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Alchemy was a soul science of spiritual intellect that sought knowledge and understanding of Alchemical inter-relationships between Humanity, Nature and Divinity, viewing them as a "Triune Oneness". As a science, Alchemical Transformation also dealt with the material realm of minerals, plants, animals and metal since matter and spirit were interconnected like two sides of a coin. The Alchemist sought to learn how to accelerate (in a relatively short period of time) the evolution of inherent seed potentials in accord with evolutionary laws.
Although Alchemy and Alchemical Transformation Procedures could be taught and learned by the Alchemist through reasoning, to really accomplish anything significant, to awaken the sleeping spiritual potential within matter, the Alchemist needed to also be a primordial artist imbued with Divine Powers. In its highest aspect, Alchemy enabled one to regenerate, to transmutate and to transform something that was earthly into something that was divine. Just as an acorn can become a mighty oak through both elemental power and quintessence, a human being could be transformed into a divinity. The aphorism of Hermes Trismegistus, "As Above So Below", was a great Cosmic Law and a chief tenet of Alchemy teachings and traditions. The work of Paracelsus, the physician and Alchemist, influenced Dr. Bach who developed the flower essences infused with the spiritual and elemental forces of Nature to help heal the human spirit. Carl Jung viewed Alchemy as a transformative process and as an archetypal system of psychological symbols. The Grail energy for the Alchemists was intimately connected with the integrity, immutability and immortality of Materia Prima or First Matter, the chalice cauldron of unlimited potent potentialities and primal prescience. Over the millenium, different categories of Alchemy have developed including: Egyptian, European, Jewish, Christian, Gnostic, Islamic, Chinese, Hindu, Hermetic, Mystical, Metaphysical, Personal, Psychological, Shamanic and Quantum.
Many original Alchemy books had
allegorical writings and illustrations that were symbolic and deliberately
obscure, requiring considerable effort to glean their meaning and intent. Even
these days writings on practical Alchemy were rare since the core Alchemical
Transformation Teachings were passed on by the Alchemist through oral
traditions. The origins of Alchemy and Alchemical Transformation transcended time since they encompassed both the spiritually etheric, encircling sea of non-time; as well as, the material space-time continuum. Dictionaries had diverse definitions for Alchemy that included: a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold; the discovery of the universal cure for disease and the discovery of a means to indefinitely prolong life; a power or process of transforming something common into something special; an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting. Clearly Alchemy was difficult to neatly delineate, describe or demarcate. There were many Alchemical Allegories regarding Animals since Animals and Birds were our spiritual brethren. They too had their own visions, quests, dreams and evolutionary spirals which overlapped with those of humanity and other life streams in the past.
This safeguarded the keys to the kingdom from falling into the hands of those who might misuse this wisdom. In the allegories, a person often went on a transformative journey or quest to search for spiritual knowledge or for true understanding of mystical alchemical mysteries. Along the way, the seeker encountered various archetypal Arcana characters such as the Empress or the Fool; as well as, birds and animals. For instance, the fire elemental salamanders were depicted as dragons, while, the air elemental sylphs were depicted as eagles. The quest for the Philosopher's Stone, the "Magical Touchstone" of immortality through purity and perfection, has long been the Arcana and the Elixir that could infuse the Below with the Above, making the mundane divine. At its core, Alchemy was the Alchemical transformational process of imbuing matter with spirit, awaking potent potentialities and manifesting the intrinsic absolute within extrinsic relativity. Alchemy and Alchemical Transformation was not only an ancestral science to chemistry, medicine, philosophy, psychology and quantum physics; it was also an integral part of many religious, spiritual and magical traditions. Since Alchemy and Alchemical Transformation focused on the multiplicity of manifest creation; as well as, the matrix of interpenetrating unmanifest latencies, no linear one dimensional definition could suffice. There was a synergy intrinsic to Alchemy that was more than just the sum of its parts.
There were a myriad of alchemical
approaches: lab work, symbolic meditation, essential oils, allegorical journeys,
spiritual pursuit, esoteric, philosophical, flower essences, mystical
explorations, archetypal, metaphysical, psychological, crystal elixirs,
semiotic and anthropological to name a few. The nascence of the Alchemical Tradition in recorded history could be traced as far back as Egypt, beyond that was the speculative shrouded mists of lost cultures and starlore. The life stories of the Alchemists suggested that theirs was more of a quest for spiritual enlightenment, immortality and ascendant transcendence than the quest for a specific linear formula for either a philosopher's stone or the material riches of silver and gold.
In China the Taoist Chang Tao-Ling was mystically given an alchemical treatise by Lao Tzu with instructions for the Elixir of Life. Hermes Trismegistus, who lived around 1900 BCE, founded Egyptian Alchemy. His work was furthered by the Arabian alchemists Gerber, Jabir ibn Hayyan, Rhasis, Alfarabi and Avicenna (Ebu Cinna). The Arabs brought Alchemy to Spain and from there it spread throughout Europe where it was the definitive science for 1,700 years. Many alchemical symbols and formulae graced the cathedrals built during the Middle Ages. Some other noteworthy alchemists were: Artephius, Alphonso, Peter d'Apona, Roger Bacon, Botticher, Roger Boyle, Cedrennus, Francesco Colonna, Nicolas Flamel, Fulcanelli, Edward Kelly, William de Loris, Raymond Lully, Jean de Meung, Steffan Michelspacher, Morienus, Arnold de Villeneuve, Isaacs Hollandus, Albertus Magnus, Paracelsus, Paykull, Plato, Pythagoras, Sir George Ripley, Christian Rosenkreutz, Michael Sendivogius, Alexander Seton, Comte St Germain, Thomas Vaughan, Jean Baptista Van Helmont and Zosimus, the Panopolite. Much of Alchemy knowledge and many Alchemical Transformation principles were transcribed and encoded for transmission in the form of hieroglyphs, symbols, paintings, icons, poems, pictorial languages, ciphers, songs, coded alphabets and sacred architecture.
This process of dissemination not
only protected spiritual knowledge from being profaned but also acted like a
powerful impetus for seekers to push beyond the dimensional envelopes and to
transcend the boundaries of normalcy. Only then could the sage mage hilltop aspirants truly reach the starry heights
twinkling above them.
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Unlike chemistry where external elements of matter
were mixed, compounded and decomposed into different forms and substances, the Alchemist Practitioner of Alchemy and Alchemical Transformation
needed to develop sufficient spiritual power to activate something in its preexistent latent state
and then cause it to grow; making the unmanifest manifest.
Since Alchemy at its highest level
was both a Divine Science and a Divine Art, alchemical knowledge and teachings
were often transmitted through the symbolism of pictures and allegories. This
ensured that the alchemical treatises would only be understood and their true
meanings and teachings only comprehended by those already steeped in
spirituality and higher levels of awareness.
Thoth's Emerald Tablets on the
alchemical relationship between the Above and the Below were written in Egypt
before the great deluge. The tablets were passed on to the Pharaoh Akhenaten to
Moses to Alexander the Great to the sage Apollonius of Tyana.
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