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 SCORPIO
The Alchemical Operation assigned to Scorpio is Separation. This is according to Dom Antoin-Josef Pernety’s “Mytho-Hermetica Dictionary” circa 1758, a sourced cited in Manly P. Hall’s “Secret Teachings of All Ages.” Paul Foster Case, the founder of the BOTA, stated in his book “Hermetic Alchemy” that the operation attributed to Scorpio was Putrefaction, and many BOTA followers and their related organizations follow his allocations. However, for our purposes, we are using the more widely recognized and somewhat more ancient allocations.
As Scorpio is associated with Key 13, Death, in the Tarot, it seems understandable that Putrefaction could be attributed, as it describes the decay of the material body after it has died. However, Separation, as in “separating the pure from the gross,” which is the alchemical meaning, seems to apply in a more holistic way when considering the overall divide between the material world and the world beyond, as well as perhaps describing the soul literally separating from the body after death. And as we shall see, the psychological work of Separation involves the discarding or “death” of what no longer serves us.
In the physcial Alchemical Lab, separation is the process of freeing of a substance from it’s impurities, which can be done by filtering, cutting, sifting, skimming or other type of dividing. Separation is a critical step that occurs with frequency during the process of making not only various Stones (mineral, plant and animal), but in creating other compounds such as medicines, tonics, tinctures, elixers, paints, perfumes and other useful products. It is in fact explicately expressed in the axiom “solve et coagula” (separate and recombine). Even when simply cooking, the part of the vegetable or meat or other ingredient that is not desirable is cut away or separated from what is to be consumed.
On a psychological level, Separation is the act of inner discernment. It involves the recognition and separation of what belongs to the true self and what is societal programming or conditioning, and recognizing what should be preserved and what no longer serves us. This psychological work demands honesty and the courage to confront shadow aspects of the self without denials or projection. It is an ongoing process, for as we move through life and life’s experiences, certain modes of operation that once served us well can evolve to a place where they no longer serve us at all. If we can aspire to perform this sorting and separation with deep self reflection and genuine insight, and without self-deception, we can set ourselves on the path of reclaiming our inner authority.
Scorpio’s essence is secrecy, depth, and transformation through intensity. In the Tarot, Scorpio is attributed to the Death card, where death or endings, and rebirth or beginnings, are a cycle of transformation. This corresponds perfectly to the alchemist’s task in Separation: to inspect the spoils and to seek and cut away what is not needed, as a step in the cycle of life. Only then can true transformation can take place, unfettered by the weight of the gross, or the clutter of the unnecessary. In mythic terms, this is the descent into the underworld, guided by the Scorpion’s instinct to confront poison and transmute it into medicine. In the end, Separation under Scorpio becomes the sacred art of distinguishing truth from illusion, the gateway through which the soul emerges renewed and ready for higher refinement.
Qabalistically, Scorpio and Separation reside in the Astral Triad of the Personality. The 24th Path of Key 13, Death, connects Tiphareth to Netzach. On the downward direction of manifestation, the Higher Self of Tiphareth directs the personality downward into incarnation, landing first in the realm of emotion, which as it’s said, is what makes us human. In the upward direction of initiation, we can choose to transform through the psychological work of Separation, and regain our inner authority that comes with the recognition, embrace and reconnection to our True Selves.
Sources:
Mytho-Hermetic Dictionary by Dom Antoin-Josef Pernety
The Alchemy of Tarot by Juno Lucino
Hermetic Alchemy - The Golden Dawn Alchemy by Paul Foster Case
Qabalistic Tarot by Rober Wang
Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kynes
The Idiot’s Complete Guide to Alchemy by Dennis William Hauck
Alchemy Study Program course books (set of 6) by Dennis William Hauck
Hermetic Qabalah by Oliver St. John
The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall