Alchemy

by Anonymous OFS
Chapter 1: Introduction to Alchemy
Chapter 2: The Emerald Tablet
Chapter 3: The Kybalion
Chapter 4: The 7 Alchemical Operations
Chapter 5: The Three Principles
Chapter 6: Spiritual Alchemy
Chapter 7: Practical Alchemy
Chapter 1:

Introduction to Alchemy
 Alchemy is an age old science. Many alchemists goal was the creation of the Philosopher's Stone,
the Divine Elixir that produces Eternal Life or physical Immortality. Even though the alchemists were
interested in transmuting base metals into Gold and the creation of the Philosopher's Stone they also were
interested in the transformation of the alchemist by this same process to the eventual production of the
Diamond Soul or Buddha Soul within the Alchemists own soul. Perfecting the stone within would
eventually lead to perfecting the stone without in the laboratory. The interest of Alchemy spread over the
known world first from Western Civilization to then The East. The Ancient Eygptian Mystery Schools
taught their initiates the Secret Art of transmuting base metals in Gold to the eventual production of the
Philosopher's Stone. The interest of Alchemy spread from Egypt to Islam to eventually China and India.
The golden age of alchemy was predominant in 1200-1600s. It was a widespread Sacred Art, a Sacred
Science, that only a Master and an apprentice would only know to then pass on to the worthy. One of the
prime figures of alchemy is Hermes Trismegistus or Hermes, “The Thrice Greatest” He is known for
contributing the earliest known Hermetic works known as the Corpus Hermeticum and the Emerald
Tablet. The Corpus Hermeticum was basically a number of lectures or sermons that Hermes talks to his
disciples about the Cosmic mind, man, the microcosm and the macrocosm and how evolution on Earth
began. It later was translated into a cryptic language onto an Emerald Tablet that was found by various
influential people much later on. The Emerald Tablet basically tells of the process of how all things have
come into being through the Cosmic Mind. It uses statements like as so above, as so below to explain the
difference between heaven and earth to describe how all things come into being from the One Cosmic
Mind. It can take people years to truly unfold the wisdom of the tablet but it’s especially important for the
process of both spiritual and laboratory alchemy since it has cryptically inscribed the 7 alchemical steps if
one is to truly begin the Great Work and actually do the process itself. The Great Work was what the
alchemical process was known as. To accomplish the Great Work was to transmute base metals into Gold
or also known as transmuting the lead of our own consciousness into spiritual gold of the soul and spirit.
So it’s basically attaining a God-like state once the alchemist has finished the Great Work. We’ll talk
more about this later.
This is an illustration of the alchemist whose standing in the middle between the above (the heavens) and
the below(the earth) and how he is perfectly balancing all of the elements of nature within his own being.
Chapter 2:

The Emerald Tablet

 This is Isaac Newton’s translation of the Emerald Tablet

1. Tis true without lying, certain & most true.

2. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below
to do the miracles of one only thing
3. And as all things have been & arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their
birth from this one thing by adaptation.
4. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its
nurse.
5. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.

6. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.

7. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.

8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth & receives the force of
things superior & inferior.
9. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world

10. & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.

11. Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing.

12. So was the world created.

13. From this are & do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this.

Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world
14. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.

This cryptic text was used by millions of alchemists of old to accomplish the Great Work. It has so many
meanings within the text itself that countless answers to the riddles of the art of alchemy itself can easily
but most difficultly be answered. Try as an exercise to really mediate and think about the text and
translation and most likely understanding will come.
In this illustration, known as “Squaring the circle” the alchemist has drawn a circle to represent the
Cosmic Mind than a triangle to represent the soul and then a square to represent the body around a two
male and female figures. So basically this is representing how the Great Work is accomplished if you
square the circle per say and make the masculine and feminine One then you basically have accomplished
the work since now it’s just one smaller circle in the bigger one, enlightened buddha and the Cosmic
Mind.
Chapter 3:

The Kybalion
 The Kybalion was written by the Three Initiates but revealing the facts of the author most occult adepts
believe it was written by William Walker Atkinson and Paul Foster Case. The Kybalion is a simplified
version of the Corpus Hermeticum written by Hermes. It states the 7 Hermetic principles that the Cosmos
and the Universe and the world and man himself revolve around. We’ll shortly discuss these principles.

The first Hermetic Principle is the Principle of Correspondence being as above so below which basically
means whatever happens in the heavens has a direct correspondence to what happens on earth. Man is the
Microcosm of the Macrocosm “The Universe” or the Cosmos and both interplay off each other and both
need each other for it’s own survival.

The second Hermetic Principle is the Principle of Vibration. It states that nothing in the Universe it as rest
everything is in constant motion, from the stars and planets in heaven to man and the animals and the
lands on earth. Basically “everything is in motion”.

The Third Hermetic Principle is the Principle of Polarity. This state that everywhere in the Universe “The
Macrocosm and man himself “The Microcosm” has it’s opposite. Such as hot and cold, fire and water and
man and women. Everything in the Universe has it’s polarity of opposite. There is nothing in this
Universe that doesn’t have it’s opposite polarity.

The Fourth Hermetic Principle is the Principle of Rhythm. This basically states that everywhere in the
Universe and in man himself there is constant rhythm. As the ebb and flow of the oceans on earth so does
man have within himself the swinging pendulum of which his moods are constantly changing. As are the
seasons of the earth as also the history of man himself, in a constant ebb and flow, forwards and
backwards motion forever going onwards.

The fifth Hermetic Principle is the Principle of Causation. This basically states that everything has a
cause and effect. Nowhere in the Universe is there an effect without it’s cause. From God to man, to man
to machine everything has a cause and effect. Nowhere in the Universe is without it’s cause and effect.
Everything has a cause and everything has an effect.

The sixth Hermetic Principle is the Principle of Gender. This basically states that everywhere in the
Universe there is gender. From gender to species like man and animal who both have a feminine and
masculine sex, on all other planes of life there is also it’s positive and negative charge even down to the
smallest atom to the biggest star.

The seventh Hermetic Principle is the Principle of Mental Gender. This basically states similar to the
Principle of Gender as we just went over but this also says that everything within even man himself has a
masculine or positive and feminine or negative state of being that are usually constantly fighting one
another and at ends with each other. Such as the Spirit the masculine and the feminine the Soul within
man himself.
This illustration is of the alchemist again whose perfectly balancing the Three Principles of Mercury,
Sulphur and Salt within his own being with also the elementals of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. You can
see the 7 alchemical operations illustrated going around the circular star within his head and also the
inscription reads as one of the oldest alchemical inscriptions and it says: "Visita Interiora Terrae
Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem Veram Medicinam", which means "Visit the interior of the
earth, and by rectifying you will find the hidden stone which is the true medicine".
Chapter 4:

The Seven Alchemical Operations

 We’re now going to talk about the 7 alchemical operations. These are the operations or stages that
the alchemist does do in order to accomplish the Great Work or the full transmuting base metals into
Gold or the full transformation of the alchemist to the gold like spiritual “God” state within his own self.
We will briefly list them here.

The first step is Calcination. This basically is where on a spiritual level we begin to come into and
understanding of the darkest parts of our personality and we begin to break them down and destroy some
of the ego attachments to things we really did not need at all. It’s a natural humbling process that prepares
the alchemist for the next step.

The second step is Dissolution. This basically is where there is a more breakdown of our shadow
or the dark parts of our personality that becomes emerged into the unconscious, or rejected parts of our
mind. It’s where our conscious self let’s go of it’s complete control and now is allowing the unconscious
material to surface where we begin to confess to unify things that we’re troubling our whole lives.

The third step is Separation. This is the step where we rediscover the lost golden parts of our
personality and the refined essences from the previous alchemical operations now brings it to full circle
within our own consciousness. It’s really the letting go of our previous past belief systems and fully
integrating a more advanced unified vision.

The fourth step is Conjunction. This is where the conscious self “the masculine” and the
unconscious self “the feminine” unite and come together and produce a unified state of consciousness
within the alchemist which usually brings about the Child of Conjunction that comes from the opposites
uniting. The child is the True self of the alchemist that is freed from every and all kinds of former
negative belief systems.

The fifth step is Fermentation. This is where spiritual power from above comes down and really
enlightens the alchemist to make more wise intuitive decisions about the future of the work itself. Out of
Putrefaction comes the yellow ferment which is likened to a golden wax. This is what this halo light
substance that’s produced within the alchemist is usually described as. The Fermentation process can
come from intense prayer, desire for mystical union and deep meditation. Fermentation is inspiration to
the alchemist himself to inspire him to a whole new outlook on life.

The sixth step is Distillation. This basically is where there is a sublimation of psychic forces
within the alchemist that helps him to make sure no impurities arise when he perfects the inner stone
within himself for the next and last step. Personal Distillation consists of introspection techniques which
helps perfect and raise the psyche to the highest level of conscious awareness where the unborn self can
truly be who and what he is.

The seventh step is Coagulation. This is where the Philosopher’s stone within is perfected and it
brings about a whole new level of Oneness and awareness to the alchemist and also produces a golden
like body of light usually known as the Astral Body that now the alchemist can travel at will where he
wishes to go as also an eternal Elixir of life is released in the mind of the alchemist prolonging his life
indefinitely. Finally the Great Work is accomplished!
 This picture illustrates the alchemist at the bottom of the hill beginning to walk the path of the
Great Work unto the alchemical temple on the hill. It lists the seven steps and also uses more alchemical
symbols to describe the process.
Chapter 5:

The Three Principles

 We’re now going to talk about the Three Principles of the Hermetic Art. The Three Principles are
Mercury, Sulphur and Salt. Basically Spirit, Soul and body. These principles work together to accomplish
the Great Work in both practical and spiritual alchemy. We also have the four elementals that of which
arises a fifth force which is the Quintessence. The four elementals are Air, Water, Fire and Earth. All of
these elementals combine and recombine to create the Philosopher’s stone both within the alchemist
without, in his laboratory. These are such important figures in the alchemical language that are usually
written about very cryptically by the alchemist not to disclose too many of it’s secrets.

This is an illustration of the Great Work. It shows the tower of alchemy which is the athanor
where all the chemicals and elementals are combing and recombining to create the stone. At the to of the
tower of alchemy is the sacred rose flower that represents the soul. The tower itself represents the body.
Mercury, Sulphur and Salt are the three symbols at the top flowing into the flower and the tower itself.
Chapter 6:

Spiritual Alchemy
 We are now going to talk about Spiritual Alchemy. Even though Spiritual Alchemy is very similar
to practical laboratory alchemy they still are vastly different. In Spiritual Alchemy the alchemist is trying
and working hard to transmute his own base metals or the lead of his consciousness to a “God” like
golden state of spiritual perfection. He does this still going through the 7 alchemical steps but he
transforms his own being as opposed to the chemicals in the lab. Many practitioners of Spiritual Alchemy
are so going after this “God” like golden state from which they will attain long last enlightenment and
spiritual perfection on body, soul and spirit. Spiritual Alchemy very much relates to the Tantric system of
the Kundalini force and the chakras. The seven chakras are related to the seven alchemical stages or
processes and when a stage is complete the Kundalini force arises to the successive chakra. It is said by
many authors of the known subject when the Kundalini arises within the seven chakras all the way to the
top of the thousand petal lotus then the alchemist has achieved or has perfected “the stone” within. Since
now he has attained this “God like” state of golden spiritual perfection he now is ready to face the world
anew. So the Great Work is accomplished when this does occur within the Spiritual Alchemist. Hence
then the Philosopher’s stone is created within himself.

This illustration illustrates the 7 chakras and the Kundalini force flowing through the entire body
system. The thousand petal lotus is the 7th chakra on the top of the figures head.
Chapter 7:

Practical Alchemy
 We are now going to talk about Practical Alchemy. Practical Alchemy is what all the alchemist’s
of old we’re about. They used athanors and tools and spagyrics to create the famed and long sought for
Philosopher’s stone. It was in their laboratory where they combined these chemicals and forces of the
Three Principles and The Four Elementals to help with the creation of the stone. They would spend hours
if not days in this endeavor trying hard to create the stone. It would take some years and others lifetimes
to make. But the really big thing to note is that the alchemists we’re not only trying to transmute base
metals into gold but really going after the full transformation of being for the alchemist himself. They yes
we’re going after the physical stone but really mainly the purified inner stone of golden spiritual
perfection!