In a traditional sense, alchemy is a spiritual discipline. With its particular, mostly confusing procedures, it tries and succeeds in exploring the inner laws of human nature. Understanding man as a complex being of nature composed of multiple aspects (material and more subtle ones), alchemy seeks to connect and harmonize them. Although the alchemist deals with the nature of matter, he does not consider this to be the limit of knowledge. On the contrary, he believes that the more subtle part of man, his soul, is actually the area that should be the center of his philosophical concerns.
Imagination
Perhaps the biggest misconception of modern times is the understanding that physical reality is the only possible and knowable reality. It seems that many alchemical manuscripts are incomprehensible to those who only want to see physical facts in them. The alchemical philosopher believes that alongside and parallel to the physical world, there is also a world of the psyche with its own reality, which, although not fully understandable, is an integral part of human existence.
One who proves it has all the characteristics of reality, although not of the same kind sought by the world of reason and measurable facts. Furthermore, according to alchemists, psychic reality is closer to the spiritual reality that the alchemical philosopher strives to approach through various procedures. An unknown alchemist wrote about this: “The soul is God’s deputy (Sui locum tenens seu vice Rex est). It governs the mind, and the mind governs the body. The soul acts (operatur) in the body, but most of its actions are outside of the body. This is a divine quality because divine wisdom is only partially confined within the body, while for the most part, it exists outside of it and imagines many more things than the world of the body can accept, and those are the secrets of God Himself.” The soul reveals its secrets through symbols, a language that is the only one capable of expressing the inexpressible. This is what alchemists expressed with the concept of imaginatio, considering it as the universal language of symbols and its understanding as the correct way to enter into alchemical work, and thus into the understanding of human nature. nature. However, imaginatio are not vague fantasies, but a practical psychic activity that encompasses and transforms the whole human being.
Animals as alchemical symbols
In alchemy, birds often appear as symbols. Their most striking characteristic is certainly flight, but also the element of air in which they mostly reside. They can fly, just like the human soul, and mediate between the earthly and heavenly world, between matter and spirit. And it is precisely this dual nature of theirs that vividly depicts the destiny of the alchemist’s (but also the human) soul. Of course, birds do not appear arbitrarily in alchemical symbolism, but rather mark different phases of the alchemical work. The black phase or nigredo is symbolized by the black raven, which emphasizes the descent into the depths of one’s own soul, into that mass of confusion. He signifies the journey through the chaos and mud of blind passions, instincts, and other flaws of human nature, with which the alchemist must confront and overcome them. He is also the bird of death, but not so much in the physical sense as in the internal. In a sense, because the new cannot be expressed if the old and dead do not disappear. Alchemists consider such a deep descent into oneself as an unusual happiness, not a burden. In alchemy, flaws are not killed, but transformed, and in order for this to be possible, the alchemist must know them.
The next, white phase or albedo is symbolized by a white swan, a bird of purity. It represents purification, the purification that follows after coming out of the dirt and disorder of thoughts and feelings. The psyche must be cleansed of low passions and instincts, of its slave-like attachment to the perishable, in order to be able to receive the power of the spirit. However, the swan is a bird that rarely flies, it relies more on the surface of the water. This suggests that the alchemical process is not yet complete. The white eagle, which also appears in this phase, vividly presents to us the possibility of elevating the soul from the world of its own darkness to the light of the Sun, through the purity of thoughts and feelings above all. The eagle strives towards the radiant and clear sunlight because the Sun is an image of God in alchemy, it Alchemical gold, aurum non vugi, is what the philosopher holds true, but only after the impurities have been dissolved. Therefore, we often encounter the connection between the frog, burdened by the weight of matter, and the eagle, which represents inspiration, or the inspiration that gives man wings and eternal youth.
However, the alchemist must also pass through the path of the pelican, who pierces its own breast with its beak to feed its young with its own blood. In the Middle Ages, this was often associated with the concept of sacrificio, or the sacrifice necessary for the alchemist to attain true spiritual purity. The ancient alchemists often connected this image with Christ, or imago Christi. Man should be like Christ, who sacrificed himself for the world. In a broader context, this also means helping nature as a whole to transform and thus evolve.
The mythical bird phoenix completes the mystical circle of alchemical work. The phoenix builds its nest, which is also a funeral pyre that it ignites itself to burn in. However, the phoenix, transformed, is reborn from its own ashes, symbolizing eternal life and the cycle of transformation. once again rises from its own ashes. Symbolically, it is anchored in the understanding of the spiritual. This encompasses all phases of the Work and thus the Work is completed. Its being is now of such nature that matter is no longer needed.
In addition to various birds, another significant alchemical symbol is the toad sitting in the mire and sediment of a swamp (which symbolizes exclusive attachment to the material world), having the ability to jump and reach invisible dimensions. Also, in various aspects, the lion often appears, initially as the unrestrained nature of human passions, raw strength, and desires, and after a comprehensive transformation, it becomes a force that, when properly directed, allows the alchemist to connect with the spiritual. According to alchemists, taming desires is a great friend and helper because only a pure woman, or a soul sensitive to the existence of the spiritual world, can approach and tame the unicorn, the symbol of the invisible world.
Finally, we will mention another comprehensive symbol. It is Dragon-snake in different aspects. Snake represents the substance that consumes everything, but also the teacher who tests the soul in order for it to reach enlightenment. Snake seduces onto the wrong paths so that man can overcome them. The symbolism of dragons is largely similar to the symbolism of the phoenix. It is the one who begins and ends the Work, but not in the same way it started. On one hand, it is the primordial substance (prima materia), chaotic, dark, and undifferentiated, and on the other hand, with the attribute of wings, it becomes a spiritualized soul, transformed and elevated. Then it is depicted as a snake biting its own tail to emphasize the unity, harmony, and balance between formerly opposing, but now complementary energies of the human soul.
1 Hermetic Museum.
2 Chaotic multitude of everything.
3 Raven, as a bird that feeds on carrion, symbolizes the “agent” that transforms what is dead into the possibility of new life. Carrion eaters are often symbols of regeneration and transformation of the lifeless into the living, a kind of “sustainers of life”. Petar Bujas