Alchemical Healing

Alchemy isn’t religious, though it can be. Alchemy isn’t magic, it can be, but inherently it’s a philosophy of healing. I’m an alchemist but use the term loosely— I’m well read on historical resources and engage in alchemical practices, but my whole practice as an esoteric practitioner exists without doctrine. I find it’s easiest to …

A Poem About Ouroboric Tendency

Procreant precedence of ouroboric tendency / What be the subtle natures of reality / Propagation and rearranged / Consistency / In conversion or transition or transformation / Unchanged structures with assiduity / Continually without ambiguity / Observable but oft / Not transcribable or describable / Yet unequivocal aloft mythical fictional thought / This nature is reciprocal

An Alchemist’s Shame

Pride is nearly a stranger to me and I know shame intimately. Science, art, and philosophy provide me structure for courage. Through courage, I might get to know pride. Shame still clings and attempts to interfere with my healing and growing and knowing of what I’m capable of. Shame carries embarrassment, self hatred, and hates …

Psychological Healing: Experiences with the Alchemical Crow

We’ve all known catastrophe. The apocalypse exists within Caput Corvi, the symbol of a decapitated crow. Our internal reasoning cannot keep up with the crises of our circumstances. The crow forces us to change so that we may learn to begin doing so willingly. Patterns repeat, break, transform. Life is a series of cycles, some …

Alchemy of Self: Putrefaction

While the beginning of this stage may feel like Caput Corvi and the shame ridden days of calcination all over again, our wisened mind can recognize these times as being full of life in death. We’re less than halfway through our transmutation of self— we must expect there to still be hindering thoughts and behaviours …

Xanthosis is Testing My Goals

Alchemy and its many forms have been a passion of mine since childhood. Some of you may know of psycho-spiritual or philosophical alchemy. These meditations and changes are a part of an entire lifestyle supporting growth and healing. I’ve spent the last half decade cycling through the phases of darkness and light, destruction and reconstruction, …

Alchemy of Self: Conjunction Part 2

“In too much water you may easily be drowned; too little water, on the other hand, soon evaporates in the heat of the sun.” — Basil Valentine Success utterly relies on temperance. Parts of a whole cannot merge back into one if one part is neglected. All aspects must be released from toxicity and nurtured …

Alchemy of Self: Conjunction

Conjunction is the bringing together, the reconciliation and amalgamation of parts. The many facets of ourself and our life are ready to start showing a whole reflection. This is the coagula of ‘solve et coagula’. In this phase of Albedo we’ve found clarity after acknowledging what hinders us, which in turn reveals what enriches us.  …

Bird Symbolism in Alchemy

Concepts are carried easily on the feathered backs of birds. There are many animal symbols within alchemical scripture and art, wolves, dragons, unicorns, dogs, deer, insects, lions, toads, but above all most often allegories are represented by birds. They permeate all world religions perhaps due to their ability to fly, crossing the domains of earth …

Alchemy (Exoteric and Esoteric)

Chemistry, metallurgy, these are alchemy. Awareness of the self is alchemy, religious faith is alchemy. What Alchemy isn’t: dead, fiction, transforming lead to gold, or inaccessible to the modern layman. Due to the crypticism and purging by various authorities over the course of history, what we have of the old teachings is few and difficult …