Transmutation.

The Universe in its truly apprehended state is constant and in eternal flux. It comprises all and there can be nothing beyond or without it. From the age marked by the first of Human birth til present day where we now play the role ascendant, the names and title employed to depict this act of being ring with stark simplicity; they offer due reverence in acknowledgement that no word can ever capture what it is that for most is ever only sensed. Rarely beheld, its magnitude dwarfs all vision, breaks down all systems and strikes at our faculties to conceive. All methods, maths, poetics, science, all art  presents as feeble contrast to its terrible grace.  It is not its breadth, nor height or depth that span too far for human senses to embrace, as these terms are rendered without meaning; the infinite cannot be measured. Our minds, though of it, are trained too well in methods to shut out this very thing, for in its presence nothing can be done. It is the flow of all. The great chain of being. An infinite continuum of seamless complexity, that manifest as eternal motion, the perpetual unfoldment of all that is.

Yet we cannot perceive it as such, for navigation through it is futile. It contains no fixed point other than itself. So through necessity we need to make distinction. We determine, “This is one thing and that is another”, “This is, but that is not”. In doing so we build the architecture of our temporal corporeal habitation. With these acts we raise a wall that cuts us off from the truth of all that is existent. We separate from the reality of being and take with us all that we encounter. We had no choice, though as time has passed we have well begun the process of forgetting. Most forget and think nothing of it, many express vehement denials of there being anything to have forgotten. Ever present and through every age there are some small few who know there is not really any wall. If only we all could take time to look, to gaze a little deeper and think on what is seen rather on what is told.

In Alchemy is the method by which the structure can be disassembled and the veil lifted before our eyes. The process employs the very tool that lead to our separation.

The continuum of the Universe must not be thought of as merely the dynamic motion through time of space and matter, and express as a unified whole. This is the vulgar conception brought about by our need for the constriction of reality. It contains as complete all those things considered intangible and of a secondary order and not of real existence. Namely all that rises as a product of our consciousness. All concepts driven by our thoughts, what is felt, and dreamt, and all that receives consideration by our mind. The significance bestowed to objects, sounds, and moments by virtue of our experience and intention. We are told that none of this is of account because it passes as do we. But all that has occurred and is still yet to, resides forever as harmonious whole.

Alchemy conceives of reality composed as two intrinsic principles existing in inseparable embrace. That of Matter and that of Spirit. Matter is the principle of fixity and solidity, Spirit is the principle of flux and dynamism. Matter is the primary constituent of our corporeal sphere and is not simply referring to tangible objects but also to space which these might inhabit. Spirit has for some time been of diminishing regard. This being due to our familiarity and mastery over the tangible. Matter yields to analysis while Spirit remains elusive. Yet despite the opinion of one as of paramount importance and the other none existent, both the principles are coequal, such that neither would have existence without the other. Spirit permeates reality as part of all things. It is the active life  force, the fluxion, without which the Universe would be in a static state that equals non-existence. This life force in present and intrinsic to all matter, whether it be a stone or a fish. Spirit effects the integrity of Matter through its mutable influence. Matter is the vessel of Spirit. It is the material which Spirit acts upon. Without it Spirit would have nothing to influence, rendering it impotent. A force without influence is nothing.

Matter is the medium. Spirit the method. Each the antithesis of the other, yet the operate is a condition whereby they are mutually requisite as neither can have independent existence. They are the two which are in truth one. This is the Coincidentia Oppositorum. This union of opposites is an attempt to relate the true unity of reality, but still the whole must undergo dissection to be understood. Our minds have been otherwise equipped, and cannot comprehend the notion of the single point experiencing the dynamic interplay of itself. Now our approach to the Absolute has halted in incomprehension. Our error is in our attempt to understand, when the only apprehension comes through experience.

The path that we as humans tread leads away from this unity and has caused us to have created a vision that yields to our desire for solutions. The tool used to aid in our escape is language. Language stabilises by defining landmarks by which we can navigate. By the act defining, some aspect of the whole is removed. Once separated this element experiences restraint through it being isolated from the motive influences of the continuum. It is still part of the motion but we cannot see it, as we have defined also as a property of the element we removed. We have reduced its scope to limits that conform to our appreciation of the more detailed definitions. We have done our best to break the seamlessness of the continuum into distinct elements, and concentrate what we see to be used as fixed point. With language we dissect those elements to the point where the description is such that we consider we have a sufficient understanding of it. We have achieved many remarkable feats through the employment of this method. The result has been an obsession with Matter, as it easily lends itself to definition, and now is considered of the basis of reality, role of Spirit forgotten. As the spirit is obscured so to is the sight of truth.      

The Human being for all it erring holds a place unique in all creation. For we are the conduit back to the source of All. It was by our words that Matter was confined and the Spirit denied. If we had the power to fix down elements plucked from the continuum then surely it is within our means to liberate them. And in the process return to reconcile ourselves with nature. This liberation will occur through application of the Coincidentia Oppositorum, manifest in the human brain.  A human brain is the most complex artefact in the universe, and it is the perfected conjunction of Matter and Spirit. Indeed it is not our brain but the Human whole that is such a crucial expression of the All.

The Alchemist sees this state we occupy. Sees our potential power to effect transmutations on reality through the application of language and thought. As language extends from us it possesses the virtues of both Matter and Spirit. The Alchemist acknowledges that the Spirit as equal and essential mate to that of Matter, and that as expressions of the Spirit the phenomena of mind share its efficacious nature and by thought alone alter states of being. The alchemist perceives the true nature of Matter to be restrained and the Spirit repressed. He views himself to be in a like state, which in turn, through his fault of perception perpetuates the suppression of the Spirit in reality at large. To liberate himself from this degraded state he seeks attainment of the Lapis, or Philosopher’s Stone, a substance that is the actual embodiment of the perfected union between Matter and Spirit. It is the essence of flux in corporeal form, a single substance that is simultaneously every other substance. The All within the One and the One within the All. It effects transmutation by the unrestricted nature. The achievement of this goal is brought about by effecting a work of transmutation on some base material. By submitting the material to the processes of change, in the form of distillation, coagulation, calcinations, and sublimation, he physically liberated it from is previously defined form. The changes also the spanned spectrum of meaning. Over the course of the transmutation the suppression of the Spirit in the material diminishes and the Alchemist is exposed to its influence. He was the initial catalyst for the transmutation, as it was he that made the conscious decision to undertake the work in hope of reaching a perfected state. This intention effects the progression of the work. As the Alchemist moves closer to that perfected state, his ability to influence change in the nature of that external matter becomes greater. As a result the rate of change in external matter increase and moves towards a similar state of perfection until the goal is achieved.

The Alchemical Transmutation is possible. Matter is not the building block of reality. It exists only in conjunction with the Spirit. We find the ultimate expression of these two principles within ourselves.  Each Human being is the axis of reality equally. A central point, out from which the universe extends outward through conscious perception, and simultaneously the central point of focus from without through the perception of the others. Consciousness, thought and language by extension, must be seen for what they are and as well as the power that is potentially contained within their application. Not as a tool simply for communication and definition of the shifting complexity that baffles us, but as an active principle that has the ability to craft reality.
Matter is empowered by the manner of its definition, taking on the significance we apply to it. Through this application, the object of focus is transmuted and takes on talismanic properties and acts as a transceiver. Emitting frequencies unique to itself and to the nature and circumstance by which it has undergone transmutation. Simultaneously it is a point of focus, a lodestone that possesses a charge of attraction, a formation of prominence in the mundane sphere.
Undertake the Great Work. The goal is not found in its completion.
 
A.G.K