Alchemy, the predecessor of chemistry, is primarily about the ability to change one thing into another. Specifically, its main goal seems to have been to turn lead into gold. While the alchemists never truly achieved this (at least in a physical sense), it turns out it can be done. From this article:
But what of the fabled transmutation of lead to gold? It is indeed possible—all you need is a particle accelerator, a vast supply of energy and an extremely low expectation of how much gold you will end up with. More than 30 years ago nuclear scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in California succeeded in producing very small amounts of gold from bismuth, a metallic element adjacent to lead on the periodic table. The same process would work for lead, but isolating the gold at the end of the reaction would prove much more difficult, says David J. Morrissey, now of Michigan State University, one of the scientists who conducted the research. “We could have used lead in the experiments, but we used bismuth because it has only one stable isotope,” Morrissey says. The element’s homogeneous nature means it is easier to separate gold from bismuth than it is to separate gold from lead, which has four stable isotopic identities.
As I said, alchemists never achieved this in a physical sense (though they did manage to work with and create multiple substances), but quite a few of us believe that alchemy was meant more as a metaphor for spiritual transformation. The search to turn lead into gold was truly a search for self-development and enlightenment: to turn lead (a dull, normal person) into gold (a precious, noble person).
Whether merely physical or a metaphor for spirituality, the alchemical process is broken down into stages. There are a few different ways of separating these stages. The versions I see around most are the four-part and twelve-part, so that's what I'll talk about.
The four-part version is based on colors: the blackening, the whitening, the yellowing, and the reddening. This is the color progression of the material that will turn into the Philosopher's Stone. A simple explanation of these steps:
Black - Death, the beginning stage, "dark night of the soul"
White - Purification, rebirth, awakening
Yellow - Higher knowledge, wisdom, integration
Red - Perfection, unity, completion
I haven't seen this explicitly stated anywhere, but it seems to me that the colors line up nicely with the four classical elements. Black is earth (heavy, material, unrefined), white is water (cleansing, purifying), yellow is air (intellect, creativity), and red is fire (transformation). That has helped me in my understanding of the process: to achieve completion you must start with the physical, then the emotional, then the intellectual, then the spiritual. It's a bit reminiscent of Maslow's pyramid.
The twelve-part version, which has been mainly attributed to George Ripley, is naturally a little more complex. Dom Pernety paired each step in the process with a zodiac sign. Here are the pairings, with Ripley's names for the steps:
Stage | Zodiac | Key Concept | Example |
Calcination | Aries | Initiation, destruction, purification | Life crisis that forces self-reflection |
Dissolution (Solution) | Taurus | Dissolution, grounding, stability | Finding your bearings, stabilizing |
Separation | Gemini | Analysis, discernment, division | Deep thought on what needs to change |
Conjunction | Cancer | Union, emotional synthesis | Taking emotional needs into consideration |
Putrefaction | Leo | Death, decay, preparation for rebirth | Like a phoenix, you burn to rise from the ashes |
Congelation | Virgo | Crystallization, perfection, form | Making a plan, getting organized, establishing routine |
Cibation | Libra | Balance, nourishment, harmony | Work-life balance, setting boundaries |
Sublimation | Scorpio | Purification, transmutation, ascension | Processing 'negative' emotions and putting that energy into something productive |
Fermentation | Sagittarius | Growth, expansion, spiritual infusion | Finding inspiration |
Exaltation | Capricorn | Attainment, perfection, structure | Solidifying your routine, building a sturdy foundation |
Multiplication | Aquarius | Amplification, innovation, expansion | Teaching and inspiring others |
Projection | Pisces | Completion, unity, transcendence | Peace and fulfillment |
Definitions can be found here.
As you can see, the zodiac signs are in order from first to last. If you know a bit about astrology, this could make learning the steps simpler. For example, you can see that Gemini, whose symbol is the Twins, lines up with the "separation" stage.
Let's imagine a scenario to help understand the process a bit better:
Calcination (Aries): Anna finds out that her best friend Marie has been saying very nasty things about her. They've been best friends for YEARS, so this is wild. (Also aligns with the blackening.)
Dissolution (Taurus): After the initial shock, Anna manages to calm herself down. Whatever is happening here, it isn't going to get any easier by stressing out.
Separation (Gemini): Anna considers her options. Should she still be friends with Marie? Maybe they could remain friends and simply not be as close. Or maybe she should cut her off altogether!
Conjunction (Cancer): She imagines how she would feel if they were no longer friends. She already feels betrayed and sad and angry and AUGH SO MANY EMOTIONS (Also aligns with the whitening.)
Putrefaction (Leo): Anna takes a few days to just lie in bed. She cries. She thinks. She feels. She stops feeling.
Congelation (Virgo): Anna has to make a decision. Is she going to remain friends with Marie? No. Screw Marie. Okay, now that we've decided that, it's time to make a plan. She figures out how best to approach the situation.
Cibation (Libra): She's going to tell Marie that too much has happened and that they can't remain friends. She sets boundaries by telling Marie that she's happy to be cordial in social settings with their friend group, but that they are no longer besties.
Sublimation (Scorpio): Even after 'solving' the problem, Anna still has complicated feelings. She's a writer, so she decides to write a story with themes of friendship and betrayal. (Also aligns with the yellowing.)
Fermentation (Sagittarius): She looks for people with similar experiences to see how they've handled it.
Exaltation (Capricorn): She puts energy into herself. Now that she doesn't spend so much time with Marie, she can start going to the gym more regularly and pick up a new hobby or two.
Multiplication (Aquarius): She posts her story online for other people to see, hoping that she can help someone else to feel a little less alone.
Projection (Pisces): It takes time and effort to heal, but eventually, Anna does heal. She manages to find peace without Marie. (Also aligns with the reddening.)
Knowing the stages of alchemy can help to decipher symbolism in some occult texts, like The Most Holy Trinosophia, which you can find simplified here. Colors play a big role in that text, along with the alchemical process in general.
This can also be a helpful guide for how to navigate life-changing events. Many of us weren't really taught how to handle emotional situations, so something like Anna's story could completely break a person under the right circumstances. Having a sort of roadmap to see the steps to healing makes it easier to understand how we can heal. It's a list of instructions on how to turn our own 'lead' into 'gold.'
The alchemists were proto-scientists. Without alchemy, we wouldn't have chemistry, which means we wouldn't have medicine and advanced cleaning products and all kinds of other things. We owe a lot to them on a physical level. It turns out we owe a lot to them for their spiritual wisdom, too.
This is something I'm actively learning about, so I would love to hear any opinions or corrections. Thanks for reading.
Stay safe!
- me
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