The Philosopher’s Stone (Alchemy II)
Cabala, Spiegel Der Kunst Und Natur, In Alchymia. Raphael Custos, (1615).
Molly Hankins January 2, 2025
“The Philosopher’s Stone is not a stone, but a state of consciousness.” - Manly P. Hall, author and founder of The Philosophical Research Society.
In ‘The Subtle and The Gross’, we explored each phase of alchemy, both in the literal and existential sense, and here we can bring these two meanings together. The subtle refers to the spiritual substance which is condensed into gross matter, and makes up the physical world we live in. Alchemists and magicians contend that the gross, on the other hand, can be altered by way of the subtle, and as Manly P. Hall said, it all begins with a new state of consciousness.
The final stage of alchemy leads to the formation of the so-called Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary substance in physical alchemy that has the ability to transmute base metals into gold. On Becoming An Alchemist author Catherine MacCoun tells us that physical and metaphysical alchemy are achieved through a synthesis of the material and spiritual realms, and the Philosopher’s Stone is the union of the two. As we consciously merge the subtle and the gross within ourselves, so we create the conditions for alchemy and magic to become possible in the material realm.
MacCoun writes, “Between you and anything that you may wish to influence there is a relationship. If either party in a relationship changes, the relationship itself is changed. In turn, any change in the relationship changes both parties. So if you wish to change something, the first thing you must do is discover the true nature of your relationship to it. Then you will be able to see how to change it by changing yourself. This is the basic logic of alchemy.”
Our existence in the world of the gross is what she calls “the horizontal realm,” and it has a limited vantage point and capacity to affect change within space-time. True alchemy brings in what she calls “the vertical,” or the subtle realm of spirit, which has infinitely more data available than what we have access to in the physical, horizontal world. She believes that the vertical is influencing the horizontal all the time. Understanding the true relationship between these worlds, and then consciously merging them, is how we cultivate the power to create change in our reality. The Philosopher’s Stone is attained when spirit and matter consciously coagulate, a process that is ongoing, but once begun forever elevates our capacity to bend the horizontal world to our will. This is how we change the world by changing ourselves.
“Our hearts may feel love in a passive sense, but they express little more than “inept good intentions and niceness.”
Section from the Ripley Scroll, c.1550.
Alchemy, also referred to as The Great Work, is described in On Becoming An Alchemist as, “The process of reincarnating into your own life.” We described the phases of that process in part 1, as well as the characteristics and mechanisms of each phase. But the underlying essence of the merging between the spiritual and material, the vertical and horizontal, was intentionally withheld because it requires consideration of the vertical world. We can only reincarnate into our own lives by first accepting that our consciousness exists beyond the physical and that we have the ability to hold more of that consciousness within form.
Richard Rudd, creator of the Gene Keys, has his own description of this process. As of the publication date of this essay, we are currently in the 38th Gene Key of transcending struggle through perseverance to achieve honor. Richard says of this key, “We’re born to struggle, to fight, to move ever-upwards. We are form forced from within to try and free ourselves, to learn to fly - to be free from struggle, to be effortless like the birds in the sky or the dolphins leaping through the ocean waves. But even these creatures struggle, everything does. It’s the nature of evolution to go on expanding and surmounting itself. In humans, struggle can either free us or trap us.” The process of alchemy describes a process of struggle, but one that ultimately frees us when we become conscious of it.
MacCoun’s work describes a mechanism we can consciously use within our physical and energetic bodies to persevere in the fine art of transmuting struggle into The Philosopher’s Stone by redirecting the flow of subtle energies. Below is what she calls a “muggle configuration” of the human energy body, which has a fraction of our total consciousness operating within the horizontal. The rest, which many spiritual traditions refer to as our “higher self” operating beyond the limitations of horizontal spacetime, is still up in the vertical.
⬆️
Ideal
⬆️
Thought
⬆️
Word
💚
Territory
⬇️
Desire
⬇️
Fear
⬇️
Without conscious work to evolve this configuration, we are wired to project all our fears, desires and territoriality out into the horizontal. Many of us then look to a vague, theoretical notion of the vertical - to religion, spiritual traditions, or new age practices. We project our words, thoughts, and ideals out there, all while neglecting to send any energy to what she contends is the true center of consciousness, our heart-center. Our hearts may feel love in a passive sense, but they express little more than “inept good intentions and niceness.” The next diagram illustrates what she calls alchemical energetic alignment.
Ideal
⬇️
Thought
⬇️
Word
💚
Integrity
⬆️
Devotion
⬆️
Confidence
⬆️
Life’s struggles, if we let them, alchemize fear into confidence, desire into devotion, and territoriality into integrity. Becoming conscious of this process, our relationship with the vertical, spiritual world, and the merging of the two is the union of the subtle and the gross which eventually turns our own heart-centers into The Philosopher’s Stone. Redirecting these energies both in meditation and in our horizontal, waking life accelerates our evolution and thus our capacity for affecting change in the world. Meditation, when undertaken with confidence, devotion and integrity, gives us access to the vertical. This takes the form of elevated states of being and profound insights arising in our minds of new ideals, thoughts and words.
When we cultivate a relationship with the vertical and the heart becomes the meeting point between intention and will, we are merging heaven and earth. MacCoun ends her so-called technical overview of the process of redirecting energy to our hearts by reminding us that “like a diamond, it is indestructible, cutting and radiant. It loves bravely, shrewdly, mightily and magically. It has become The Philosopher’s Stone.”
Molly Hankins is an Initiate + Reality Hacker serving the Ministry of Quantum Existentialism and Builders of the Adytum.
