Spiritual Alchemy Psychospiritual Alchemy (The following is a partial chapter from my forthcoming book The Inner Light: Self-Realization via the Western Esoteric Tradition (Axis Mundi Books, March 2014), and available now on Amazon. Introduction to Psycho-Spiritual Alchemy Aurum nostrum non est aurum vulgi (our gold is not ordinary gold). —Gerhard Dorn The key to alchemy is found in the word transmutation, a word that in its original Latin meaning refers to total change. Spiritual alchemy is concerned with the transmutation of the personality and its structures, so as to allow for the light of unobstructed consciousness and pure Being to be directly known. The main difference between spiritual alchemy and alchemy as merely a primitive proto-science—the supposed precursor of modern chemistry—is that the former involves an interdependent relationship between the subject (self) and the object (all that is not-self). Background The Inner Science of Alchemy: the Philosopher’s Stone and Gold The Materia Prima and Solve et Coagula 1. 2. 3.
Psychic and Spiritual Alchemy There have always been two conceptions of alchemy: As a materialistic transformation of baser metals into gold or silver The spiritual transformation of the human person into a higher state of being Some alchemists claimed that alchemy was the inner teaching within Christianity; that the manufacture of the philosopher's stone (lapis) was equivalent to the Christ-experience, the new birth. Likely, some of these were actual teachers within the Perennial Tradition, using the symbolism of alchemy to explain--or cover--their activities. The church issued several encyclicals and papal bulls against alchemy, but a number of church leaders as well as scientists and philosophers defended the art. This essay presents exercises 1 in realizing 2 the Higher Consciousness and overcoming our bewitchment by the bodily senses. As the chart below indicates, the Higher Consciousness is the active principle within the spiritual level of being.
Seven Stages of Spiritual Alchemy « Ya Allahoo! First Stage – Calcination CALCINATION is the first of seven major operations in the alchemy of transformation. Chemically, the Calcination process involves heating a substance in a crucible or over an open flame until it is reduced to ashes. In the Arcanum Experiment, Calcination is represented by sulfuric acid, which the alchemists made from a naturally occurring substance called Vitriol. Sulfuric acid is a powerful corrosive that eats away flesh and reacts with all metals except gold. Psychologically, this is the destruction of ego and our attachments to material possessions. Physiologically, the Fire of Calcination can be experienced as the metabolic discipline or aerobic activity that tunes the body, burning off excesses from overindulgence and producing a lean, mean, fighting machine. In Society, the Calcination is expressed in the lives of revolutionaries, conquerors, and other warriors who try to overthrow the status quo. Second Stage – Dissolution Third Stage – Separation Like this:
Alchemy - Seven Stages of Alchemical Transformation The alchemists believed that the univeral formula contained in the Emerald Tablet was the basis for a spiritual technology first introduced on the planet in ancient Egypt more than 10,000 years ago. This formula consists of seven consecutive operations performed on the "matter" - whether it be of a physical, psychological, or spiritual nature. To guide us through this process, we are going to make use of a tool actually used by the alchemists - a meditative mandala first published in 1759 as an illustration for the book "Azoth of the Philosophers" by the legendary German alchemist Basil Valentine. The word "Azoth" in the title is one of the more arcane names for the One thing described in the tablet. At the center of this remarkable drawing is the face of a bearded alchemist at the beginning of the Work. Within the downward-pointing triangle superimposed over the face of the alchemist is the goal of the Work, the divine man in which the forces from Above and the Below have come together.
Stages of Alchemy The alchemists believed there was a formula to alchemical transmutation and that transmutation could be experienced if these seven operations or stages were followed. Illustrations throughout alchemical manuscripts give visual keys to the seven sequential steps, and show a pathway to union with the Divine self or higher consciousness. The seven stages of alchemy are: Calcination This is the first stage of the alchemical practice and essentially represents the process of burning. Dissolution Dissolution is the process of adding the element of water to the ashes of what has been burned by the fires of calcination. Separation In this stage of the alchemical process the individual is able to see himself in two parts or the opposites within. Conjunction Conjunction gives us our first look at the higher realms of existence such as spiritual connection, concept of God, or something greater than ourselves that is outside of and connected to our self. Fermentation Distillation Coagulation
Alchemy Journal Vol.2 No.1 The Alchemy in Spiritual Progress Part I: Calcination (by Nanci Shanderá, Ph.D.) Burning with fever, drowning, being swept into a tornado, being challenged by the opposite sex, magically transforming into something or someone else, flying (without an airplane!), breathing underwater, being touched by an angel. Is this tonight’s television lineup? If so, it is because these are experiences common to those on the spiritual pathway and ones that can appear in both dream and waking realities. In this, the first of seven articles on the alchemical process, we will explore the foundational stage called Calcination. In Calcination, we come face to face with the ego’s resistances. In an alchemist’s laboratory, Calcination involves heating a substance until it is reduced to ashes. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying about the ego. The ego snaps to attention when its boundaries are weakened and tries to protect us by overinflation. Alchemy: the Cosmological Yoga Part 2: Phases of the Work