Psychic Alchemy

[IllusiveOwl]

I prefer the Eastern take on Alchemy, it acknowledges outright that both the Internal & External versions exist so there's no debate on whether it's literal compounds or metaphorical. I got a C in chemistry, so I want to focus this thread on Internal Alchemy

It's implied in Western Alchemy too that what takes place underneath all the symbolism is psychic in nature (Jung was hot for this too), that the philosipher stone is a level of permanent, self-sustaining consciousness made by conscious use of the body & mind as a furnace for energy-work. It could be argued that a literal stone is created from the great work, but it's ethereal. The Eastern equivalent is the Golden Flower, something cultivated by "turning the light within", which is essentially sustained, intentional self awareness.

The metaphor of the body being a furnace is a big one. Your body produces the flames naturally (ATP FTW) and the environment tosses ingredients in there, with the end result being those emotional fumes you're huffing all day. With conscious control, you can manipulate the energy through will, transmuting the ingredients that produce anger to the center of all emotion's pole, peace, and from that base change it into any emotion you desire, if you desire, peace is itself a very powerful position. If you store and maintain peace, you will have a supply of energy to draw from and can create a needed emotion on the fly when its needed - or wanted. You can simply create happiness and ecstacy with the right facial tensions and focus. This obviously has massive implications for workings too.

I have heard that there is a level of Alchemy that pertains to communion with the energies of the universe as well, the sea of diverse consciousness that control and live in all things. This is akin to the phrase "if a person has faith as small as a mustard seed, they can command a mountain to move", so this would be literally reaching out psychically and asking say, a rock to do a little jig. I haven't had any luck in this field, have any of you managed a communion like this?

I have been getting a hang of this the more I work on this and the metaphors are clicking. All of what I've written here is the result of reading many different books from across cultures, eras, and occult genres, then melting it into something this monkey-brain can comprehend, just to assure yinz that I'm not just pulling this out of my ass. I want to see if anyone has anything else to add or their own takes on this, feel free to cook your own take below (pun ).

 

[HoldAll]

I only started to take Western laboratory alchemy a bit more seriously after reading this book about how Israel Regardie was convinced by Joseph C. Lisiewski that there was something in physical alchemy after all late in life and how he actually started to get his hands dirty (and ruining his lungs in the process) by messing around with furnaces and antimony. Still, Frater Albertus, his teacher, insisted that spiritual development would invariably influence physical processes in the crucible but the info in the book is a bit unspecific, it's allegedly about the Qabalah or something.

You probably know the Tibetan Buddhist myth about the peacock being a symbol for the Vajrajana approach to enlightenment because it was allegedly able to eat poison and transmute it into all those vibrant colours in its tail feathers, the poison standing harmful passions and the colours for various spiritual attainments. Accordingly, one can often read or hear the opinion, for example, "Anger is just energy, simply transmute it into compassion!", as if it was just as easy as plugging one end of a power cord into a wall socket and the other into a suitable transformer the current of which can then be used to recharge your phone. I don't think it's that easy, not at all. You'd probably have to complete some gruelling spiritual exercises like the

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first before you even can think of such transmutation but magic (or alchemy?) may provide a shortcut there, that I'll allow.

The peacock myth may offer some clues though. It would be interesting to know what exactly goes on in the bird's stomach, metaphorically speaking. I assume it's not simply "Anger in, compassion out, easy-peasy", it must be a multi-stage process, so to speak. Does that anger first get dissolved in some 'acid', ground up, or evaporised, distilled and subsequently mixed with some other emotions or insights? What are the 'intermediate products', how are they 'alchemically' treated (and with what?), and how to dispose of any waste materials? Digestion as alchemy… yep, that could be another useful metaphor, like the Daoists' furnace you mentioned.

I'd say it's not simply the willpower to succeed in such transmutations, you also need the tech and the know-how as well as a lifetime of practice; having an expert teacher wouldn't hurt either. What's so frustrating is that we can engineer all kinds of extraordinary adventures by means of meditation, entheogens, pathworking, conjuring entities, etc. but the question is which of these experiences will stick and bring about change in the long run. In a way, we're still in the position of the alchemists of old, doing this experiment or that, following this approach and trying another one, giving up & starting anew, exclaiming "I'm so close, man, so close!" only to find out it was all a mirage… and all the while we can trade tired old platitudes about the Great Work and how everybody needs to find their own Path, or about how the teacher appears when the student is ready, ad nauseam.

Speaking for myself, I've found that an exaggerated fixation on any specific goal or method is counter-productive, you know, the "Enlightenment or bust!" mentality. Perhaps I'll look into the Eastern approach to alchemy but from what I've read so far about Western alchemists in history so far, most of those guys were only in it for the gold, wasting their fortunes and their lives on their wild goose chases; only a tiny minority (and that were mostly the authors of those books on alchemy) had spiritual motives, or said they said - it's all very depressing.

 

[IllusiveOwl]

it's all very depressing.

I've found many philosophies and arts nurtured in the West have a potent sadness and longing for a distant antiquity; several 'ancient' grimoires and teachings get credited to the cradle of civilization, as though our colonialized world is beyond the capability of mysticism, but were in truth written by seekers much like the people on this Forum; individuals lost in the gears of a long-turning machine of industry and empire. The contrast between East & West is most clear & simple when comparing spirituality and the takes on Alchemy. Rather than Physical greed for gold as a defect (Showing the Western fixation on the Earth) the East's fault lied in a focused greed for longevity and immortality (Showing Eastern fixation on Heaven, or things intangible like Honor or the Confuscious way of thought.) Of course the true Alchemists were above falling into those grimey pitfalls, like a man becoming a Sufi rather than a Muslim, but for the East the Wise would favor Daoism over Confusciousism (I'm allowed opinions, fight me) Eastern Alchemy is usually a blend of Buddhist and Daoist ideas/symbols, which is why I like it more

it was just as easy as plugging one end of a power cord into a wall socket and the other into a suitable transformer the current of which can then be used to recharge your phone. I don't think it's that easy, not at all.

Looking at emotions scientifically is not easy, you are right, but once the work is started and the worker accustomed to it, transmuting anger and fear into energy that expresses itself to your desired outcome is a simple process, like chemistry would be to someone truly familiar and knowledgable about the components. Its simple, but not easy.

You'd probably have to complete some gruelling spiritual exercises

A view I have read often is that the Alchemist treats life like a singular grueling spiritual exercise: life becomes your laboratory that you consciously work to understand, master, and then navigate with power & grace. The harder the life, the more potential for both failure & success. Like any skill, you need to consciously work with it to get better, as well as truly love the art of it; music comes to mind, two people can practice the same instrument for 1,000 hours, but the one who loves playing it more will be the more expressive musician.

It would be interesting to know what exactly goes on in the bird's stomach, metaphorically speaking.

There is so much to get angry about, not just abstractly, but in day-to-day life. That anger doesn't get touched by people and they then become hostile, bitter people. That anger doesn't go away in the Alchemist, it just gets consciously gathered, melted down, and reforged as something more useful to your life, and the lives of others. You can practice and experience this yourself, if you want to. Just think about someone who's hurt you, the worse and more profound the wound the better. Then work with that anger, or hate, until its as objective as working with fire