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. Physically this denotes a change of the properties of matter, and thus of substance; psycho-spiritually, it refers to inner transformation—in specific, certain actions to aid in freeing the spiritual essence that is ‘trapped’ within (echoing the Gnostic view that spirit is trapped in matter). This idea had its basis in the ancient belief that within the Earth ‘grew’ metals and that, given enough time, these metals would ultimately become gold. Nature was seen as fundamentally engaged in a process of evolution, and the essential idea of alchemy was to speed this process up—in short, to save time.

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 direct knowing of pure Being is gnosis, Self-realization. Spiritual alchemy is thus a means by which we re-structure our personality and the various levels of our identification with it, so as to realize the infinite potential of our true being. It is essentially a comprehensive roadmap, using colourful and sophisticated symbols, detailing the means and steps by which we get ourselves ‘out of our own way’ and allow our highest and best destiny to unfold.

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). In materialistic science the subject is the observer distinct from what he or she studies (the object). In spiritual alchemy this distinction is much less defined, because the transformation of the subject, of the personality, is pre-eminent.
A key point found repeatedly within alchemy is the idea that the alchemist can only succeed in his work if he approaches it with purity of intent, with a heart free of ulterior agendas (an idea that was mirrored in the Grail myths, where only a knight of pure heart had any hope of finding the Grail). This idea was emphasized by some early scribes who noted with irony that alchemy was notorious for its failed alchemists, i.e. those who sought alchemical success in elaborate and expensive laboratory attempts to create gold but often ended up broke in the process.1 The esoteric foundation of spiritual alchemy is found in the ancient world-wide myths that deal with the life, death and resurrection of a god. The candidate or initiate is to undergo a similar process, in order to awaken to their divine condition—a type of radical deconstruction and ‘rebirth’. This process involves a number of stages, to be summarized below. Before detailing these stages it is useful to have some grasp of the history of alchemy, as well as some of the most basic features of its esoteric foundation. 

 
Background

Historically, there are generally recognized to be three main lines of alchemy: Chinese, Indian, and Western. All three appear to have developed some time during the first few centuries BCE, though evidence at present favours the Chinese version as the oldest.2Traditionally, alchemy has been associated with two main activities: the attempt to manufacture gold (or silver) from baser metals; and the attempt to create an elixir of sorts that when ingested would result in great vitality and health, and possibly even immortality. Chinese and Indian alchemy was concerned at times with producing gold, but more commonly the focus was on the creation of the magical elixir that could, it was believed, produce great powers and everlasting life.

Western alchemy in all likelihood had its origins in the early work of goldsmiths, miners, and metallurgists, especially those of ancient Egypt.3 This form of alchemy, perhaps reflecting the natural inclination of the Western mind toward extroversion and materiality, was ultimately concerned more with the idea of the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, the name given to a substance that could transmute base metals, like lead, into gold. Over time the psycho-spiritual component of alchemy began to develop, possibly in Alexandria, in the early centuries BCE. As with so many elements of the Western esoteric tradition Western alchemy finds many of its roots in the ideas of the ancient Greeks, ideas that were given coherence most notably by Plato and Aristotle. By the time of the early centuries after Christ it had evolved into a specific practice (both a ‘science’ and an ‘art’ in the wider definition of those terms), tailored toward creating change both internally and externally. 

Both Eastern and Western alchemy have a psycho-spiritual esoteric component based on the essential idea of inner transformation. The material dimension of alchemy may have been concerned with such matters as immortality of the body or the production of gold, but from the esoteric perspective these were ultimately not separate from the Great Work of inner transformation. Because alchemy was influenced by initiatic streams of thought (arising from Taoism and Tantra in the East, and Hermeticism and Gnosticism in the West) it was eventually understood, by at least some alchemists, that the practical laboratory work was not separate from the inner processes of transformation undergone by the alchemist. This was consistent with the idea of the essential interconnection between mind and matter perhaps best summarized by the Hermetic maxim ‘as above, so below’. It is a given that not all alchemists were concerned with inner transformation, that many were largely concerned with the pursuit of dreams of wealth and power. But it is also clear that alchemy through the centuries preserved many of the mystery teachings, including elements of Gnosticism that were suppressed or exterminated outright by the rising power of the Church after the 4th century CE.

The focus of this chapter is mainly on Western alchemy and in particular its psycho-spiritual dimension.4 The English word ‘alchemy’ has uncertain origins, but is sometimes thought to stem from the Arabic al-khimia, possibly deriving from the Coptic word kem, which means ‘black land’, another name for Egypt. Thus ‘alchemy’ may have originally meant ‘of Egypt’. The black land refers to the soil around the Nile valley, which was rich with nutrients when the waters of the Nile would recede after the annual flooding. An alternate view holds that the Chinese word kim—which refers to the production of gold— migrated to the Middle East where it became the word kem, and later, al-khimia.

Western alchemy as a specific practice appears to find its origins on the coast of northern Egypt in Alexandria, that extraordinary city founded around 330 BCE by Alexander the Great. With the ascent of Christendom and the decline of Alexandria (including the gradual destruction of its famous library in a series of calamities), alchemy gradually faded from view in the West, but it did not die out entirely. It was, instead, taken up by the Arabs (themselves the conquerors of Egypt), and later by Jabir ibn Hayyan, an 8th century Persian magus whom some regard as the prototypical alchemist. (Identifying the authors behind early alchemical writings has been notoriously difficult, as a standard practice was to ascribe such works to important figures or even gods such as Hermes, but most scholars accept the legitimacy of Jabir’s name and legacy).

Modern science tends to view early alchemy as largely the primitive proto-science that morphed into chemistry around the 17th century via the efforts of Robert Boyle and others. There is of course some truth to that. By the 17th century alchemy had been largely abandoned as a laboratory ‘science’, but its esoteric side was preserved, if only marginally, and discussed in various occult circles of the 18th and 19th centuries. In the popular domain it was C.G. Jung who, in the early 20th century, largely rescued alchemy from the dusty pages of forgotten library archives by wedding much of its rich symbolism to his theory of analytical psychology. Some esoteric scholars such as Julius Evola took exception to Jung’s efforts, believing it to be a kind of debasement of the deeper meaning of the Great Work. In Evola’s view, alchemy is a path of spiritual awakening that is intended only for psychologically integrated individuals, and is not a symbolic description of the process of becoming psychologically integrated (what Jung called ‘individuation’).6 Evola, along with other Traditionalists such as Rene Guenon, made determined attempts to preserve the sanctity of the esoteric path against what they saw as the vulgar, simplified world-views of our modern materialistic times, and it is not hard to find sympathy for their positions if one takes the time to reflect on some of the side-effects of the scientific revolution and industrial age. But the fact remains that the average modern day ‘truth-seeker’ is rarely a psychologically integrated individual in the ideal sense, and almost always needs to do considerable psychological healing prior to, or alongside with, more rarefied spiritual practices (such as, for example, simple sitting meditations). Thus from a practical point of view it is more than a matter of merely finding sympathy for Jung’s work and related psycho-spiritual interpretations of alchemy, it is a matter of recognizing the value and usefulness of such approaches for current times.