Aurum nostrum non est aurum vulgi (our gold is not ordinary gold).
The key to alchemy is found in the word transmutation, a word that in its original Latin meaning refers to total change. Physically this denotes a change of the properties of matter, and thus of substance; psycho-spiritually, it refers to inner transformation—in specific, certain actions to aid in freeing the spiritual essence that is ‘trapped’ within (echoing the Gnostic view that spirit is trapped in matter). This idea had its basis in the ancient belief that within the Earth ‘grew’ metals and that, given enough time, these metals would ultimately become gold. Nature was seen as fundamentally engaged in a process of evolution, and the essential idea of alchemy was to speed this process up—in short, to save time.
Spiritual alchemy is concerned with the transmutation of the personality and its structures, so as to allow for the light of unobstructed consciousness and pure Being to be directly known. The direct knowing of pure Being is gnosis, Self-realization. Spiritual alchemy is thus a means by which we re-structure our personality and the various levels of our identification with it, so as to realize the infinite potential of our true being. It is essentially a comprehensive roadmap, using colourful and sophisticated symbols, detailing the means and steps by which we get ourselves ‘out of our own way’ and allow our highest and best destiny to unfold.
The main difference between spiritual alchemy and alchemy as merely a primitive proto-science—the supposed precursor of modern chemistry—is that the former involves an interdependent relationship between the subject (self) and the object (all that is not-self). In materialistic science the subject is the observer distinct from what he or she studies (the object). In spiritual alchemy this distinction is much less defined, because the transformation of the subject, of the personality, is pre-eminent.
A key point found repeatedly within alchemy is the idea that the alchemist can only succeed in his work if he approaches it with purity of intent, with a heart free of ulterior agendas (an idea that was mirrored in the Grail myths, where only a knight of pure heart had any hope of finding the Grail). This idea was emphasized by some early scribes who noted with irony that alchemy was notorious for its failed alchemists, i.e. those who sought alchemical success in elaborate and expensive laboratory attempts to create gold but often ended up broke in the process.1 The esoteric foundation of spiritual alchemy is found in the ancient world-wide myths that deal with the life, death and resurrection of a god. The candidate or initiate is to undergo a similar process, in order to awaken to their divine condition—a type of radical deconstruction and ‘rebirth’. This process involves a number of stages, to be summarized below. Before detailing these stages it is useful to have some grasp of the history of alchemy, as well as some of the most basic features of its esoteric foundation.
