Via Serpentis

Alchemy : Al-khemia : 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖

Alchemy unraveled from all its mystery and mysticism is simply the practical application of Nature and Natural processes. Whether pertaining to metals, plants, or spirituality, alchemists strive towards the same goal of transmuting a raw and impure material into its elevated and purified form through the replication of the same natural processes that form our Universe. Regardless of the details of the practice - allegorical, spiritual or physical - the philosophy and core methodology remain the same.

Alchemy is to be understood and approached as both work and ritual. It is the very definition of a Sacred Science as captured by the etymological roots of where it is practiced; the laboratory - as an amalgamation of labor and oratory. 

The word Alchemy (and consequently, chemistry) reaches our English language from the Greek χημεία (khemia, "cast together" or "pour together"). It is further derived from the Greek rendering of the Egyptian word kemet ( Km.t , 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖) one of the ancient names of Egypt meaning “land of black earth” from where the practice is believed to have originated. The Al - prefix of course coming from the Arabic definite article “the”. Thus, Alchemy came to also be known as a Hermetic Science intimately tied to the Hermetic philosophy of Hellenized Egypt, as well as the “Black Art” and the “Royal Art” in reference to both the land of Egypt and the spiritual powers of transmutation and life-after-death imparted to the Pharaohs as Divine Kings.

Alchemical Polarities, Elements & Principles

Alchemical theory describes the universe as being composed of 2 Polarities (Celestial Salt, Celestial Niter), 4 Elements (Fire, Water, Air, Earth), and 3 Principles (Sulfur, Salt, Mercury). This is the mean by which the Cosmos comes into existence, Order arises out of Chaos, and the One is made manifest into the many.

Celestial Niter and Celestial Salt are the polarities of Creation. These are respectively the Active, Volatile and Expansive energy of the Divine Masculine aspect of the Cosmos (Celestial Niter) and the Passive, Fixed and Contractive energy of the Divine Feminine (Celestial Salt). From this polarity all is set in motion and the inherent tension between the Spiritual and the Material is born.

The 4 elements of Fire (🜂), Water (🜄) , Air (🜁) and Earth (🜃) are further expressions of the Volatile (Fire & Air) and Fixed (Earth & Water) Celestial polarities. Today we refer to them as the "classical" Elements to differentiate them from the elements of the periodic table; and since they made their way into Western culture via the writings of classical Greek philosophers. However, the concept of four elements predates the ancient Greeks by millennia. The first written evidence of a cosmology centered around four Elements is found in the Babylonian epic Enûma Eliš dating to the 18th/19th Century B.C.E.

The classical elements represent the Elemental forces of Nature. So while in a alchemical or magical sense we may call upon Fire per say, we are not just invoking the fire made of burning embers and flame we commonly associate with the word "fire"; rather we are invoking capital “F” Fire, the philosophic active and expansive Element of creation of which the fire of flame is but a manifestation.

Aristotle in his work On Generation and Corruption went on to describe the Elements in terms of four sensible qualities: Hot, Cold, Wet, and Dry. Each of the classical elements contains two qualities, a primary and a secondary. Fire is primarily Hot and secondarily Dry, Water is primarily Cold and secondarily Wet, Air is Hot and Wet, and Earth is Cold and Dry. As such, nearly every substance on earth could be described as pertaining to one of the classical elements given how that substance is perceived by our senses.

The Three Alchemical Principles of Mercury (☿), Sulfur (🜍), and Salt (⊖), pertain to all members of the Mineral, Animal and Plant kingdoms . As with the Alchemical Elements, these three essential Principles do not equate with the chemical elements or compounds we associate with these words but with the philosophic principles expressed in the Natural and Spiritual worlds. These are respectively the Spirit, Soul and Body of a thing.

Alchemical Mercury is the Spirit, that vital life force that flows through all beings of the same kingdom and species. There is a Human spirit and life force as there is one for minerals, plants and animals. It is the fluidic principle that connects and runs through all members of the Natural world as a current of visceral, instinctual and psychic streams. It predominates in the elements of Water and Air.

Alchemical Sulfur is Soul. It constitutes the volatile principles of Fire and Air and is the expression of consciousness, divine intellect and the true Will of an individual.  It is that principle given straight from God that makes each of us individually unique and is the root of our own consciousness and Higher Self. While we share the Human Spirit, each of us has a more individual expression of Soul that applies to us while living as the means by which we can retain a sense of Self in the vast ocean of Spirit and by which we can irrefutably state that “I am”. 

Alchemical Salt is the Body - the fixed and material principle found in the elements of Earth and Water in which both the Spirit and Soul can coexist and act. It is only through Body that the union of Spirit & Soul can occur and be expressed via the experience of life.The Philosopher’s Stone of Spiritual Alchemy is the creation of a new immortal body of light that persists after death and retains the Sulfuric and Mercurial principles so that our Sense of Self (Spirit + Soul) instead of being dissolved into the streams of Sprit and reabsorbed back into the divine source of Soul can continue to coexist and experience eternal life after death.