Alchemy Study Program


Ancient wisdom for modern times

The Secrets of Alchemy taught by practicing alchemists.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Alchemy?

Why are the obscure symbols and arcane principles of this ancient craft getting so much attention in modern times? How can the teachings of alchemists have such a strong influence in such diverse contemporary areas as psychology, spirituality, the arts, literature, business, filmmaking, gaming, and sciences like medicine, biology, geology, cosmology, chemistry, and physics?

The answer to these questions lies in the universal nature of alchemical operations. Alchemy can be defined most simply as the "art of transformation," and it concerns itself with the underlying principles of how things evolve through time and what is the basic process of changing one thing into another.

From its origins over 5,000 years ago in Egypt, alchemy has had a singular focus on the most fundamental principles of change in Nature. Since time immemorial, alchemists have sought to isolate the most basic essences of matter to create higher forms. This spiritual technology was so powerful that it was kept secret from the common people and expressed only in secret writings or concealed in the architecture of sacred buildings for enlightened people to intuitively recognize.

That tradition was carried on during the heyday of alchemy in the Middle Ages in secret ciphers, symbolic drawings, and in the sacred architecture of cathedrals. The ultimate goal of the alchemist is to find the Prima Materia (First Matter), the common heart of all materials, the dark, chaotic, unformed stuff of creation that is "hidden in plain sight" throughout the universe. Through alchemical processes, the alchemist transforms the is Prima Materia into the Philosophers Stone, which has the ability to instantly perfect anything.

The Great Work of alchemy has always been to speed up this natural process of perfection – to resurrect the spiritual ideal and activate the hidden energies that can be used to bring that ideal to manifestation. The gold of alchemy, according to this deeper tradition, is simply hastened perfection in the substance at hand, whether that be a lifeless lump of lead or the human soul. Every human being participates in alchemy, whether in a conscious manner through intentional transformation or through the unconscious alchemical processes at work in our lives.

On the personal level, alchemy is the Science of Soul, a unique discipline based not only on logic but also on intuition, personal gnosis, and wisdom. So alchemy is also an art, and as every artist knows, true art can only be practiced by those who are in possession of the inspired presence and purified imagination necessary for creative transformation.

While the manipulations required for alchemical preparations may, like an ordinary chemical process, be taught to anybody, the results that such a person could accomplish would be without life – an alchemical still-birth. Only the person in whom the true life has awakened can in turn awaken it from its slumber in matter and cause latent forms to grow and manifest.


FAQ

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