I am feeling super fired up right now, for all the reasons you might imagine.
(Coup-in-progress. Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago today. Data breaches. Cutting social services. Etc.)
This might seem like a weird time to talk about Alchemy, but I promise it is actually extremely relevant.
And I know it can feel a bit esoteric or theoretical, but I’m going to help you break it down into something very concrete that will help you make sense of the spiritual forces and patterns behind the upheaval we’re seeing in the world right now.
Let’s talk about Alchemy and translating the theory of spiritual concepts into practice.
Can we collectively agree that the situation in the US right now feels kind of like a smoldering powder keg? There are lots of destructive forces moving very quickly, and people are getting really worked up. (Myself included, at times.) Let’s use this as a case study.
We are living through a textbook example of the first stage of Alchemy, called Calcination: the loss and death of physical structures. Energies of Calcination include:
Element of fire.
Emotion of anger/rage.
Connected with root chakra.
Calcination is the stage where we enter the fires of transformation, not knowing what will burn to ash and what will be left on the other side. It is a huge leap of faith, a stage of profound trust in the sacred pattern of Universal Law.
I’ll share some components with you about the theory of Calcination, and then about how we turn this into practice:
Fire Element
We know that fire can be both a destructive and a regenerative force. In areas that are well-adjusted to regular fires, they burn quickly and not too hot, they clear away small brush and detritus, and they create space for new growth.
In areas where fires are suppressed, they cause much more damage when they finally explode. They burn much hotter, they jump to the crowns of trees and decimate vast tracts of land, forests and homes. (This is the energy that’s building in the country/world now and why it feels so uncomfortable.)
Anger and Rage
The message of Anger is: “A physical, emotional or energetic boundary has been crossed.” In Alchemy, we work with Anger to understand our relationship to the perceived threat of destruction.
Since Calcination burns away all of our false ego structures and unhealthy attachments, it can feel very confronting and destabilizing. People experience greater tendencies towards reactivity, fear, resistance and overwhelm. Nervous system dysregulation runs rampant, tempers flare, fingers point, and trauma responses abound.
Anger and Rage are neither inherently “good” or “bad.” They merely tell us where we perceive a threat and therefore help us understand our own inner architecture and identity structures.
For example, right now in the US, there are people who are feeling very angry about DOGE infiltrating private data, stripping away social services and firing people left and right. In this case, there are huge boundary violations of privacy, safety and material security.
There are also people (MAGA) who are feeling angry that people are calling them out, disagreeing with them or saying things they don’t like. In this case, they’re perceiving boundary violations of their ego structures and ideology.
Root Chakra
Each of the stages of Alchemy is connected with a different energy center. Calcination works with the Root Chakra because it largely concerns aspects of the material plane, and our sense of stability. During Calcination, the physical structures of our lives can be shaken: our homes, our relationships, our health, our jobs, our finances, our safety.
Right now, with a coup-in-progress, we are feeling the foundations of safety shaking across all of society.
That’s the theory behind the first stage of Alchemy. What do we do with that? How do we translate this into an informed practice?
Fire as a Regenerative Force
Since we know that Fire can be sacred, powerful force for cleansing and regeneration, we work with practices to invite in the healthy aspects of fire and stabilization/regulation practices to make sure we don’t burn out. This can include:
Fire meditation and prayer (with a candle flame or a bonfire, size doesn’t matter). Connect with the spirit of Fire and invite it to burn away false and unhealthy structures to create space for new, vital growth. Communicate and collaborate with this element.
Clearing and heating practices in the body: shaking, tapping, explosive movements, sauna. Invite in the energy of fire to cleanse and purify.
Regulating, stabilizing and nourishing practices: make sure you don’t burn out. Take lots of electrolytes, prioritize rest and nourishment. Squats, lunges and lower body activation to create a solid foundation for the inner fire.
Work with Anger
Invite your Anger to teach and guide you. If anger arises, ask yourself:
Where am I perceiving boundary violations? What is being threatened? What does that mean about me / what am I making that mean about me?
Are those threats actual violations to my safety and well-being, or are they threats to false identity and ego structures?
If they are threats to my healthy self, what needs to be protected? What boundaries need to be created or enforced?
If they are threats to my false ego structures, what needs to be released or let go? (Then hold a personal ritual with Fire to help burn it away.)
Stabilize Your Root
Since we know that the fires of transformation serve to burn away unhealthy, false structures, we can nourish and stabilize our roots with healthy, vital practices. This will help make sure you don’t burn out or get overwhelmed in the process, help you stay out of a trauma response and also help you trust through the letting go.
Practices to stabilize your root include:
Lots of rest, nourishment, wellness care: Sleep, electrolytes, hydration, root vegetables and meat/healthy proteins and fats, immune supplements, fresh air.
Grounding and stabilization: Go outside, touch the earth. Lower body movements (lunges, squats, foot massages, open lower body channels for receiving Earth energy).
Community and connection: meaningful time with loved ones, play music and make food together, gather in like-hearted groups and practice co-regulation.
Identify and clear dissociation or trauma responses: many methods for this.
The sacred pattern of Alchemy is definitely at work in the crapstorm unfolding right now.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
The Alchemist enters the fires of transformation not knowing what will be left on the other side. There is inherently an element of trust and surrender involved here. But trust and surrender doesn’t mean we sit back and do nothing — it is a very collaborative and involved process. The Alchemist feeds the fire, pumps the bellows and holds a state of fierce prayer and devotion.
Things get uncomfortable when they are dying/being released or on the way out. I have seen this over and over again with my Alchemy students, Shamanic clients, doing entity extractions or energy clearings. It can be uncomfortable to the point of excruciating. But lean in to the discomfort and keep going. Food poisoning sucks but you feel better after you vomit.
Death is necessary before Rebirth can take place. This collective upheaval may be unpleasant, scary and unfortunately a lot of people are probably going to get hurt in the process. I am not dismissing any of that, and it makes me very sad. But remember, the fires of destruction that sweep through create fertile ground for new, healthy growth from the ashes. This is the promise of Alchemy.
And in case you’re feeling the call to work more deeply with Alchemy —
I AM Alchemy course begins in March!
Are you called to collaborate with powerful spiritual forces of Universal Law?
Do you want to go from feeling like you’re living at the whims of change, to intentionally choosing your own path of transformation and creation?
Wouldn’t it be great to have a roadmap to guide you through the hardest transformational moments of your life?
Are you ready to learn tools and practices that will immediately and noticeably enhance your vitality, health, energy and well-being?
Do you want to know without a shadow of a doubt that you are living your life “on purpose?”
Are you called to use these powerful tools to support your loved ones, community and clients in their journey of transformation and actualization?
