We’ve looked at some of the major symbols of the Azoth and begun the process of opening our mind and vision to another way of looking at ourselves and our world. To review this material, read my November 7, 14 and 21 posts in the category: Azoth.

Now it is time to consider each of the seven major phases or operations of alchemy included in this alchemical mandala. These phases are the major steps in a continuous cycle of transformation that we can use to change our lives and our world in the ways we want. Together, we will work with what alchemists referred to as the signature or essence of all things in the world. This essence, or “Star of Man” as the alchemist Paracelsus thought of it, is represented in the Azoth as the rays that emanate from the alchemist.

The first of these rays points downward to the Cubic Stone and contains the number 1. This ray represents Calcination that is thought of by chemists as a natural process that takes place over time. As individuals, we experience it as the challenges of our daily lives, the trials we must overcome to maintain our sense of who we are and why we’re here. To alchemists, Calcination is a deliberate choice, a controlled emergence into the Fire of life with the intent to let go of our ego and our connection to the material temptation of our lives so we can free our passion and ignite our transformation. In the alchemical perspective, Calcination is the work with the Element of Fire to burn away the beliefs, emotional baggage and material concerns that cover and restrict our true essence.

Working with Fire and allowing the flames of Calcination to reduce our outer persona to blackened ashes is the first or Black Stage of alchemy. It is a necessary step to free ourselves for the later Work. On a spiritual level, many of us relate to this stage as the “dark night of the soul.” On the material plane, it is the release of the material things that restrain and restrict rather than support and energize us. On a psychological level, Calcination is the “death of the ego” and therefore can be one of the most painful steps we take toward the rewards of our transformation. In order to enter and emerge from this stage, we must release people, places and things that live at the center of our soul and appear to sustain it. This is very difficult because it is only after we give these parts of ourselves to the flames of Calcination that we are able to realize these perceived treasures have enslaved us and weighed us down. We will find that it is not necessary to let go of everything we love and cherish, only that we give it all to the Fire and then realize what is essential to our transformation.

Look again at the first ray of the Azoth standing for Calcination and you will see the symbol of the metal lead and the planet Saturn above the number 1. The planet Saturn and his metal, lead, represent everything that is old, heavy and inert. Both the planet and the metal are associated with a slow moving, stubborn and even melancholy disposition. Yet, buried in their darkness are the sparks of light. As the poet, writer and singer Leonard Cohen says: “In everything there is a crack. That’s how the light gets in.”

At the top of this ray of Calcination, nearest the alchemist, is a square that represents Salt which symbolizes a buried, crystallized consciousness that can be freed and released by the other phases or operations of alchemy. The breaking down and dissolving of this Salt to allow for its crystallization at a higher level of development can be considered one of the purposes of alchemy.

Immediately clockwise from this ray is a scene that represents Calcination. We see a black crow sitting on top of a skull. The crow is the Soul Bird that survives the fire of Calcination in which everything else is consumed in the flames. In the ring outside this image is the Latin word: Visita which means to start a journey.

We will revisit Calcination after we’ve visited the other six phases of alchemy depicted in the Azoth and at that time learn meditations that are fashioned after the fires of this first phase.

You have spent some personal time with the Azoth during the last two weeks. Now, I want to take you on a tour of the Azoth by looking at some of the major symbols included in this famous mandala.

If you focus on the hands and feet of the Alchemist, you will find the Four Elements essential to the Great Work. In one hand is a torch with a flame representing Fire and in the other a feather that represents Air. One foot of the Alchemist rests on land or Earth, the other on the waves of an ocean – Water. The Alchemist is the child of the Sun and the Moon. In the lower left quadrant of the Azoth is the Sun King. His scepter and shield are symbols of his power over the material world. But notice the fire breathing Dragon in the cave below him. This creature is the King’s unconscious, hidden away in the depth’s but ready to emerge. The lower right quadrant is the Moon Queen. She holds straps around a large fish symbolizing her control of the forces unseen by the Sun King. Behind her is a container of wheat, a symbol of her fertility. In her left hand is a bow and arrows reminding us that she accepts the wounds of the heart for her acceptance of the uncontrollable parts of our existence. The King represents our thoughts and at the highest level, the One Mind. The Queen stands for our emotions that are tied to the One Thing or the Chaos of the Below. Their eventual marriage begins the combination of all opposites and the creation of what ancient Egyptians referred to as the Intelligence with Heart and others call the Philosopher’s Stone.

At the top center of the mandala is a winged symbol that can be viewed as a heart or the pineal gland at the center of the brain. This symbol originated from the Winged Disk of the Egyptian Pharaoh – Akanaten – that became the top of the caduceus, the entwined snakes which are the core of the Wand of Thoth or his Greek counterpart, Hermes. The heart of pineal gland represents the Manifested Essence of our Souls. In the upper left quadrant is a salamander engulfed in fire from the sun below it. The salamander is attracted to the Sun and is a symbol of the Soul or Anima. In the right, upper quadrant of the Azoth is a bird and the word Spiritus or Spirit. The bird is attracted to the coolness of the Moon below it. At the center of the mandala between the Alchemist’s feet is the Cubic Stone with the word Corpus or Body above it. The Cube is surrounded by five stars that reveal it contains the Quintessence or Fifth Element. The Anima, Spiritus and Corpus at the apexes of a downward pointing triangle and each of them represents one of the tree archetypal, Forces of the Above – Sulphur, Mercury and Salt. These three Forces combined with the Four Elements are the energy centers of the Great Work used to create the Stone.

You are ready to experience the seven operations of alchemy or stages of transformation now. We will learn more about the first operation Calcination next.

Last week, I introduced a meditative mandala used by alchemists for thousands of years in my November 7 post: The Azoth. The past seven days created a time for you to examine and think about this image to begin identifying what it means to you. Now, I want to introduce you to the central figure in the Azoth, the Alchemist. Whether or not you had time to examine this image, and begin realizing what it says to you personally, take this opportunity and my next invitation to examine the core image of the Azoth before we talk about the other symbols embedded in this representation of the famous Emerald Tablet of the Philosophers. Once again, I encourage you to do the work yourself. If you have read and already know something about the Azoth, put it aside. If you’ve not experienced this iconic image before, wait to read about it until you have spent the next several weeks with it.

Focus your attention on the center of the Azoth. The bearded figure of a man represents the alchemist and initiates as well as adepts began their meditation here. If you do not have a beard and are not a man, convert the image into a picture of yourself because the purpose of the meditation rests on the realization that the Great Work begins first with the alchemist. All else will continue as a dream unless you embrace this first step. The Azoth also reflects back to you, as a mirror would, other parts of your body. Notice where the feet of the alchemist rest. Do the differences of the terrain mean something to you? Think about this and hold onto the meanings it has for you. Notice that the hands of the alchemist protrude from the sides of the circle that represent his or her body. The hand on the right grasps a torch, the left hand a feather. What significance does this have for you?

Spend time with the Azoth and these questions and images during the next week. The more you have a foundation of what the mandala means to you the more the Azoth will reveal to you.

“Visita Interiora Terra Rectificanto Inveniens Occultum Lapidem”
L’Azoth des Philosophes, Basil Valentine, Paris, 1659.

For more than 350 years, this image of the Azoth has been used by alchemists as a meditative mandala because it is believed to contain all the essential components of the Great Work.

Over the next eight weeks we are going to explore the elements of this alchemical mandala to discover a personal and powerful meditative process for using it to acquire an in depth understanding of the the seven key processes for creating the Philosopher’s Stone as well as participating in an initiation into a hermetic perspective that will enrich your life in ways that you have not yet imagined.

There are many explanations of the Azoth available on web sites and in numerous writings. However, I suggest you establish your own relationship with the Azoth before reading the interpretations of others. Spend personal time with the image during the next week identifying the messages it holds for you and developing your unique and special understanding of its symbols before listening to what I and others have to say about this eternal hermetic symbol.

Then each week for seven weeks we will examine in depth through a variety of methods the steps revealed in the Azoth for creating the Stone.

I look forward with excitement and expectation for participating with you in this ancient alchemical practice that will have a lasting impact on your life.

Solve et Coagula