The Mystery of ALCHEMY
Alchemy is obscure and can be off-putting, with it’s enigmatic and strange imagery and odd terms. However, once it becomes clarified, it is powerful system for spiritual development and manifestation. To provide this clarification is one of the goals of Sacred Circuit.
There are two basic types of Alchemy, spiritual and physical. Spiritual alchemy comprises the bulk of what you find when you search the term online, or browse books on the subject. Spiritual alchemy involves a system of personal refinement and growth; it is highly psychological in this way. Physical alchemy is actual lab work and experiments. Both of these systems include seven “operations” which are loosely based on the planetary and chakra systems. True Alchemists of old advised that integrating both spiritual and physical alchemy was necessary if substantial personal transformation was desired.
There is another more rarely used system of twelve operations, which correspond to the Zodiac. The twelve steps can be seen as a more detailed version of the seven steps, in which some of them have been split, but most are added in. For Hermetic purposes, which integrate Qabalah, Tarot and Astrology with Alchemy, and for use with work with the Astrological signs of the Zodiac, the twelve-operation system is highly effective, and it is what we have embraced here at Sacred Circuit.
The twelve alchemical operations can be seen as a Hermetic roadmap of spiritual transmutation — a journey in which the raw matter of the self, or Lead, is refined into the radiant gold of awakened consciousness. Each operation — Calcination, Congelation, Fixation, Dissolution, Digestion, Distillation, Sublimation, Separation, Incineration, Fermentation, Multiplication and Projection — corresponds to an Astrological sign, and mirrors a stage in the initiate’s inner work — dissolving attachments, purifying desires, and reuniting fragmented aspects of the psyche, all in alignment with the celestial Ecliptic.
This Alchemical-Zodiacal journey is not only about personal growth and spiritual enlightenment, it is also about manifestation. As the soul undergoes inner purification, it evolves to become a more receptive vessel for the Divine to enter into the realm of forms. Through these operations, the practitioner does not simply manifest desires — they come to embody them. Alchemy, Qabalah, Tarot and Astrology together teach that manifestation is not control over reality, but harmony with the Great Work —the Magnum Opus of the Soul.
THE ALCHEMY of the sign of LEO
The Alchemical Operation of Digestion is assigned to Leo, which is ruled by the Sun. The word Digestion conjures up an immediate idea of digesting your food, but Alchemical Digestion is more like ripening, or processing with a low heat, gestating, or incubation. Digestion is the actually the first phase of Fermentation. This phase is when specific herbs and plants have been collected, placed in a brine, (which is salt and water) covered, and left in a warm place. Digestion is this the first phase, where the substances in the brine start to break down and ferment.
Digestion is allocated to Leo and therefore the Strength Card, which involves activating the Chakras, so that heightened awareness, enhanced psychic ability etc., and even kundalini rising or awakening may occur. Spiritually, Digestion is the continuous and steady breaking down and re-combination of stagnant energies held in the energetic system of our bodies and chakra system. The goal is to bring ourselves to a place where our energy system is balanced, so we can allow our inner Sun to shine.
Qabalistically, the action of performing the operation of Digestion, or any of the alchemical operations, in the material world of Assiah can connect a person more viscerally to the corresponding psychological or energetic work of Yetzirah. In other words, the physical action helps the psyche process the equivalent concept in the subconscious, making the energetic-work more accessible and possibly more effective. For example, putting a recipe of herbs and plants that are associated with Venus and Love, into a brine, and letting the mixture ferment, can simultaneously help the psyche hold and process what subconscious triggers are influencing the ideas or definitions of Love that are being held in the mind or running as subconscious programs. These ideas or definitions may either no longer serve, or in contrast may need to be allowed to bloom. Going through the motions of the Operation of Digestion by creating such a container, and then meditating with the jar nearby can serve to bring more profound or clearer results.
The Strength Card, allocated to Leo and Digestion, holds a secret that is yet another aspect of Digestion. The hebrew letter associated with Strength is Teth or Tet, which means snake. It seems this lion-snake combination is referring specifically to the chakra system and rising Kundalini energy. One can make the connection that inner strength is indeed developed when the chakras are aligned and strong, and especially if one has had experience with the kundalini energy rising, which can happen in stages or all at once. But how does Digestion relate to the chakras?
The answer is in the exercise of sealing the Aura. Like the digestion vessel, also known as the Philosophical Egg, once the aura is sealed, astral heat can build within the system, enabling a higher order of energetics to be gestated and born. The activation of the chakras and rising of the kundalini energy, which can happen in stages or all at once, can cause increased psychic ability, awakening and illumination.
