Alchemical Philosophy and the Spiritual Fall

no electromagnetic wave hits our eyes. In what way then is the external world different from the interior world of dreams? The Alchemists said: the difference is simple: • while the dream is the product of one man's oneiric activity, the external world is the fruit of Man's oneiric activity. • as in dreams all productions are nothing but the externalized symbol of forces or realities in the individual's unconscious, so what exists in the external world is the symbol of forces or realities present in Man. Everything that we even physically see was not conceived as separate or distant from Man, but as the symbol of realities present at some level in the alchemist's consciousness or subconsciousness. Therefore according to the Alchemists everything that exists derives from a single spiritual reality from which everything originated. At the base of all alchemical conceptions lies the identification of a single matter from which everything derives, called in this context hylé. In this consciousness $3$ fundamental aspects or currents are identified that produce physical matter: sulfur, mercury and salt. • sulfur principle: a solar, projective, affirmative aspect of this single substance that makes form appear from the depths of matter. Man was Will; • mercury principle: a receptive aspect of this single substance capable of assuming the forms and inspirations projected by sulfur. Man was Intelligence; • salt principle: the capacity of substantiation, the product of the action of mercury and sulfur that flow into salt or matter. Man was Love. Man's consciousness in this state was only Being-Consciousness-Bliss. Man did not have a physical body and therefore could not die, was not limited by the body. He was one with the creator, divine life flowed in the hearts of men and from Man's heart spread to all creation, that is to the consciousnesses that lived in his body. The $4$ Elements correspond to $4$ Properties of primordial consciousness. In this state of consciousness Man had four Powers that were the Powers of God to which he was welded as if he had been one single heart. $4$ Powers to which the alchemists gave the name of the $4$ elements: Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Clearly these four elements are not simply the $4$ physical elements as we are accustomed to seeing them observing external nature, but are conceived in hermetic philosophy as universal organizing and shaping forces or powers that manifest their action in various ways and whose symbols or maximum expressions in the physical world are represented by the $4$ elements. Each of these four elements was therefore seen as the vehicle of a precise force that acted on matter by polarizing it. • Earth (the capacity to concretize - produce): which corresponded to Work and whose symbol was also the Bull and Money; • Fire (the capacity to disintegrate - purify): which corresponded to War to obtain dominion symbolized by the Scepter and the Lion; • Water (the capacity to balance - calm): which welcomes and gives balance and which therefore was associated with Justice whose symbol was also the Cup held by Man or Aquarius; • Air (the capacity to exalt - accentuate): elevation from which the correspondence to Ardent Religion and whose symbol was the Sword and the Eagle. The symbol of this state of Man in divine life was represented by the Sphinx. These $4$ powers were $4$ Divine Powers that nourished Man, but with the fall Man lacked the key to dominate these forces. Therefore the continuous alternating prevalence of one force over the others and vice versa leads Man to the prison of the phenomenal world. The Fall: What the alchemists actually say is that something in this state went wrong. Then, say the alchemists, the infection occurred, the leprosy of metals, the fall, Man's consciousness moved away from God, continuity in adherence to divine life was lacking and like a sanctuary that lacks light, everything fell into darkness: • Man's Power became Craving or slavery moved by desire and needs • Man's Wisdom became Ignorance and dormancy and men thus forget who they are, live with flashes of consciousness in passivity and collective hypnosis • Man's altruistic Love became Selfishness and led to the fragmentation of primordial consciousness into many small consciousnesses and individuals who to represent what they are not create the $7$ planets • With the fall and distance from God what were divine supra-individual forces or qualities specialize and materialize until forming the surrounding world. • Such qualities are infinite, but the alchemists identify $7$ that are the most relevant and that are in relation with the seven planets, the $7$ fundamental metals, the $7$ colors etc... From the original will coming from God and which gave origin to everything, seven fundamental rays were specialized, associated with the $7$ colors of the rainbow that manifested in seven typologies of fire whose first sensible manifestation was represented by the $7$ main planets. This is the most important part for us: the creative will that gave origin to everything and whose symbol in the cosmos was represented by the Sun assumed for the alchemists $7$ aspects or fundamental qualities whose first sensible manifestation was represented by the $7$ planets which in turn reverberating on earth gave origin to the birth of minerals and metals. From the fire element or spirit, then derive the qualities of the stars that are originated by the multiplicity of this single spirit or fire. Finally these same aspects of the single creative spirit, first collected by the planets, then reverberated in metals and minerals, finally manifested in man giving origin to physical organs. Therefore what was the objective of the Alchemist according to what is Spiritual Alchemy? The Philosophers' Stone of the Alchemists was primarily the return to this original state of unity.