Ongoing Process

I’ve hit upon an exciting connection on the alchemical front.  Upon looking out the window at the snow today, I though how water was transformed to ice.  Pondering that a bit, I realized that the four elements correspond directly to the four states of matter (listed in order of decreasing energy):

• Fire = Plasma
• Air = Gas
• Water = Liquid
• Earth = Solid

Further, we can see how the transformation of water is accomplished by the application of the quality of warmth (remember the elements are composed of combinations of qualities) to make steam (a gas) or coolness to make ice (a solid).  From there, I speculated that the other elements should be similarly transformed by the application of other qualities.  This is what I came up with:

• Fire (Dry / Warm, Plasma) | + Cool = Ash (Solid) | + Warm = Smoke (Gas)
• Air (Warm / Moist, Gas) | + Dry = Lightning (Plasma) | + Moist = Rain (Liquid)
• Water (Moist / Cool, Liquid) | + Warm = Steam (Gas) | + Cool = Ice (Solid)
• Earth (Cool / Dry, Solid) | + Moist = Mud (Liquid) | + Dry = Ember (Plasma)

This is all very preliminary, but this is the first apparent link I’ve found to actual, literal physical materials and processes!  It’s very exciting.  :)  This allows me to speculate on my very first alchemical process; combustion:

Earth (Moist / Cool, Liquid) + Fire (Dry / Warm, Plasma) = Ember (Cool / Dry / Dry, Plasma) → Fire (Dry / Warm, Plasma) → Smoke (Dry / Warm / Warm, Gas) → Air (Warm / Moist, Gas) → Ash (Dry / Warm / Cool, Solid)

Obviously, that’s very rough.  It raises a hundred questions about which substance goes where and when and how.  But I feel like maybe the basics are starting to take shape!  If I can sort out the specific dynamics of how the different qualities/elements/substances/states interact and transform, then I’ll be well on my way to an actual, practical alchemy that’s grounded in reality.

By Jove, I think he’s got it.  :)  (or starting to get it, at any rate!)

So I just discovered something fascinating.  The classic four elements of water, earth, air, and fire originally arose not out of some abstract speculation, but out of actual experience of the world.  They’re derived from combinations of two of our most primal experiences: warmth and moisture.  These formed two dynamics, warm/cool and moist/dry.  Imagine these as the two axises of a graph, and the four quadrants define the four elements.

• Water: Moist/Cool
• Earth: Dry/Cool
• Air: Moist/Warm
• Fire: Dry/Warm

This may be glaringly obvious, but it’s actually a completely new idea to me that these systems (this is the very roots of alchemy!) would stem from the actual world and not be conjured from beyond it.  This has set me off exploring the entire notion of Western esotericism in an entirely different way.  Rather than starting with all the systems and trying to break them open to see how they tick, I can start with my own experience of being alive and work upwards!  OK, in reality I’ll probaby do both.  But still, this is an entire modality that I had never conceived of before!

Woohoo! 

Cold!