The Art of Alchemy

When Jung discovered alchemy, he noticed that the ancient alchemists, instead of writing, had only illustrated so many strange symbolic images in their books, which he believed were directly corresponded to the anatomy of the unconscious. Jung discovered that these symbolic images are about a journey that all of us should take to acquire our wholeness, which he called the process of “individuation.”

 The ancient art of alchemy was mainly concerned with changing something of little value into something precious, such as transforming lead into gold, thereby creating the “philosophers’ stone.” Symbolically, the stone is an awakened consciousness, which, though formless and shapeless, gives rise to all forms and shapes.

 The basis of the alchemical work is called the Prima Materia, or the base matter, which is the chaos and raw material out of which the refined substance or “gold” is produced. To the alchemists, there was a spirit hidden in the darkness of the prima materia, a divine spark hidden in the darkness of matter. Symbolically speaking, the prima materia represents the unknown substance within us that carries the projections of the unconscious. It is the psychic emulsion or medium in which the subconscious contents within us are encoded. The prima materia is thus a symbol for the unconscious itself --, the prima materia in action!

 The prima materia (still being lead) contains the spirit of darkness, a downward movement into the depths of our unconscious which is felt as depression, anxiety; it is where we encounter the "Shadow." (Shadow is the part of the psyche that we deny, disown, and marginalize the aspects of ourselves of which we feel ashamed, and turn away from in disgust.)  We typically want to get rid of the shadow aspects of our personality, but the alchemists understood that shadow, in fact, is the wounded, inferior and unconscious parts that are very valuable. Our wounds, the base material of the work, are necessary for the accomplishment of the alchemical work, as without these shadow parts there would be no way to make the alchemical gold!

 In "great work" the alchemists have to descend into a night sea journey, into the depths of their darkness so that they could discover “The elixir of life,” or as we say in Persian Aaab e Hayyat.  In this Alchemical Journey, the initial stage is the nigredo, the blackness, the darkness darker than dark where the light is hidden in darkness, in other words the deepest blessings are found in the distressing dark shadows of the human psyche.

 The prima materia is also considered to be an orphan because it is so unique and utterly one of a kind. It is seemingly hard to find because it is found everywhere and nowhere. It is a holy, psychic/spiritual substance which allowed the alchemists to consciously experience both the light and dark sides within themselves. The dark side represents the archetype of the dark father which has to do with domination and force over others and the suppression of the feminine, of feeling, of spontaneity, of life itself. As our true power is a power infused with the spirit of Eros, the god of relatedness, feeling and relationship and connection, which transmutes the poisonous aspect of the negative father.

 To be under the spell of the dark father, “Father Time,” is to be in capture in linear time at the expense of the timeless dimension of our being.  When we snap out of the spell and logic of linear time, we wake up to “dreamtime,” where time is experienced in here and now. Dreamtime is not linear but circular, not fixed but fluid, not mechanistic but natural, not historical but a-mythological. Dissolving the figure of father time, of living by the clock, we become introduced to the “synchronic” order, the realm of infinite interconnectedness and inter-resonance between everything and everything else.

 Recognizing the co-respondency between the two worlds, between the inner and outer is the birth of " awareness,” -- the birth of the philosopher stone!