Alchemy and the magician

Alchemy can be categorized into four levels, physical, biological, psychological, and transcendental. Physical alchemy refers to the transmutation of one substance into another; base metals into gold, water into wine, etc. Biological alchemy began with the pursuit of an ‘elixir’ that would stall the process of old age, regenerate the body, and acquire a degree a physical immortality with immunity to disease. This search led to the field of herbalism as many plants possess various healing and life giving qualities. Psychological alchemy is the science of the development of the mind. This refers to the ego and consciousness evolving to function fully in the mental realm. Transcendental alchemy is true alchemy and is considered the ultimate goal of the practice. The alchemist considers all things in their natural unregenerate state to be dead. Humans too, in our natural state, are in a state of death. Master Jesus voiced this when he said, “let the dead, bury the dead”. Transcendental alchemy takes humans from a state of nature to a state of grace, the mystical union.

When considering alchemy, we often think of its most famous metaphor, the Philosopher’s Stone. Beyond turning lead into gold or granting immortality, it is a symbol of change, a metaphor for inner transformation. Carl Jung liked it to what he termed individuation. The ‘base metal’ is symbolic of our unconscious chaos and the ‘gold’ is self awareness. The quest for the stone represents the challenge of integrating our shadows into wisdom. Therefore, the stone is not something to be found, rather it is something to be uncovered. It has been said that the stone is everywhere, hidden in plain sight, like self love, acceptance, and awareness. Some might say the Stone’s power lies in the quest itself, as it is what refines and transforms the seeker.

The Magician card in the tarot is numbered one, it follows the fool card, number zero. One is the number of new beginnings and zero is the number of possibilities or potential. We can like the magician card to Jung’s view of the Philosopher’s Stone. The magician is the archetype of the self-aware individual. He uses the tools on his table, (cups, pentacles, swords, and wands, symbolic of water, earth, air, and fire) to direct his inner chaos into creativity and ultimately, his destiny. His pose, one hand pointing to the heavens and the other to the earth symbolizes the Hermetic principle ‘‘As above, so below”. The magician is a bridge between spiritual and material realms. There is an infinity sign above his head representing divine energy and endless potential. He wears a red robe symbolic of passion for worldly experience. It is paired with a white tunic symbolizing purification of this passion through wisdom. The roses represent desire and the white lilies represent spiritual purity, together they represent the union of opposing forces or opposites. Both the magician and the Stone symbolize transformation of the mundane into the extraordinary. We all possess the magician archetype and the Stone within. The magician is an active force, the alchemist. He symbolizes our power to manifest will by transmuting nature with an ultimate goal of uniting with the divine.