Alchemy is the practice of the art of transformation.

Transformation has been understood and interpreted in different ways for as long as people have watched things burn. In its beginnings, alchemy was witnessed in the transformational effect which fire has on objects. Clever men and women wondered about what they saw and made notes. Whenever these clever people met, they compared notes and exchanged ideas. Through this process of conscious observation, many mysteries of the world (physical and spiritual) revealed themselves.

Early alchemists explored the transformative nature of the world around them. They witnessed that matter transforms under different conditions. In their experiments they searched for the ultimate formula which would allow them to transform base metals into precious metals.

For some, their exploration outward also turned inward. This change of focus gave rise to questions about the transformative nature of Life, the Soul and Consciousness. As this change in focus spreads from alchemist to alchemist, the nature of the alchemical quest changes. Their experiments and formulas now focus on the creation of spiritual Gold, enlightenment. Their formulas become metaphors for transforming consciousness. In doing so, they learn to take their life experiences as a new base metal and transform them into awakening experiences to achieve union with Spirit, the ultimate Gold.

This knowledge is not based or dependent on any one spiritual tradition. This exploration of spiritual transformation has gone through many cultures and ages of human development. Because of our long history with alchemy, echoes of its ideas about the workings of the physical and spiritual Universe can be found in the teachings of many ancient and modern spiritual traditions. The influence of alchemy can be seen in the ancient Egyptians, the Kabbalah, Hindu faiths, Buddhism, New Age Spirituality, Paganism and more. Any culture that looked to Nature to show the path to union with the Gods found the principals of alchemy everywhere they looked. It makes no demands that you commune with The Life Force in any particular way. Alchemy provides tools for exploring and understanding the world on many levels.

The oldest surviving alchemical text is The Emerald Tablet. This work is attributed to an ancient master of alchemy named Hermes Trismegistus, Hermes who is blessed three times. His writing about the principles which form the universe is our earliest glimpse of this knowledge which was already ancient when he wrote it down. A more recent text, c1912, is The Kybalion. This text was written by a group of writers who refer to themselves as 'Three Initiates'. The work is a collection of seven (7) principles of how the universe works which are based on the writings of Hermes Trismegistus. There are also many notebooks and texts from the Renaissance to modern times accounting the ideas, experiments and success of alchemists for the past several hundred years. As alchemists experiment, they discover ever widening applications of the metaphors and symbols which their explorations have inspired.

An important aspect of alchemy is the concept that every moment is magical. The practice of alchemy, as with any other method of spiritual exploration, provides a structured way to alter one's consciousness in order to perceive the magik that is around you every moment. Alchemy is the art of transforming consciousness in a mindful way so that one can perceive the magik happening in each moment.