The Alchemist stands between the two forms of the Alchemical science: the Alchemy of Nature (left) and Mechanical Alchemy (right).

From the pursuit of Mechanical Alchemy (represented by the laboratory) there rises a building devoid of warmth or beauty. It is instead a sterile and cold environment. Even the oven is devoid of fire and life. This is Materialistic Science, the bastard child of the Alchemical tradition. This is our modern chemistry and all of its branches; this is the Alchemy of the intellectuals and scientists, the Alchemy of the five senses. From this pursuit there arises no spiritual life, therefore it is a dead art, an art that will never create the Soul.

From the pursuit of the Alchemy of Nature there rises a fantastic form of life, entwined like a Caduceus of Mercury and topped by a Golden Blossom, within which sits the sacred Alchemical Vessel (top). The vessel contains the sacred Elixir, the fountain of youth. These are the "living waters" given to the true initiate, as promised in the scriptures.

The Alchemy of Nature is a sacred science, a Tree which arises from the soil of the philosophical earth (a symbol of our physical body). This is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad, as mentioned in the book of Genesis. This Tree is the symbol of Alchemy. It has three roots, symbolizing the three primary forces, the Trinity, the Law of Three, known in Gnosis as the Law of Creation. The work with this tree is performed consciously, with great sacrifice and effort, and always under divine guidance. The fruits of this tree must be earned through the process of alchemical purification.


The Alchemist gazes at the seated Angel, whose head is crowned with the signs of the seven Alchemical planets, the forces which organize the Great Work. The angel is draped with a blue cape with white stars, a reference to the Divine Mother. But the most important symbol in this painting is the fire at the base of the Tree: this fire, which is just below the sexual organs of the Angel, is the clue to the Alchemy of Nature: from the pure (Angelic) use of the sexual forces, there rises a new and magical form of life: the soul, the Second Birth. Obviously, this work can only be accomplished with a man and a woman, because only and man and a woman can join to create life. Everything in nature is born of sex; therefore the soul is also born of sex.


The Alchemist hides his hands in his purse as a symbol that the True Great Work is always performed in the darkness; because it is in the darkness of the womb that the seed is germenated; from the darkness the Light arises. "Let there be Light."

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