The Alchemy of Holism

Alchemy

IT IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS

“It is not the object of these pages to furnish proof to the skeptic of the truth of alchemy, nor to offer arguments so the incredulous may believe in its possibility. But those who have had a mystical experience or witnessed the processes of alchemy in their own lives may receive real benefit from working with this material.”

From Alchemy by Franz Hartmann (1838-1912)

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THE FOUNDATIONS

Alchemy is a tradition originating from antiquity, with most tracing its beginnings to Hermes Trismegistus (who lived sometime between 172 BCE and 141 CE). The word itself stems from “Al-Khemet”: “Khemet” is the ancient Arabic name for Egypt, meaning “the Black Land”, so the full translation is ”From The Black Land”.

Alchemy remained an active and passionate scientific pursuit for many centuries and has remained firmly rooted in our collective psyche since. In recent years, alchemy has become definitively and outwardly activated again. It is re-emerging to the forefront of our perceptions.

Alchemy is about transmutation and transformation. The alchemists’ goal was not so much to transform a “lesser” metal into gold, but rather to transmute themselves at the core from lesser to greater. At its root, alchemy is the perfection of “materia prima” (true matter, the formless base of all matter) to “materia ultima” (the reborn perfected matter achieved through the alchemic process), which in alchemic circles was understood to be less about metals and secretly about the Self, the Soul, our Consciousness: it was this that was the real ‘lead to be transmuted into gold’…Transmutation of the Self was the underlying motivation and goal for alchemists.

Mythology and archetype historian and author Patrick Harpur explains that this true matter, this ‘secret fire’, is the essential ingredient for the Philosophers’ Stone, a “stone that is no stone”. The secret is, according to Harpur, “a way of seeing”. This transmutation of perception lies at the root of the evolution of the Self. It is the root of alchemy.

RELATIONSHIPS

Alchemy is about relationships and the subsequent transmutations which follow.

Scientifically and philosophically, alchemy is a series of stages, each an alteration from one form to another, in the evolution of “base” metal to “noble” metal: from imperfection to pure state.

Alchemists throughout history, however, have always adopted the deeper analogy at play here, and utilized the power of transmuting nature to attain wisdom for evolving the Soul.

In the case of this website, THE ALCHEMY OF HOLISM refers to the emergent properties and processes which arise when living systems operate wholly: In Nature. In You. It refers also to the alchemical way by which life imbues and uses “story” (archetypes, symbols, myths, stories) to function and evolve: In Nature, In You.

THE ALCHEMY OF NATURE

The nature of Nature is relationship: it is constant relational dynamic.

Two entities that come together: 1) Create a “third” in-between energetic dynamic, and 2) Forever alter each other, often in countless and exponential ways.

The organizing principles of Nature are non-linear, complex, intelligent, self-organizing, cooperative, co-participatory, dynamic, evolving, fluid, changing, creative, emergent, and inter-relational. Nature, by its nature, operates wholly: in relational context.

Because life equals relationships at every level of existence, our reality is inherently – and profoundly – alchemic.

THE ALCHEMY OF YOU

This is rich and complex: you are tremendously “alchemic” in myriad ways.

Firstly, you are an immaterial soul in a material body – this constant relational exchange of energy and information is dynamic, immensely powerful and ever-evolving.

Secondly, you exist within ever-new contexts (environments) and the inter-relationships between you and events alter the web of life (near and far) in every moment in myriad ways.

Thirdly, your Soul Print consists of different archetypes/stories/patterns/forms, all informed by nature, that as a whole represent a distinct alchemic combination which has intelligently conjoined to transmute and evolve your soul.

Finally, you are one of the many diverse manifestations of Nature, and thus a) you have a purpose and b) you exist by and within the same alchemic organizing principles of nature: energetically, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

THE ALCHEMY OF HOLISM

This is about the fundamental power of The Whole. Integrity is inherent with any fully embodied, non-reduced Whole.

Every whole is comprised of parts that interrelate. When the parts of a whole interrelate, they function as an alchemic process in an inherently alchemic system.

Nature is a giant Web which exists in a constant, delicious transmutative process by way of countless relational events. You are part of this Web – you are a fractal and a microcosm of this whole Web – of nature, of the cosmos.

When you understand, align with, and live according to the organizing principles of nature simultaneously with understanding and actualizing your distinct Soul Print, an emergent power will be ignited that is its natural functioning.

When it comes to human evolution and the Self, this natural power is calling to be activated.

The power of Whole Self: 1) living according to Nature), 2) living according to your distinct imprinting, 3) utilizing all learning/living pathways (analyzing, intuiting, sensing, feeling), and 4) acknowledging, accepting, honoring and utilizing all the shadow aspects of Self.

When you are wholly aligned, this, by its nature, allows profound symbiosis, synchronicities and “intersections” of emergence to unfold. This is the alchemy of holism. Our current evolutionary chapter is about remembering and re-aligning to our innate wholeness and our distinct Soul Print. It is when these two realities intersect in the lived experience that life manifests the deeply delicious alchemic story it’s always been.