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 VIRGO
The Alchemical Operation assigned to Virgo is Distillation. Distillation is the process of making a substance more pure or refined. In the Lab, Distillation can be used to extract oils and alcohol from plants, minerals, metals and animals by the process of repeated boiling and condensation. Most people have a vague notion of distilling being used to make alcohol, which it does. But it can also be used to make essential oils and perform other necessary alchemical processes. Some alchemists call Distillation the Mother of the Operations, because nearly all the other Operations are a distillation of some kind, in that they involve purification.
In psychological terms, Distillation can be seen as repeatedly separating and recombining the “subtle and gross” aspects of the personality, and with each repetition, gaining more clarity and refinement. Spiritual Distillation is the process of deliberately agitating and elevating the psyche, to ensure that issues locked or stuck in the subconscious or deliberated repressed are brought ito the fore to be dealt with. This process enables our true inner self, our inner light, to begin to become brighter and less bogged down, as we start to live from a place of truth. It is true “psychologial work” and is not for the feint hearted. But as we begin to shine, we become our own beacon, and a beacon for others to follow. Hence the correspondance to the Hermit card in the Tarot, which symbolizes the light shining in the darkness.
Qabalistically, the action of performing the operation of Distillation resides in the Ethical Triad of the Higher Self. The 20th Path of Key 9, The Hermit, connects Tiphareth to Chesed. The Hermit Card’s key words are isolation, solitary quests, spiritual journeys, illumination, allowing your inner light to shine, leading by example and light shining in the darkness. The Hebrew Letter assigned to the Hermit Card is Yod, which means hand, specifically the pointing hand of God, and is a creative force. Its zodiac sign is Virgo (the Virgin), distinctly feminine and receptive, and which echoes the idea of purity achieved by Distillation. Yet Virgo is ruled by Mercury, which is connected to attention, intention and concentration. These two opposite forces - creative and receptive - within our Psyche could be interpreted as the active and passive responses of our Mind (Mercury) to external stimuli, which when recognized, controlled and directed, ever-refine (distill) our consciousness.
Energetically, by “running energy” through our energetic systems, we also purify and refine our energetic or auric system, which can actually have an effect on what can manifest within our physical bodies. Running Energy is another way of saying moving Light, Qi, Chi, Prana or Ruach through our auric and chakra systems. These types of exercises aim to develop the flow of qi along certain pathways of energy in the human body and are found in traditional Chinese medicine, qigong, tai chi, Neidan, Zhan zhuang, Chinese alchemy and other systems. Some of these techniques are quite involved and considered to be life-long tasks. The basic meditation for refining the Ruach within the auric body is called the Microcosmic Orbit, and is described below.
SPIRITUAL DISTILLATION EXERCISE
Note: This Exercise also works for the Operations of Digestion, Fermentation and Congelation
The Microcosmic Orbit by Ömer Melih Aksoy
The cosmic currents are the water in the process Digestion. One of the best ways to roll with the cosmic energies is the effective practice of microcosmic orbit. By running the orbit you can attune yourself to cosmic energies, do energetic readings, provide psychic energy from your environment, planets, the sun and the stars by just concentrating on them. I will provide the basic technique here, and you can learn this technique from Mantak Chia’s video.
