Jesus

‘unless you die, you shall not live’, a summary of alchemical work

April 20th 2025

Alchemy is the science of the transformation of matter. The alchemist places the base material in a crucible, where it initially dies and putrefies; this operation corresponds to the colour black. Next, the matter is dissolved and purified: it is said to ‘whiten’. After this comes distillation and conjunction, and the material turns red. Finally, through sublimation, the colour turns to gold.
These operations should be interpreted as different stages of the inner life. The work the alchemist performs on the matter in the crucible is, in reality, the work of resurrection that disciples must do in the crucible of their body. It is their life’s work. The ‘resurrected’ matter emerges from the crucible transformed into gold: resurrected man rises from the cross. Jesus said: ‘Unless you die, you will not live.’ These words can be taken as a summary of alchemical work, and Jesus himself is our example: he died and rose again.*
* Related reading:

True alchemy consists in working with the two masculine and feminine principles that act in all creation and in the human being himself: the will (the Sun) and the imagination (the Moon). With these two virtues we manage to transmute our own matter and become radiant and pure. Then we can hope...