Book of Shadows

Alchemy

Alchemical transmutation is the process of converting things from low vibration to high vibration. Changing "lead" to "gold," from a mundane to a spiritual state, and the chemical reactions are metaphors for the stages of spiritual development.

"This is what spiritual development means — the recognition, realization, and manifestation of the Spirit within us." –The Kybalion

The alchemical process is accomplished through the repetition of solve et coagula:

Solve: Separating out the four elements from the primordial prima materia, separating the pure from the impure, separating the soul from the body. It converts the body into spirit. Self-awareness, the identification of the Shadow, categorizing the world so you can understand it. It results in Death, and becoming volatile.
Coagula: The synthesis of opposing forces, bringing the spirit back down into the body, reintegration. Becoming fixed, while in a refined and pure state so that one can contain the Divine "secret fire" without being harmed by it.

Alchemy has three main stages:

Black, nigredo: Death, the removal of the soul and life force, leaving behind the body, but without literal death. After the chemical wedding, the King and Queen are "killed," and their bodies putrefy. They are dissolved into prima materia by the "burning" mercurial water. Descent into the Underworld, the initial "confrontation" stage of Shadow work. The destruction, dissolution, and dismemberment of the old and outmoded state of being, to make way for the new state of being. To be reborn into a higher form of yourself, you first must die.

White, albedo: Resurrection from this period in the Underworld. The merging of the volatile soul with the spirit of God. The body is washed with revitalizing mercurial water to turn white, and prepare for reunification with the soul. Reintegrating the personality (ego) with the incorporeal soul. The body becomes the soul. Balancing all of your internal nature until you are divine. Reintegrating the Shadow into the psyche in a way that is balanced. "Heiros gamos," the union of opposites. The fixed becomes volatile. "...the new self [...] peace, innocence, happiness, freedom from conflict" (Cavendish). The "state of active ecstasy that uplifts the human condition" (Evola).

Red, rubedo: The final stage of the resurrection, same as the above but with more intensity, more Fire. The fixation of the spirit, which crystallizes into form and turns the black body of the stone red with fire, like lightning striking the earth. Self-actualization. Identify yourself with God, but don't lose yourself in it entirely. Come back to Earth!

I've discovered through my process of taking these notes that there are very few constants in alchemy. The only thing that alchemical processes all have in common is the black-white-red sequence; everything else, including the precise order of the stages, their names, or what those stages even are, changes depending on the source. I still haven't really figured out how it all fits together, or what it means in a higher spiritual sense. One of the things that makes this hard to figure out is that alchemy is a cyclical process, not a linear one — a lot of these individual stages occur simultaneously, or may even be synonyms for each other. Each stage of the process happens many times, with the matter of the Stone at various levels of refinement. Therefore, they don't really follow any sort of obvious progression from one stage to the next. What matters is the repeated process of solve et coagula, the refinement of matter. With all that said, this is the version of the alchemical process that I have written, and I think it's good enough for now:

The Lesser Work

Calcination: Heating the base metal to ash; removing all the surface qualities of the self. Putting oneself through "purifying fires" until one is reduced to prima materia. Self-judgement, acknowledging that you are not perfect, with a desire and determination to do better. Burn away the old self.

Dissolution: Dissolve the powder in water/mercury made from the condensed vapours from calcination. Self-awareness, dissolving your prejudices and old patterns, understanding the psychological roots of your behaviors. The first stage of Shadow work. Return to the Abyss, the primordial waters, again and again and again. Purification by water.

Separation: The mixture of ash and "water" separates into its base materials (four elements, mercury and sulfur, etc.). Sorting out the aspects of your mind. Feeling like you're now split in two, Ego and Shadow. Warring with yourself, danger of self-loathing.

Conjunction: Steady, level heating of the mixture. Reconciling the polarized self, first step towards integration of the Shadow. The "sacred marriage" or "chemical wedding" between the mercury and the sulfur that unites them back into the same whole. Unification of opposites. The darkness becomes conscious. Coming to terms with oneself, self-acceptance, integration.

The Greater Work

Putrefaction: Subject the material to a moist heat and let it turn black. It is now a dead thing with all of its characteristics stripped from it, prima materia. Vapor (the life-spark) leaves it. Spiritual death, melancholy, dejection, suffering. The Dark Night of the Soul. Ego death paves the way for a new mode of thinking, initiation.

Distillation: The spirit is extracted from what's left of the blackened body by boiling it. The volatile vapor is condensed into liquid through heating and cooling in an alembic, to further refine it.

Ablution: The life-spark rejoins the body through the body being "washed" in the liquid (aqua vitae), resurrecting it. The material turns white. (Baptism, the "bath" following death. Purification by water.)

Sublimation: Purifying the material, heating it until it vaporizes, leaving behind a solid sediment. The body becomes spiritual, the spirit becomes corporeal. (Purification by fire.)

Fermentation: Permanently infusing life force into dead matter. The spiritual and base aspects of the self are united, and one is freed from superficial or "worldly" desires and concerns. The enzymes that cause fermentation represent the soul "quickening" the body. The material turns yellow and becomes gold. Add some gold to it to facilitate this change, like putting seeds into the earth. "Intoxicated surrender to one's true inner self" (Cavendish), seething emotions and ecstasy. Welcome to the cult of Dionysus! Dionysus transforms the madness of the Maenads (the ordinary self) into a controlled spiritual rapture. Being dual (man/woman, human/divine), Dionysus represents this unification of opposites and that everything contains its own opposite.

Cibation: The newborn self is nourished, to re-infuse it with life energy. It is fed "milk and meat," i.e. the Red Tincture and the White Tincture (added to the vessel).

Exaltation: The material turns red, with all of its components fusing into one whole and becoming stable in the most intense heat of the furnace. The Stone has appeared. Once the ecstasy peaks, the body, soul, and spirit permanently fuse.

Multiplication: Another sacred marriage/copulation between the Red King and the White Queen, so the Stone can become "fertile." The Opus repeats itself again and again in rapid succession, with the Stone constantly dissolving and coagulating to create more of itself.

Projection: Using the Stone to transmute other metals, completing the cycle. The Stone raises the vibrations of everything it comes into contact with.