Part
5

Spiritual Alchemy

Changing lead into gold was only a metaphor for a larger process that involved the rejuvenation of the body, the integration of the personality, and the perfection of the human soul. Though they spoke of retorts, furnaces, acids, and chemicals, the alchemists were really talking about changes taking place in their own bodies, minds, and spirits. One of the central ideas in alchemy is that no transformation is complete and lasting unless it occurs simultaneously on all levels of reality—the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. This distinction is what makes alchemy a unique discipline that combines the methods of science, psychology, and religion. On the spiritual level, alchemy seeks to unite the opposing essences of soul and spirit in an operation known as the Sacred Marriage. The product of this union is the Philosopher’s Stone, which in spiritual alchemy is the embodiment of a permanent state of perfected consciousness.