Personal Alchemy
Alchemy:
Actions that initiate change that leads to improvement
The term alchemy invokes the image of old men, in old-fashioned laboratories, attempting to create the elixir of life. Or perhaps the idea of charlatans trying to get rich by manipulating the creation of gold. While history does contain evidence of these more ridiculous examples, the true foundation of alchemy is based on the concept that performing the right steps can create changes that are capable of turning something undesirable into something desirable. In simpler terms, alchemy is the process by which specific actions are a catalyst for change that ultimately leaves us with something more valuable than when we started.
The ancient beginnings of alchemy come from Chinese Taoism where it played an important role in the development of yin and yang philosophy. The cosmology of yin and yang is based on the idea that our universe is composed of dualities and cycles with opposing energies that must be held in balance. For example, fire and water, light and dark, expansion and contraction, etc.
Dualities and Dyads
Yin and Yang
Fire and Water
Light and Dark
The Chinese alchemical tradition focuses mainly on the purification of one's spirit, mind and body for the purpose of providing health, longevity and wisdom. This was accomplished through the practice of Waidon (external alchemy), and Naidon (internal alchemy), and combined the principles of nature, philosophy, spirituality and science. These ideas spread to India, Egypt, Greece, Islam, and Europe and influenced many well-known historical figures over thousands of years. Unfortunately, in modern times, alchemy is misunderstood and misinterpreted to the point of dismissal due to the deterioration of the foundational hermetic concepts.
Dyad ideology is based on taking specific steps to balance the universal forces and interconnected relationships that impact both our appearance and our well-being. There is no yin without yang, and there is no light without dark. Similarly, you cannot improve your skin without improving your physical health, and you cannot improve your physical health without improving your emotional health. At the end of the day, it is all very circular with every part connecting back to the whole.
“Aurum nostrum non est aurum vulgi”
Our gold is not ordinary gold
Excerpt from 1550 C.E. Rosarium Philosophorum alchemy text
The true doctrine of the elusive alchemical gold was not the desire to create physical gold. Instead, this concept was used to symbolize the achievement of a more noble and incorruptible nature by actively engaging in a personal process of refinement and purification.
To become an alchemist, one must analyze what might be corrupting their ability to become more noble, and what needs to be refined, changed or removed in order to improve the value of our overall state of being.
The alchemy of skin and wellness begins by assessing what might be limiting our goals, and then actively initiating a process of refinement and change that over time will leave us better than when we started. Living an alchemical life also infers the need to identify corruptions within as well as without, and the importance of catalyzing steps to increase our internal nobility and improve the mental and emotional layers of self.
We invite you to become an alchemist by actively initiating changes in your self-care to create improvements that ultimately help you manifest your personal expression of alchemical gold.
