Spiritual Alchemy: 7 Mystical Stages & Symbolism

For centuries, alchemy has become synonymous with gaining wealth and immortality.

But this perception of alchemy is largely misguided: it stems from confusing the metaphors of original alchemy with reality. Alchemy, as a result, became a pseudo-science of transforming lead into gold.

These days, alchemy is thought of as something quaint, even a little occult; a relic of the dark ages.

But there is tremendous wisdom to be found within this obscure, archaic philosophy.

Contrary to popular belief, alchemy is not about transmuting base metals into gold – instead, it’s the secret science of illumination, inner liberation, and awakening to your True Nature.

What is Spiritual Alchemy? (Definition)

Aurum Nostrum Non Est Aurum Vulgi: Our gold is not common gold.

– Alchemist saying

Whether you understand alchemy as a science or as a type of spiritual psychology, alchemy is ultimately concerned with transformation and change.

While physical alchemy is concerned with altering and transforming the properties within matter, spiritual alchemy is concerned with freeing your spiritual self, which is obscured within you by the unrefined parts of your ego (e.g., your fears, shadows, personal beliefs, self-loathing, etc.).

When it comes to physical alchemy versus spiritual alchemy, spiritual alchemy is vastly more multifaceted.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of spiritual alchemy is its objective: to free you from your core wounds, core beliefs, soul loss, and other self-destructive personality structures to help you live freely and joyfully.

Finding your “pure essence,” Higher Nature, or deeper Soul is the ultimate state of transformation: the gold of spiritual alchemy. This is a process that attempts to restructure your personality and the various levels of attachment, avoidance, and identification that you possess.

These days, we can thank the famous 20th-century psychiatrist C. G. Jung for the deepening interest in alchemy. In fact, much of his theory is heavily steeped in the rich symbolism of alchemy, creating a colorful and sophisticated roadmap by which we can learn to get ourselves “out of our own way,” stop being our own enemies, and allow our fullest potential to unfold.

Jung, Symbolism, and the Science of Transformation

As mentioned above, renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung is commonly recognized as the main advocate and promoter of alchemy.

He pointed out that he would notice many of the symbols found in alchemy texts mysteriously showing up in the dreams of his patients – most of whom had no prior knowledge of alchemy.

Jung also concluded that alchemy was a superb way of expressing the universal symbols of life and was, therefore, a highly effective tool for psychological insight.

In his own words, he wrote,

Alchemy has performed for me the great and invaluable service of providing material in which my experience could find sufficient room, and thereby made it possible for me to describe the individuation process at least in its essential aspects.

Three Powerful Alchemical Symbols

Materia Prima, The Philosopher’s Stone, and Gold are the three most powerful and commonly known symbols relating to alchemy.

Materia Prima (or “first matter”) is an alchemical symbol that reflects the notion that all the universe originated from a primitive, formless base.

The idea of “Materia Prima” can be traced back to Aristotle, who understood that there’s a force that holds all other forms in existence together but is itself invisible – these days, we refer to it as “Spirit.”

Materia Prima, as the invisible womb or unseen force, is a field of pure potential that can only come into existence when it is embodied within a “form.”

In alchemy, the Materia Prima, or primal material, is that which is left over after we have reduced matter into its purest essence. This process is a powerful psychological symbol because it describes the internal experience of arriving at a “core realization,” or in other words, becoming aware of the root cause of a belief or trauma within us.

By working with the Materia Prima of our inner selves, we can go on a journey to find the Philosopher’s Stone (spiritual liberation), which transforms any of our base qualities (selfishness, arrogance, vanity) into gold (kindness, tolerance, humility, etc.). We’ll explore these symbols more in the next section.

Why Learn About Spiritual Alchemy?

“What’s the point of learning about spiritual alchemy?” you might be wondering.

My answer is that in life we all need maps that can help us orient ourselves in our environments. In terms of the inner landscape and the journey of spiritual awakening, alchemy is one of the oldest practices and metaphors out there.

As such, we can use the various stages and symbols of alchemy to better understand where we are and where we’re going on a path that can otherwise feel quite disorienting and confusing.

Spiritual alchemy is ultimately a powerful tool for deep exploration, soul work, and inner healing.

The 7 Stages of Spiritual Alchemy

Solve et coagula: Dissolve and coagulate.

– Alchemist saying

The Latin expression “solve et coagula” is derived from “solve,” meaning to break down and separate, while “coagula” describes the process of bringing elements back together (coagulating) into a new, higher form.

Interestingly, “solve et coagula” is a brilliant psychological metaphor. By pursuing Gold (or listening to our intuitive “higher calling”), we “break down” limiting parts within us that are in the way of our transformation (Philosopher’s Stone) into a free and whole being (coagulation and coniunctio).

This journey of death, rebirth, and transformation has often been summarized into the four levels of alchemy:

1. Nigredo (or “blackening” – symbolic of the death of old ways of being)
2. Albedo (or “whitening” – symbolic of the process of spiritual illumination)
3. Citrinitas (or “yellowing” – symbolic of the development of spiritual maturation)
4. Rubedo (or “reddening” – symbolic of the attainment of spiritual integration and liberation)

These four alchemical levels are often broken down into seven stages (which we base on the work of psychiatrist and Jungian analyst Edward F. Edinger).

Here are the seven stages of alchemy summarized:

1. Calcination (Calcinatio, the fire) – Burning away the illusions.
2. Dissolution (Solutio, the water) – Dissolving blocks. Processing emotions.
3. Coagulation (Coagulatio, the earth) – Getting grounded. Setting boundaries.
4. Sublimation (Sublimatio, the air) – Taking a higher perspective.
5. Mortification (Mortificatio, the shadow) – Facing the shadow and letting go.
6. Separation (Separatio, the sword) – Discerning the truth. Cutting through the fog.
7. Conjunction (Coniunctio, the gold) – Integrating wisdom and embodying a transformed self.

Below, I’ll explore each of these seven alchemical stages further:

1. Calcination (Calcinatio)

Calcination is the process of heating and decomposing raw matter – or in other words, breaking down parts of ourselves that are in the way of our happiness. Often, we’d rather be right or fulfill an idea of “perfection” than be truly happy, so we continue neglecting the exploration of ourselves.

Calcination represents the stage in our lives where we begin breaking down our egos and the self-doubt, stubbornness, self-sabotaging behavior, pride, and arrogance that they possess, putting them aside so we can find out what’s underneath.

2. Dissolution (Solutio)

Once we’ve broken down all of our personality characteristics that were in the way of our evolution, we’re left with the process of Dissolution, which is the beginning of feeling less identification with our illusory sense of self and false patterns.

Once we’re free from the strong grip of the egocentric self, we can take one step back and truly observe our positive and negative qualities.

In this stage, our many shadows, repressed traumas, and other inner tensions bubble to the surface, causing us to become aware of how our behavior might be affecting others and our own lives.

Often, this stage of transformation is brought about by sudden illnesses, mental health crises, or misfortunes in our lives that cause us to pay close attention to what we’re doing, shocking us out of our avoidance patterns (such as workaholism, addictions to certain relationships, drugs, unhealthy habits, etc.).

3. Coagulation (Coagulatio)

After we’ve come face-to-face with our inner blockages, shadows, and unhealthy patterns and have begun the work of dissolving these issues, we arrive at the stage of coagulation.

When a substance ‘coagulates,’ it begins to thicken, solidify, and harden. Symbolically, this is seen as the process of learning to get grounded, embodied, and focused on implementing practical solutions to our internal discoveries.

After the previous stage of Dissolution (Solutio), we need to come back together again; otherwise, we remain stuck in a state of chaotic disintegration. In other words, we need to come back down to earth and apply our knowledge to make real-world changes.

This practical application may look like setting new goals, revising our dreams, examining our relationships, establishing new habits, or learning how to set clear boundaries.

Coagulation is a highly pragmatic alchemical stage that is ruled by the element of earth, as opposed to the water energy of Dissolution, or the fiery energy of Calcination.

4. Sublimation (Sublimatio)

Once we have started to coagulate and set in place revised goals, habits, and boundaries, we enter the refined stage of Sublimation.

Sublimation is the stage of spiritual alchemy that helps us to rise above our issues and blockages to see them from a higher perspective.

Meditation, mindfulness, contemplation, psychological reframing, and other practices are particularly helpful during this stage of inner transformation.

In psychology, sublimation is an inner mechanism where an ‘unacceptable’ urge (like aggression or sexual frustration) is transformed into a more constructive or productive form (like art, sport, or work).

In spiritual alchemy, Sublimation takes a raw energy like anxiety or sadness and sees it from a greater perspective. It helps us to explore questions such as, “What is this anxiety teaching me?” and “What is the greater purpose buried within this sadness?” therefore helping us to untangle and disidentify from our thoughts and beliefs.

5. Mortification (Mortificatio)

Eventually, after we’ve gone through the initial process of inner breakdown and breakthrough, we come to the stage of Mortification.

As the most intense and challenging stage of spiritual alchemy, Mortification involves going deeper into our shadows (the dark or wounded parts of ourselves) and learning to let go of what’s ready to die within us.

Symbols such as skulls, black suns, and ravens are all associated with Mortification, and it’s a period of life when many old beliefs, habits, and ways of life are stripped away from us.

Some people experience a Dark Night of the Soul, a health struggle, or an existential or identity crisis during the process of Mortification. It’s like entering an inner winter, where life feels cold, dreary, and dark.

But as the old saying goes, the night is darkest before the dawn. Mortification is the death we need to experience before we undergo a rebirth.

6. Separation (Separatio)

The alchemical stage of Separation is the light that emerges on the horizon after the darkness of Mortification.

As we emerge from the ashes of our former selves, we rise into a new way of being, like a phoenix. Often, what we discover after this “rebirth” experience is that there’s a lot of pruning, clearing, and cleaning that needs to be done. This is where Separation comes into the picture.

Separation is the stage where we learn to distinguish the true from the false, the necessary from the unnecessary, and the light from the darkness.

This is an alchemical process that helps us to also make our thoughts and emotions more defined by practicing introspection, self-awareness, and self-analysis.

By learning how to be discerning and see with clarity, we can make decisions that align with our Soul’s deepest needs and live with more authenticity, power, and direction.

7. Conjunction (Coniunctio)

Finally, we come to the last stage of spiritual alchemy, which is Conjunction, or in Latin Coniunctio, which means “joining” or “union.”

Once we have gone through an inner process of burning, dissolving, reforming, ascending, descending, and cutting away the old, we begin to experience the mystical process of Self-integration – or uniting with our True Nature.

Conjunction is a process of becoming more whole, of integrating lost parts of ourselves, learning how to embody the wisdom we’ve gained, and living our lives from a more Soul-centered place.

In many spiritual traditions, Conjunction is seen as the process of Self-realization or Illumination. It’s the moment when we’ve “broken open the head,” or in other words, we have become free from the mind, and our consciousness or Soul unites with the Materia Prima: the Spirit.

On a more down-to-earth level, Conjunction is the experience of success, joy, and fulfillment in life. It’s the harmonious meeting point between the opposites within us – the spiritual Self and human self, ego and Soul, and inner and outer worlds.

Symbolically, Conjunction is when we have gained the Elixir of Life, also known in alchemy as The Philosopher’s Stone, which represents our heart and Soul’s true desire to be whole and complete.

How to Explore Spiritual Alchemy More Deeply

Staying on the level of the intellect when exploring spiritual alchemy is fine. But what’s more powerful and transformative is to put it into practice to solve an issue in your life.

Our Alchemical Soul Work Workbook helps you to explore spiritual alchemy more deeply by helping you to transmute your pain into power, and confusion into clarity.

This workbook gives you a clear, step-by-step path to profound self-discovery. You’ll be guided through the seven ancient stages of alchemy with over 50+ journaling prompts designed to dissolve old patterns and forge a stronger connection with your Soul.

This isn’t just a one-time fix; it’s a complete system of transformation you can use again and again, empowering you to navigate any of life’s challenges with confidence.

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Alchemy’s greatest achievement is to mirror the interrelationship between mind and matter, ego and soul, self and world. It embodies and points to the union of opposites, the transcendence of division, and the Oneness of all beings.

I hope this article has helped to explain this mysterious topic more in-depth, provided you with an alchemical roadmap to understand your spiritual progress, and illuminated your understanding.

What are your thoughts about spiritual alchemy? I’d love to hear below!