Alchemical Traditions by David Gordon White

“The symbols of the Self arise in the depths of the body.” ~ C.G. Such a map can help orient people in their therapeutic work, particularly when they are immersed in unconscious material that may cause feelings of anxiety, impatience, or dissolution. Alchemy provides an ancient map of the stages in the individuation process: our journey to wholeness. These practices bring awareness to what we least value, ‘cooking’ unwanted material to generate new life. Alchemy’s basic elements can deepen our understanding of embodied transformative processes, experienced spontaneously through natural movement rooted in Jung’s Active Imagination process. The Alchemists’ aim was to study nature and to learn from its profoundly regenerative capacities, discovering the ‘gold’ in matter. Elements from Jungian theory work will be interwoven and further integrated through movement, drawing, and discussion. Participants will have an opportunity to engage the Alchemical metaphor in relation to the embodied individuation process in healing and development. In this workshop, we will explore the impactful role of embodied experience and the spiritual dimensions of the healing process.

How do we evoke the light in the dark body? How do we embody the soul spark, bring it to consciousness, and live it more fully in our daily lives? “Our task is not to create more images of light, but to release the light that is trapped within the darkness.” ~ C.G. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.Embodied Alchemy®: Awakening Spirit in the Body

The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. bcud len rgyas bshad zag med bde gter (by De’u dmar dge bshes Btsan ‘dzin phun tshogs).bcud len gyi cha lag rin chen za ma tog.Much of the literature devoted to 'extracting the essence' is undoubtedly more instructional than ritual in nature. Note that it remains to be seen how 'ritualistic' alchemy is. The category of 'alchemy' is very broad, and can refer to practices that simply transform substances (such as transforming iron into gold) in addition, it can refer to practices where a yogi subsists on extracted esences, and to sexual practices that involve extracting energetic potencies from a consort.

Such practices are especially popular with hermits who have only limited access to ordinary food. Literally 'extracting the essence,' these types of rituals have as their goal the extraction of the potency or 'essence' (bcud) from substances (such as flowers, mercury, the elements, and so forth), generally with the goal of using that substance for nourishment, to increase one's lifespan, or to strengthen one's body.

Alchemical Traditions by David Gordon White