Alchemist Archetype
Catalyst for Change
The alchemist archetype herself is a catalyst for change and she is the one changing. She is a scientist studying the world and the one being studied. The alchemist herself is the fire, the stove, the vessel, and the material.
Alchemy is defined as the transformation of a base material to an ennobled material – moving from the mundane to the divine. This transformation takes place by the ritualistic use of fire in a furnace. Alchemists often worked with metals, but also drew from infinite sources in nature.
Science and Spirituality Merged
The alchemist archetype works with the physical substances and the five senses, and she consults mystical sources. The alchemist knows she’s working with divine power and acts in accordance with that power. Alchemical experiments are ceremonies. Astrology and the movements of the heavens matter for the timing of alchemical procedures. Goddesses, gods, spirits and angels are consulted in the work. The breath of spirit is necessary for the transformation to occur.
A gift of the alchemist archetype is that they don’t see a conflict between science and spirituality. Alchemy was born before there was such a distinction. Both science and spirituality seek to answer the great questions of the universe and the underlying nature of all things. They inhabit the border between the known and the unknown. Both seek union with greater wisdom.
Shadow of the Alchemist Archetype
The alchemist archetype in the shadow wants transformation to progress in a linear “point A to point B” fashion. Here she is goal-oriented and impatient to reach the end without delay. Despite the fact that she is working in an inherently experimental field – which requires failure to learn – she would rather have a formula for success. A fixation on the goal and need for a formula causes those of us working with the alchemist archetype to miss the entire point. It is through the uncertainty, the surprising events, and round-about processes that our desire for the goal itself experiences transformation.
In alchemy, there is a great detail of secrecy and coded language. Alchemists (like scientists) have a complex vocabulary and set of symbols. It requires a great deal of study just to learn how to read an alchemical recipe, and alchemists throughout time have been incredibly protective of their work. This hoarding of knowledge, shrouding discoveries in secrecy, and talking down to amateurs is the shadow of the alchemist archetype.
There is also a dance with unethical behavior, in that the alchemist as scientist seeks to have power over nature and bend nature to his will. The goal of redemption is distorted into domination. This desire for control manifests when the work becomes entirely self-focused. When alchemy is solely about your personal healing and transcendence, you miss the greater, cosmic calling of the alchemist archetype.
Letting Go of the Outcome
In the light, the alchemist archetype understands that the soul works in circles. It is common practice for the alchemist to take the finished product – gold, the philosopher’s stone, the elixir of life – and put it back into the fire. This is the “rotatio” or the “round”. By refining and refining again the magical end of the work, the alchemist purifies her desire for the goal. When you find yourself fixated on the outcome, remember the alchemist’s wisdom. Give what you’ve attained back over to the fire. Let it go. Lose yourself and the goal to the work.
Subjectivity and Objectivity
Science was born from alchemy, but has forgotten its roots. In science, we believe we must be objective all of the time. The gifted alchemist understands that pure objectivity is not possible, we are always in the work to one degree or another. There is wisdom however, in getting some objective distance from our healing and transformation work at times. Being more intellectual and dry helps us gain new perspective. There is also wisdom in embracing our fully subjective experience of transformation. We are working on our inner selves and there’s no denying it. The gifted alchemist archetype navigates this spectrum freely.
Sharing Esoteric Knowledge
The alchemist in the light knows that instructions for transformation can be dangerous to the uninitiated. The coded language and hidden meanings are meant to be revealed over time as the initiate is ready. This is so true in spiritual work of all kinds such as shamanic journeying, meditation, yoga, etc. The alchemist archetype within encourages us to respect and take our time learning secret knowledge. Once we have this knowledge, it’s our duty to share it judiciously, so that others can benefit.
Giving Your Soul to the Work
The Greek work Meraki (pronounced “may-rah-key”) means the essence of ourselves that we pour into our work. This is the blood, sweat and tears, the heart and soul, that we invest. The word “sacrifice” is not about what we lose, but about what we offer wholeheartedly on the altar of the sacred. This is where we give ourselves over entirely to the work.
The gifted alchemist not only gives the outcome, but also her whole being to what she’s passionate about. The alchemical work is no longer about her own transcendence and enlightenment, but about the redemption of the world. She seeks to ennoble the world around her by seeking the divine in the heart of matter. There is no separation between the physical and the spiritual. This is the ultimate ending, middle and beginning of all alchemical processes – unification.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna (the divine avatar of the god Vishnu) says, ”I am the ritual and the sacrifice; I am true medicine and the mantram. I am the offering and the fire which consumes it, and the one to whom it is offered.”
All is one and the same in alchemy.
Ancient Origins of Alchemy
In ancient times, experimentation with nature – animals, stones, materials, plants – was part of ritualistic magic practices. When the transformative power of fire was added to the equation, alchemy was born.
Humans have wielded fire for well over a million years. Cooking is the most ancient form of alchemy. Forging metals is a bit “newer” invention. The earliest evidence of copper smithing is 9000-9500 years ago in North America and in the Middle East. The alchemist archetype has been around for a long time and is found all over the world.
There are long records of alchemical practices in China and India. Between 100-1300 CE, Chinese emperors funded alchemists for the production of brass and often required they be licensed. In India, there is evidence of forging bronze in 2300 BCE with the heyday of alchemy being in the 10th Century CE. Experienced metallurgists in India were Tantric yoga practitioners and alchemical work was absolutely ingrained in their spiritual practice.
Ancient Egyptians were also experienced metallurgists. Their alchemical work also included the practice of embalming. There is an ancient text telling how the goddess Isis gave birth to alchemy in the “city of the holy technique” when she negotiated with an angel to receive an alchemical recipe for resurrecting her husband Osiris. Bits of the recipe survive to this day.
Alchemists have also worked with fire and furnaces for thousands of years in North and South America. Copper and gold ornaments and tools were forged ceremonially in the first millennia CE. Pottery making is another form of alchemical practice that carries into indigenous cultures to this day.
So as you see, the alchemist archetype is found all around the world throughout the whole of human history!
Join me in my “Heart of the Alchemist Archetype” audio course to learn more…
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