Four days into my public sharing of the latest alchemical transformation of myself and my entries seem, even to me, like the ravings of man who’s lost his mind. Actually, this is a sign of good things to come but it must be confusing to anyone who cares or is entertained enough to try to follow my musings. So, here’s some scaffolding or framework for what I’m trying to create.

As a practicing alchemist – no…no gold yet…yet – I believe the Emerald Tablet is a map of our conscious creation of our reality. Having studied the Tablet for years, it is clear to me that it describes a powerful way for us to transform ourselves. More to follow on exactly what this path is but, in a few words, it identifies seven alchemical operations or steps of transformation: Calcination, Dissolution, Separation, Conjunction, Fermentation, Distillation and Coagulation.

The names of these seven operations are taken from the physical or laboratory processes used by alchemists. While they remain valid for today, I’ve created different names for the operations that are easier to work with. Each operation has a key question as well as a special affirmation or alchemical decree (more on decrees later) that converts them into easily recognizable actions that we can take to energize our lives and moves us through the transformation process. So, starting with the first operation and moving through each one should allow us to transform ourselves, right? Well, yes, sort of, if we follow some other important alchemical practices. If you thought it would be easy and quick, you have not asked yourself why you’ve not yet experienced the transformation you can imagine and why we’ve been on the planet for hundreds of thousands, or is it millions, of years and are still working on it.

Let’s begin by looking at the first operation – Calcination. Alchemists begin the Great Work with Fire. Whether the material the alchemist starts with is plant, mineral or animal, the first step is to break it down into its key components. The most common way to do this is with fire, in a cauldron or furnace that burns away all that is not the essence of the material.

The same is true for the beginning of our Great Work on ourselves. We start by burning away everything that is not our essence. This is our responsibility. No one else can do it for us. So, Ignite is the action we must take. We begin the Work of transforming ourselves by starting the fire, and keeping it burning, until the unnecessary and, therefore, limiting structures or patterns of our lives are removed. This can be scary and, in fact, fear is the dominant feeling of this first step or operation. The key question to ask, then, is: What am I afraid of? Answering this question honestly and truthfully begins the process of not only transformation but awakening.

My answer to this question is abandonment. I’ve shared some of this in my initial posts and will share more details and the alchemical affirmation or decree that follows in the days to come.