Welcome!  I’m so glad you are here!  On this platform, we will be focusing on the Alchemical Principles of Art, and the Art of Spiritual Alchemy.  So, what does that mean?  For now, let’s presume you have a good idea of what is “Art”, but what is “Alchemy” and why is it important for us to learn about it?

In a nutshell, Alchemy is the process of transformation.  Spiritual Alchemy is a process of harnessing and transmuting consciousness.  In spiritual alchemy, alchemists work with natural forces to transform and advance the evolutionary process of the Soul towards Spiritual Awakening.

The history of Alchemy is long and varied.  Alchemy, it seems, arose in the period of late antiquity and most likely began to flourish around the first century, in Hellenistic Egypt.  It emerged in the Islamic world sometime during the 7^th century C.E. Unknown in medieval Europe until it was introduced by the Muslim world in the 12^th century, both inner and outer Alchemy were practiced throughout these areas in the Middle Ages.  

As an outer ritual, Alchemy was practiced as a transmutation of base metals like lead, into gold.  As an inner discipline, a spiritual form of Alchemy was developed in which a devotional attitude was applied to the laboratory work.  This dual pursuit of science with spirituality became a path to deeper knowledge and spiritual awakening that affected the transmutation of the soul.  Thus, Alchemists sought to transform the lead of an undeveloped consciousness into the gold of an enlightened soul.

The ultimate goal of the Alchemist was known as the Magnum Opus (Great Work).  This masterpiece was accomplished with the lapis philosophorum,  also referred to as The Philosopher’s Stone.  The lapis is also known as, The One Thing. Hints alluding to this philosopher’s stone can be found throughout the world’s religions and mystical traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.

In the late Middle Ages and the following Renaissance period, Alchemy experienced a resurgence when ancient Greco-Egyptian texts were brought back into circulation.  One of the most important texts to emerge was the Rosarium Philosophoru.  Also known as The Philosopher’s Rose Garden, this ancient text delved into the secrets of the Hieros Gamos, (The Sacred Marriage).  This text is a mixture of physical and spiritual alchemy, but the artwork is decidedly mystical in nature.  These illustrations progress through the various stages of the alchemical operations, culminating in the Hieros Gamos, the conjunction of the solar and lunar polarities of the soul.

With the main outer purposes of Alchemy being to transmute base metals, such as lead, into gold, Alchemy was often practiced by people who wanted to attain material wealth.  It was also practiced by those who sought a universal elixir for immortality. As such, Alchemy, the forerunner to modern-day chemistry, was practiced as a hidden, secret science and not by the general population.  

Enter the Era of Enlightenment, and the beginning of Alchemy’s disrepute.  Scientific explorers discovered a new chemistry rising from the naivety and obscurity of the alchemical past.  Alchemy of the ancient days was belittled and looked down upon. This attitude persisted throughout the evolution of our sciences into our modern age.

Yet alchemical symbolism survived, particularly in its spiritual context, and later became associated with 19^th century occultism and astrology.  Alchemy continued on in a more secretive fashion through societies and mystical orders and while these groups focused mainly on what seemed to be the spiritual aspects of Alchemy, many did not discount the physical aspect of the art.

In the 20^th century, the works of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, brought to light the mystical and psychological sides of Alchemy.  “Not for nothing did alchemy style itself an “art,” feeling—and rightly so—that it was concerned with creative processes that can be truly grasped only by experience, though intellect may give them a name.” ~Carl Jung.

In her 2022 book, Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy, Marlene Seven Bremner writes, “Alchemy is a scientific and spiritual pursuit aimed at understanding the mechanisms of consciousness and matter.  While it can be argued that a true understanding of Alchemy is unattainable without the operative component, the average person who is most likely not inclined to set up their own alchemical laboratory, has much to gain from pursuing a spiritual understanding of the opus alchymicum, by way of the imagination and creative faculty.”

“Alchemy has been called the “Royal Art” because it is at its core a creative process that leads to the perfection or masterpiece of human consciousness…”

By harnessing consciousness, alchemists work with forces to advance the evolutionary process towards spiritual awakening.  This process is a natural one that we go through all the time, and you may recognize these stages in your own life.

Bremner continues, “The stages of the alchemical opus mirror the stages of the creative process, with increasing levels of refinement and subtlety as the work progresses toward its completion.  Both the alchemist and the artist are profoundly transformed through the interplay of consciousness and matter, as hidden and transcendent realities are revealed through the work.  By employing the processes of alchemy in our creative process, we embark on a journey toward gnosis.”

“Agriculture, pottery, metallurgy and architecture are all ways in which humans have transmuted matter into new forms altogether from the earliest times.  In these ways and many others, we have the opportunity to engage with matter from a holistic, alchemical perspective that brings consciousness into everything that we do and create.  Anyone interested in liberating their full creative potential has much to gain by embarking on the alchemical path.  On one level, it is the transmutation of the “heavy metals” that lie within the psyche into the pure light of divine consciousness, or gold.  On another, we are externalizing our consciousness and its transmutation through physical matter in the form of a poem, painting, book, song, house, garden, meal, business, or anything that we create in the physical realm.  In either case, the alchemical principles of creation apply and yet the “art’ will be unique to each individual.  The key is to have a physical domain in which to observe the transmutation taking place, for the essence of alchemy is the relationship between consciousness and matter, which can be observed in limitless manifestations and experienced by every individual, regardless of whether or not laboratory work is involved.”

Everything in the universe is vibrating at varying rates, from the smallest particles to the Universe itself.  Spiritual Alchemy has been described as the raising of vibrations which is “helpful for the purpose of philosophical discourse as a means for creative liberation”.  Alchemy teaches us the operations to transmute energy on the physical, mental and spiritual planes.  The transmutation of lead into gold functions as a metaphor for the process of self-actualization and spiritual rebirth. 

The alchemist supports the goal of reaching enlightenment in several distinct processes. In this series we will delve into The 8 Operations of Alchemy as explored by Kim Krans in her Wild Unknown Alchemy oracle deck and guidebook.  These operations are universal truths that allow humanity to understand the forces of change without taking them personally.  The goal of the alchemist is to become aware of these operations and trust their higher wisdom.  “Alchemy is something to be experienced, an initiation, on par with a shamanic or Dionysian death, dismemberment and reintegration,” says Ms. Bremner.

Alchemy is used to achieve contentment, harmony, and awareness by liberating one’s essence from one’s acquired personality. The personality contains the inauthentic part of the self, including one’s beliefs, concepts, opinions, wounds, fears, and phobias.  Due to the heavy corruption that our life experiences may have imparted to our metals, it is recommended and necessary to have a guide in this work.  Spiritual guides from other realms may appear to help the student with their work, or you may find a guide from this realm to help you begin your alchemical journey of transformation.

Since the medieval period, some of the most imaginative and surreal artworks have taken spiritual alchemy and the occult as their subject. Artists have been inspired by the alchemical process and occult practices, particularly for their symbolic potency and the richness of meaning. Moreover, the links between different worlds, such as the spiritual and material, the conscious and the unconscious, the sensual and the scientific, make spiritual alchemy the perfect subject for painting.

 Spiritual alchemy is also a great storehouse of symbols, motifs, and themes that artists have accessed and interpreted in their own ways. Karena Karras is an excellent example as she merges human and animal, ghostly and corporeal, with alchemic motifs and vibrant use of color to create other worldly dimensions.

In this series of articles, we will explore Spiritual alchemy through Art and The 8 Operations. The 8 Operations are the overriding principles that determine the greater archetypes of the life stories at hand. The operations are the very heart and soul of alchemical work. The operations are universal truths. The operations are everywhere – the spinning gears of the Universe. Our goal as spiritual alchemists is to become aware of the operations and trust their higher wisdom to enact renewal and transformation in our lives. Through these operations, all other alchemical processes can be understood.

A final thought, from Kim Krans, Author of the Wild Unknown Alchemy Guidebook. “There is only one ingredient necessary while using this deck, CURIOSITY. You do not need to be an expert on Alchemy, nor do you need to know about metals, symbols, astrology, or Latin. The magic of Alchemy is that the processes and stages are happening in nature (and therefore in us) at all times.”

And thus, “Off we go into the world of Art and Alchemy.”