The Three levels of Alchemy

Coming off the back of a rather chaotic January I’ve finally had the time to contemplate upon the last 6 months of my life. In which, I’ve had several significant lows, but also a few significant highs. Losses in one hand with regards to old relationships, mistakes, and work-life balance; but gains in the other hand with new relationships, communities, and opportunities, lessons learned, and a healthy dose of introspection, in order to be re-invented, in order to become a new or greater thing. And whenever we become a new thing, I typically liken it to a form of Alchemy.

Alchemy may refer to the process of turning one material into another (like turning lead into gold), or turning something from one quality to another. In the same way in which intense heat and energy is required to change one substance into another, so to does it take intense effort and love (if love is understood as a form of energy) to change the inner parts and inner things from one quality to another; in order to shift from one state of being to another, or to overcome self-limiting beliefs, addictions, and relationships.

Although it is difficult to trace the etymology of the word alchemy, it is commonly associated with the Arabic word ‘al-kimiya’, meaning the art of transmutation. Of which, the Arabic word is believed to be derived from the ancient Greek khemeia, which some believe to refer to the land of Egypt, or “to pour out”.  When considering the Egyptian root of the word, some commonly suppose that Alchemy may refer to that which comes from the land or heart of “Kem”, with Khem being the name of ancient Egypt. Going one step further, the word Khem means “black” and referred to to the fertile, black soil of the Nile Valley. This word is also the name of Min or Amsu, the Egyptian fertility god, and later on the Greek god Pan. 

Some Theosophists understand the word to be a combination of Al and Chemi, connecting Al like the Hebrew El, which may refer to “God”, “the mighty”, or “Sun” (based on the transliteration of the word into Greek). Whilst Chemi may refer to “Fire”. Others like H.P Blavatsky believe the word to be of Atlantean descent.

I believe that the above interpretations are all fitting, given that change or Alchemy in its highest form must:

• Land of the Heart – Come from the heart (or Higher Self).
• Fire – ‘Burn away’ that which holds us back in order for us to rebuild new virtues and values.
• Sun – Illuminate and Enlighten, wherein the Sun exposes all constructs and falsehoods, providing sight where we were blind.
• Pour Out – Initiate change in others through spirit, mind and body.

When considering further the examples that I have provided, one can point to various religious or spiritual texts for further illumination. For example, there are several passages that refer to God as an all-consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). Furthermore, 1 Corinthians chapter 3 states the following:

“If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames”.

The pretext to this passage refers to the foundation as Jesus Christ, although as someone who was once (but no longer) a Christian I believe that this foundation can be interpreted esoterically to refer to ‘us’, with Christ meaning ‘anointed’ and Jesus being an archetype for humanity, or the hero on a Heroes Journey. Therefore, we ourselves are the so-called burning bush that affects change within ourselves, and it is we ourselves that will be saved. Albeit the karma or price that we will pay will require us to burn away all that no longer serves us, or aligns with our values and capacity to experience love and perceive Christ consciousness. More so, that we ourselves as “God” are wholly responsible for our own evolution and have been empowered with all the tools to effect our own change and growth. 

Going back to the topic of Alchemy, I previously referred to the above as being symbolic of the highest form of Alchemy. To explain further I believe that there are three forms of Alchemy, where we can either Transfer, Transmute and/or Transform, and we initiate these levels of Alchemy in the following ways and parts of our being:

If we initiate the process of Alchemy from the Higher Self or soul level then all other parts of being ( our material mind, emotional, energy and physical bodies), and is felt strongest by the collective consciousness. Therefore, this change can be sustained through our thoughts and actions – this is what I refer to as Divine Alchemy. But if we only initiate from the mental or physical level we will never initiative full change and transformation.

If we only transmute and/or transfer then we will never fully master Alchemy and consequently never fully master ourselves, with ‘transfer’ concerning the most superficial level of Alchemy. We may find an avenue to channel our energies or adapt our behaviours but will never fully have ‘faith’ in our ability to overcome. Further descriptions of what I consider transfer and transmutation are provided below.

Transfer – Affected through the channeling of energy into physical and social activities to distract from existing behaviours.

Transmute – Affected through the installation of new thought patterns, mental constructs, habits, and personalities as a means of behaviour change.

Finally, I feel it necessary to say that we are constantly in a process of change, and constantly performing some level of alchemy, which I believe is intuitive and second nature to all human beings. Whether that form of alchemy is initiated by transfer, transmutation, or transformation. However, the important thing is that we acknowledge the fullness of our own power, in order to apply the fullness of (Divine) Alchemy, in order to ‘pour out’ the fullness of our hearts upon the world. Because when we heal ourselves we also heal the world (not to mention our reality!).