Internal Alchemy: Features & Metaphors

External & Internal Alchemy explore Tao of Matter & Spirit

Alchemy consists of two complementary processes — internal and external. Exploring methods of transforming the physical world is the process of external alchemy. As such, a chemist is an external alchemist. Indeed once these external methods became rigorous enough, the European branch of external alchemy became chemistry. Exploring methods of transforming the internal world of the Self is the process of internal alchemy. As such the focus of external alchemy is upon the tao (methods) of the external world of Matter, while the focus of internal alchemy is upon the tao of the internal world of what we shall call Spirit — for lack of a better word.

Alchemists explore the Parallels between the Taos of Matter & Spirit

With the passage of time, it became apparent that there are many parallels between the taos of the internal and external worlds. Alchemists, at least in the context of this work, are those that explore the parallels between the external and internal taos of Matter and Spirit. The intersection or union of the two perspectives could be called the Tao. As such, the Tao is the focus of the Alchemist’s attention.

The Alchemist attempts to cultivate the Tao of the internal and external worlds to undergo some type of change, including personal transformation, fulfilling potentials, self-realization, or just the ability to enjoy living rather than suffering. They employ the discoveries about the external world to elucidate the internal.

The Miracle of Emergence

Emergence is one of the intriguing features of the Tao of Matter. Essentially this seemingly miraculous phenomenon has to do with mixing two types of matter that have certain features and obtaining a third type of matter that has different features. These features are emergent features of the mixing process. This is shown in the diagram below. Substance A and Substance B are mixed to produce Substance C. Substance C has features (5 and 6) that are not contained in either of the other substances.

The classic example in this regard is mixing tin and copper, both soft metals, to produce bronze, a hard metal. This hard metal had such widespread utility that an entire era was named after it — the Bronze Age. On the every day level, cooks regularly mix ingredients with certain features to obtain something of an entirely different nature. As examples, witness the extraordinary culinary transformations of eggs, wheat, and sugar. Bread and wine are examples of emergence, as they both have entirely different features than the ingredients they are composed of. It is evident that we experience the emergent properties of food on a daily level.

Process of Emergence requires Refinement & Mixture, whether Matter or Spirit

Applying this special feature of the Tao of Matter to the Tao of Spirit, the Alchemists hoped to go through a personal transformation — a human Emergence. They recognized that this transformation process was not accidental. Unless tin and copper ore went through specific processes, i.e. refinement and mixture, they remained useless ore, never becoming Bronze. In like manner, humans remain common ore, unless they go through the same processes, refinement and mixture. Essentially if the unrefined metal ore or the unrefined individual doesn’t go through certain procedures, they do not realize their potentials. They do not go through transformation or achieve emergent properties.

The transformation process occurs regularly, but not always. Someone who is born with musical talent never becomes a musician unless they practice an instrument. An individual with innate intelligence is refined and mixed through the educational process to emerge as a professor. We must utilize our innate talents to realize their potentials.

In the lexicon of this work, our quest is to determine the techniques that enable humans to transcend their Fate and achieve their Destiny. On the most basic level, these procedures enable an individual to avoid being victimized by emotional upset and to enjoy life at full capacity.

Metallurgical Metaphor for Transformation: Ore to Finished Bronze

In alchemical fashion, the Author employs the transformative processes of the external world of Matter to inform those of the inner world of Spirit. In other words, the physical world acts as a metaphor for the human world. The traditional alchemical metaphor of both Europe and Asia was based in metallurgy. On both sides of the Eurasian continent the alchemists were aware that heating inert mercuric oxide in a crucible produced mercury, a metal that seemed to be alive. This emergent property of mercury entered into the alchemical lore in a variety of ways. The essence of the message was to uncover the hidden, almost magical, real self from the ore in which it was contained.

As mentioned the Chinese alchemists focused upon metal casting — the Firing Process, as a prime metaphor. This metaphor is based in the Metal Ages, which includes both the Bronze and Iron Age. Accordingly, the roots of Chinese Alchemy are found in the beginnings of metallurgy, which preceded any of our modern religions by hundreds, if not thousands of years. In the case of bronze, the metals (copper and tin) extracted from the ore (purified). Then the purified metal is mixed with another to create an alloy (bronze). This alloy is then cast in a furnace to create a finished product. These metal-based metaphors suggest that a continuous high heat for sufficient duration is necessary to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. This metaphor certainly has its place.

Culinary Metaphor for Transformation: Wheat to Bread

Besides the Firing Process, there is an even earlier Neolithic metaphor for transformation that we will employ in our discussion — the transformation of wheat into bread. Raw wheat is coarse and inedible. A intricate process must be followed to turn this unappealing plant into something that nourishes the entire planet and has allowed civilizations to arise and flourish. Refining is the first step. The wheat must be removed from the chaff to obtain flour. Combination is the second step. The flour is then combined with water, salt and yeast. Heating is the third step. This mixture must then be baked in an oven for a sufficient duration with sufficient heat to produce Bread. The heat requires a container, the oven, to accumulate enough intensity.

The culinary metaphor has similarities and differences from the metalurgical metaphor. Both processes require refinement, mixture, heat and a container to transform the useless into the useful — to fulfill potentials. While metal requires an intense heat at high temperatures, bread requires a more gentle heat at lower temperatures. The transformative process associated with metal casting generally produces weapons, while the transformation due to culinary baking produces nourishment.

Solar Metaphor for Alchemical Transformation: Matter to Life

There is an even more basic metaphor for transformation and emergence that we will also employ. The Sun bakes the Earth to produce Life. Matter plus Energy equals Life. This is the most magical process of all. In the Firing Process metaphor of the Metal Ages metal ore is transformed into a more useful form of metal. In the Bread metaphor of the Agricultural Age, organic, but useless, material is transformed into organic material that is nourishing. In the Solar metaphor inert Matter is transformed into Life — living Matter.

Like the others, Matter goes through refinement, mixture and heating in the container of the Earth’s sphere to attain Emergence into Life. However, while the others require consistent heat over an uninterrupted duration to achieve the desired transformation, the Sun achieves his magic with continuous pulses of relatively gentle Heat over long periods of time. We will call this the Rotisserie Process. In alchemical fashion, we will use this physical metaphor to illuminate our internal transformative process.

Common features of Alchemical Transformation

Each of the alchemical processes that we’ve mentioned — metalurgic, culinary, and solar, have common features. They each consist of refinement, mixture, heat and a container. Raw substance, whether ore, wheat, or matter, is transformed into something special, whether cast bronze, bread or life, by going through the alchemical process.

Now that we’ve refined our notion of alchemy, let us move onto how each of these processes applies to human transformation. To see how the Container applies to the human condition, check out the next chapter, The Cauldron.

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