Soul Alchemy
- suecawthorne061
- Oct 25, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 21, 2022
Soul Alchemy
‘ When I comprehended my darkness, a truly magnificent night came over me and my dream plunged me into the depths of the millennia, and from it my phoenix ascended’. Carl G.Jung.
The Phoenix is most often portrayed as a magnificent ascending bird with majestic gold, orange and red plumage, flying triumphantly towards the Sun. The fire of truth has eradicated the dross of unconsciousness. The resurrected Phoenix gathers the ashes of its former self and builds a new egg which it offers to the Sun god at Heliopolis. The Egyptians called the Phoenix Bennu, a heron with red and gold feathers. It is associated with both the sun-god Ra, and Osiris, god of the Underworld, who gave Bennu the secret of rebirth and Immortality, as it rises every morning just like the Sun. In Greek and Roman legends the Phoenix symbolises the journey of the human soul in its quest for rebirth and transformation. The Phoenix is a symbol for the Philosopher’s Stone, and represents the alchemical transmutation of the soul’s nature.
“ For the alchemist, the one primarily in need of redemption is not the man, but the deity who is lost and sleeping in matter “. Carl Jung ( Psychology and Alchemy)
The work of an alchemist is to transmute base metal into gold. It is also the endeavour of creating an Elixir of Life and Immortality, capable of curing any disease of the of the body and soul. The manifestation and building of the Philosopher’s Stone was encompassed within this work. It has become the key symbol of perfection and spiritual enlightenment. Efforts to discover the Philosopher’s Stone were called the Magnum Opus – or Great Work.
We are all born alchemists and healers, and it is now time for us to reclaim the full potential of our true natures.
Soul Alchemy offers us the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of our psyche and the way our unconscious manifests in our lives. It is a bridge between ancient sacred knowledge and the pursuit of contemporary personal transformation of human consciousness. It assists and supports the unfoldment of intuitive awareness and the understanding of our dream and inner World dialogue. It is a beautiful invitation to create an inner space from the World, yet be more deeply connected with it, in a conscious way. Within us lay the seeds of our future lives. and the reality we choose to create.
As you work through your personal alchemical process, you will experience a greater confidence to sit in the driving seat of your life, and operate the control panel of your future authentic destiny. Breaking through your past limitations with renewed strength and purpose, you can proceed with wisdom and awareness to transmute and heal your life experience.
‘The dark night of the soul comes just before revelation. When everything is lost and all seems darkness, then comes the light and all that is needed “ Joseph Campbell
The Four Stages of Transmutation :
Nigredo
Albedo
Citrinitas
Rubedo
In traditional scientific Alchemy these categories describe the journey of transmutation of base metal from lead at Nigredo, moving through Albedo and Citrinitas, to gold at the final stage, Rubedo. In Soul Alchemy, the four stages represent the individuals journey and the discovery of the gold / spirit within themselves.
1st Stage - Nigredo/Black – Represents death of your old life and way of being. Accepting yourself as you really are – shadow and all. Repressed parts of ourselves. New beginnings.
2nd Stage- Albedo/ White - Purification .The black ashes become pure consciousness combined with inner wisdom and guidance . The elder / wise person emerges.
3rd Stage - Citrinitas - Yellow - The rising Sun / Pure consciousness. Awakening. Expression of spirit in the World. Sense of Purpose. Alignment of mind/body/spirit.
4th Stage - Rubedo - Red - Success, culmination and flowering of the Great Work. Lead transmuted into gold. Elixir. True nature. Phoenix ascending. Rebirth and Renewal.
Self knowledge and healing has always been an offshoot of traditional alchemy. Paracelsus the great medieval alchemist, proclaimed that scientific alchemical transmutation was impossible, unless the alchemist himself, was in the process of the transformation of his spirit.
Alchemy is reputed to have originated in ancient Egypt, where the word ‘khem' was used to describe the fertile land around the Nile. Egyptian interest with immortality and the development of chemical compounds used in the mummification process, point to the origins of alchemy. Alexandria is believed to have been the cradle of alchemical knowledge.
Alchemy was later developed by Taoist monks in China, followed by India, whose alchemical pursuits resulted in the discovery and production of steel. In the middle East and Europe, gold was believed to be the perfect metal. By sixteenth century Europe, alchemists had divided into two distinct groups. The first focused on the discovery of new compounds and their reactions, thus becoming the founders of modern day chemistry. The second, focused on the metaphysical and spiritual aspects of alchemy, giving birth to Soul Alchemy.
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