The Alchemical Process

THE ALCHEMICAL PROCESS MYTH, CHEMISTRY, OR PSYCHOLOGY? Exoteric alchemy was concerned with understanding man's place inthe universe, and was a scientific and philosophical quest based on the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle. Namely. THE BELIEF MATTER IS MADE UP OF FOUR AND EACH ELEMENT HAD 2 PRIMARY ELEMENTS. QUALITIES. EARTH:COLD AND DRY EARTH 4 AIR:HOT AND WET AIR A WATER FIRE:HOT AND DRY FIRE WATER:COLD AND WET ELEMENTS CAN BE ALTERED. BUTTHE PROCESS NEEDS A CATALYST: Fire loses heat THE PHILOSOPHER'S Becomes air Becomes STONE. earth (ash) (steam) Water heated "In speaking of the Philosopher's Stone, receive this stone whichis not a stone, a precious thing that has no value, a thing of many shapes that has no shape, this unknown which is known by all." WHAT? -Zosimos, Ancient Greek Alchemist Alchemy Timeline Alchemy practiced in ancient Egypt Alexander the Great invades Egypt. Alchemy expands to Greece and then, Europe. Islamic alchemy eventually gives way to Islamic chemistry 5,000- 400 BC 332 BC+ 700 AD+ 1200 BC - Present 142 AD 1661 Inchina, Wei Boyang writes the alchemical text, "The Kinship of the Three" European alchemy and chemistry begin to diverge. Boyle writes "The Sceptical Chymist" Indian alchemy practiced Esoteric alchemy, however, looked inward rather than to lab work. In this practice, the philosopher's stone is one's pure being, the higher self behind the egoic personality. Ah ha. SO HOW DOES IT WORK? Canwe transform ourselves? Turn our spiritual 1ead" into "gold?" Carl Jung spent the latter part of his life studying alchemy, relating the symbolsin ancient alchemical texts to the images in our unconscious. Jung believed alchemy was an entirely psychological process – no lab required. However, the Renaissance alchemists were clearly conducting physical experiments. Projecting their subconscious onto the work? The mystery continues. The Metaphysical Detective http://kirstenweiss.com