the world ages, the philosophical number 6 retreats into the background. To draw it indirectly back into the foreground, the second world age is that of the three sacrificial fires. This 3