Octave of Alchemical Transmutation
I. Nigredo: Black Phase
Initial dark, impure, alloyed condition; symbolized by the Raven. At the onset of operations, the Phial (Vial or personal Vessel) must be hermetically sealed against unwanted external influences so that the interior process may begin, analogously to the practitioner limiting external distractions and loss of personal energy.
1
Calcination (Incineration): Saturn, Aries, lead
2
Dissolution (Solution): Jupiter, Cancer, tin
II. Albedo: White Phase
Subsequent transformative phase; begins at darkest point of the black phase, at the most intense point of “conscious labor and intentional suffering” (in Fourth Way terminology); symbolized by the Swan.
3
Separation: Mars, Scorpio, iron
4
Conjunction (Congelation): Venus, Taurus, copper
III. Rubedo: Red Phase
Continuation of the purification process of White phase, resulting in progressively finer distillation of the contents of consciousness to progressively higher gradations. Symbolized by the Pelican; also represented by the Red King and White Queen.
5
Fermentation (Digestion): Mercury, Capricorn
6
Distillation (Sublimation): Moon, Virgo, silver
7
Coagulation (Recombination): Sun, Libra, gold
Effects of Each Stage
1
Contraction, discipline, potential
2
Expansion, initial development
3
Assertiveness, active force
4
Receptiveness, passive force
5
Transformation, light, mind, androgyny
6
Purification, subconscious, body-soul
7
End Result, higher consciousness
Further
details of each stage of the Octave
1
Contraction is the initial operation of the entire process, implying
a focus of attention and force to enable the potential for
transmutation and transformation, and entailing a constraining
discipline of study and practice before any further, more advanced
work can be undertaken.
2 Expansion is the second, opposing phase, where established personal discipline awakens recognition of the freedom and capacity to continue.
3 Separation is the first operation of the White phase, involving isolation and removal of remnants of the Black phase from the impure (alloyed) environment or matrix.
4 Conjunction is the second operation of the White phase to recombine purified essences of the Black phase into a new compound and a higher manifestation.
5 Fermentation is the first operation of the Red phase to revive dead (static, fixed, unconscious) material remnants of putrefaction. At its completion occurs the phenomenon of the “Peacock's Tail” representing the threshold of transition from this stage.
6 Distillation or Sublimation is the second operation of the Red phase, which purifies and concentrates the essences of fermentation (the Eagle) into progressively higher gradations of consciousness and awareness.
7 Coagulation or Recombination is the final operation, which produces the Philosopher's Stone (Real I, Objective Consciousness); represented by the Phoenix, the bird which periodically immolates its old self (features of which have degenerated into fixed mechanicalness and automaticity) in a self-generated fire (inner heat) of transformation, to be reborn in progressively higher form (at a higher gradation of consciousness.)
Alternate Sequences
Throughout its history, Alchemy has ever been a complex and multifarious phenomenon practiced by diverse adepts in many different historical and cultural contexts, and thus there is no one single “orthodox” or universally accepted sequence of operations beyond the broadest outlines given herein.
In an alternate version of the alchemical tradition a fourth phase, Citrinitas (Yellow phase) occurs at the end of the White phase as that phase nears its culmination, manifesting a transitory phenomenon of light or “Golden Dawn” energy, a form of “influence from Above” (from one's own dormant Higher Centers), heralding the onset of the ultimate Red phase.
An expanded sequence of phases used by some alchemists expresses a quintuple division of major categories, adding a Green phase (Virido or Viriditas) to represent an early, still immature development in the transition between the White and the Red phases, and a final Gold phase (Aurumitas or Chrysos) which sets the final result (Philosopher's Stone) apart from the Red phase for special concentrated focus.
If the Citrinitas (Yellow) phase is added to augment this fivefold sequence of phases, it should be inserted after the Green phase, as it heralds the onset of the ripe Red phase.
Thus, the expanded sixfold sequence may be schematized as follows:
1
Nigredo (Decomposition of First Matter)
2
Albedo (Partially refined state of First Matter)
3
Virido (Early manifestations of development)
4
Citrinitas (Transitory light manifestation)
5
Rubedo (Maturity and ripeness of material)
6
Chrysos (Final result, Philosopher's Stone.)
In this expanded sixfold sequence, the phases divide symmetrically into two groups of three (1-2-3, 4-5-6), instantiating another representation of the Threefold Law interwoven with the Law of Opposition. The final three phases may be interpreted as a higher reflection of the first three phases, a second operation of the Law of Three.
Key Tools and Terms
All alchemical tools are employed on both a literal, mundane level as actual physical implements for purposes of mundane “chymistry” and also as analogues and symbols of the practitioner's internal transformation and esoteric working process. Although it is feasible for a purely Esoteric practitioner to work with these tools on an exclusively interior or symbolic level, more substantive results are to be expected when actual tools are used in tandem with correct processes. Such embodied use anchors the practitioner's interior Work to exterior realities and takes full advantage of the Hermetic axiom asserting the interdependence of interior and exterior phenomena.
Fuel. A key component of all Alchemical working, often wrongly overlooked; without access to and proper use of the right sort of fuel for a given process no results could be expected.
Esoterically, fuel for interior work relates to the three “foods” used by what has been called the practitioner's “three-story factory”: literal and correct foods for sustenance and energization of the physical body (Moving-Instinctive Center), correctly managed and oriented emotions for the Emotional Center, and sensory impressions (including sound such as mantras and invocations, and proper imagery such as symbols and glyphs) for the Intellectual Center.
Exoterically, on the mundane physical level, alchemists traditionally used wood or charcoal for their furnaces, though various types of flammable oils were also used, with varying symbolic associations depending on the ingredients involved (type of wood or oil.)
Athanor. A specially designed alchemical furnace designed to provide uniform heating within a hermetically sealed environment. Esoterically, the practitioner's holistically conceived body-mind apparatus or “common planetary presence” (in Esoteric terminology), within which the entire alchemical endeavor and ultimately the Magnum Opus are instantiated. Like the exoteric furnace itself, it requires both proper fuel (the “three foods” for body, emotions, and intellect) and application of inner heat (“conscious labor and voluntary suffering” in Gurdjieffian terminology.)
Brazier. Open-topped bowl or other container in which to burn a solid fuel (most commonly charcoal), generally made of metal. Unlike the Athanor it is not hermetically sealed and may play a subsidiary role in alchemical workings, often used for burning incense or in other applications where allowing smoke or heat to escape into the air is desired.
Crucible. Open container for melting materials at high temperatures, usually made of clay or other heat-resistant ceramics. Often used for melting of metals and separating ore from a matrix. Requires application of heat from another source beneath it. In the operation of “cementation,” a closed crucible is used to contain the escaping vapors so that they may react with the other material in the vessel.
Mortar
and Pestle.
Bowl and rod for grinding dry materials into powder form for further
operations.
Alembic.
Two-part distilling apparatus or beaker, with the heating vessel
underneath the still.
Cucurbit.
Heating vessel below the alembic.
Retort.
Combined heating and condensation still.
Ergasterion. Literally “work place,” the practitioner's personal temple of operations. Can be used for non-alchemical (general Esoteric) work as well as alchemical operations.
Oratory. Literally “prayer space,” a dedicated space for Esoteric work, ritual, and contemplation.
Laboratory. Dedicated space for mundane, physico-chemical operations.
Alchemeion. Dedicated space for alchemical work which may include within it the Ergasterion, Oratory, and Laboratory. Usage varies among different authorities; sometimes the various terms are used interchangeably.
Israel Regardie on Alchemy
From Regardie's The Philosopher's Stone (Llewellyn 2013.) Parenthetical clarifications added.
The alchemist is a type of Esoteric Magician who acts as the subject of his own experiments, separating and analyzing various parts of the holistic self (Persona, Essence, Centers) in order to understand their nature and origin so that after lengthy and elaborate work they may be properly purified and recombined in renewed, higher form.
The basis is a process of solve et coagula, Separation and Reassembly, whereby the three alchemical Principles (Salt, Sulphur, Mercury) are separated from the First Matter, refined, and recombined in a more perfected state within the Alchemist. Through dissolution, crystallization of consciousness is broken into its component parts, and from this resultant its fundamental elements are reassembled on a new basis.
After separation, subjected to heat and light (inner friction and intentional directed suffering), the material is stimulated into further growth whereby it may exert its own essential nature and power by reformulating the vehicles through which it acts. The formulation of the Philosopher's Stone allegorically means consciously reorganizing the material of life in order to manifest Essence.
Alchemists assert that benefit may come to those who merely study their writings; by assimilating the word of their wisdom, one awakens a reflection of the Magnum Opus, the Great Work.
The process of psychic integration is continuous and recurring; the three stages of theurgic integration (purification, consecration, union) recur repeatedly on a variety of levels throughout one's lifetime.
Role
of Heat and Fire
“In
the sealed Alembic of your Heart, through the action of the firey
Athanor of affliction, may you come to behold the Stone of the Wise.”
(from the Golden Dawn Adeptus Minor ceremony.)
The application of consistent, controlled, and directed heat by means of the action of fire is a fundamentally critical operation in Alchemy. The effect of heat generated within the alchemical Athanor (furnace) and applied to the Alembic (hermetically sealed vessel) is allegorized on the level of Esoteric psychology with the positive effects of physical and emotional “friction,” referring to conscious effort, arduous work, and intentional beneficial “suffering” as explicated in Fourth Way teachings (see chapter on Esoteric Magickal Work elsewhere in this book.)
This interior fire, once properly ignited and regularly stoked, is consciously applied to the practitioner's holistic self. This “self” is constituted of the various inner Centers (Physical, Emotional, and Intellectual Centers, along with minor subsidiary centers) and functions allegorically as the alchemical “hermetically sealed vessel” of the work in progress. At length, the key effect of this operation is to dissolve the mechanically accumulated crystallization of the False Persona of the practitioner, reducing its detritus to “black ash” in the phase of calcination or carbonization (symbolized by the glyph of Saturn) so that the further successive operations of purification and distillation may take place unimpeded. The success of each successive operation acts in the fashion of an application of a correctly applied Interval Shock or external influence upon the given material involved.
In the psychic realm, the interior heat and fire represents both the pure force expressed by the Emotional Center and the analytically reductive activity expressed by the Intellectual Center, both of which must operate in tandem, to different degrees in different contexts, for successful results in the transmutation of the First Matter into the Philosopher's Stone.
The heating effect of this conscious fire entails an intensifying of the alchemical practitioner's consciousness which serves to awaken and separate out higher, interior factors and qualities from an alloyed ore of mixed, chaotic, fragmentary and conflicting components. By this means, a higher being-body is constructed by the force of influences from the Higher Emotional and Higher Intellectual Centers, and is at length precipitated and condensed within the practitioner, and the Philosopher's Stone is gradually crystallized through repeated application of the operation.
The interior, esoteric Furnace (Athanor) is initially heated by the alchemist's repeated practice of withdrawing attention from exterior distractions and focusing attention inwardly. Here, the Fire itself represents the act of redirecting attention to interior phenomena and processes, upon the contents of the practitioner's consciousness and unconsciousness by rigorous, disciplined contemplation, meditation, and invocation of Magickal formulae. The psychic contents of consciousness serve as the fuel to be calcinated (carbonized) by the heat of the attention within the hermetically sealed Alembic vessel of the adept such that further progressive operations such as purification and distillation may properly take place.
Success in the Great Work entails true transmutation of the self and development of one's Essence toward higher gradations of Objective Consciousness, and requires both interior and exterior “heat” or friction to gradually transmute the practitioner. In terms of Esoteric Magickal Work,this external heat is analogous to what is known as the Interval Shock or Influence from Above, an unpredictable cosmic force that can catalyze further growth if it is recognized as such and if the practitioner possesses the knowledge, capacity, and will to properly make use of it. Practices such as Alchemy, as well as other forms of Esoteric Magickal Work, provide one with the necessary qualities to open oneself to Higher Influences and to make use of them when they appear.
Solve
and Coagula Formula
The first half of this formula, represented in the Black phase (Nigredo) refers to an analytical process, a dissolution and decoction of the First Matter and a discharging of its impurities as the alchemist's mechanical crystallization is broken down and separated from the inner Essence. The elements in their naturally found state must be analyzed (divided) because they are chaotically alloyed with each other and adulterated; esoterically, this represents the practitioner's initial lack of true will or integrated Being. The dissolution can be experienced as a painful process, but it is a necessary prerequisite for further progress in the Great Work.
The second half of this formula, represented in later phases, is the reverse half of the first, and refers to the reconstruction, coagulation, and fixation of the volatile results of the first process. After successful completion of the dissolution process, the practitioner must reassemble the elements of his Being on a new, integrated pattern for further development.
The analytical method is employed to induce dissolution of crystallized conceptual automaticities in the practitioner's consciousness in the energy of that consciousness itself, by immersing such impure crystallizations in the energetic matrix from which they originally emerged. This extended process of dissolution decrystallizes mechanicalities and makes their useful, purified constituents available for further work. Freed and purified at length, the Essence gradually reforms itself by means of what modern scientists call (in a more mundane physical context) a process of complex adaptive autocatalysis, or what the ancient alchemists would have known as autopoesis (self-creation.)
This deliberate breaking-down of crystallized constituents of the personal sphere also has the property of spontaneously releasing the force entrapped latently in them, in a process akin to psychological sublimation: the transfer of force from a grosser, superficial, dysfunctional level to a more subtle, profound, and constructively creative interior level.
The
Philosopher's Stone
In
strictly alchemical terms, the Philosopher's Stone represents the
union of Mercury (consciousness) and Sulphur (will and emotion) with
Salt (the planetary or “earthy” physical form) as their basis or
vessel-vehicle. In
terms of Esoteric Magickal Work, the purified Stone represents
several different concepts such as Objective Consciousness or “Real
I,” and is produced after the successful accomplishment of the
various alchemical operations as outlined above. Standing for “Real
I,” the Stone is a core constituent of the Higher Emotional and
Intellectual Centers, and already contains these three principles in
latent but alloyed (impure) form.
Production of the Stone is a process analogous on the Microcosmic scale to the formation of the Cosmos out of an eternally preexistent chaos (prima materia, prote hyle) on the Macrocosmic scale, a process grounded in the Hermetic axiom of multidimensional fractality, by which the Macrocosmos is duplicated in the Microcosmos by the effective operations of the Alchemist or Magician; thus Alchemy recreates in the practitioner the phenomena of creation and evolution manifesting on the cosmic scale.
In additional to actual material operations, alchemical work also requires intensive regular study and contemplation of its Esoteric principles based on a rational framework. Alchemy, like other Esoteric Magickal Work, is distinguished from exoteric spiritual systems in that it necessitates a combination of systematic rational inquiry as well as nonrational methods of inquiry to develop the practitioner's harmonious knowledge and understanding of the teachings in a holistic manner.
END
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