This article is a continuation of the previous one on “The Abduction of Persephone,” in which the “abduction,” from the perspective of the ego, appears as a descent into the underworld, but from the perspective of the Spirit is exactly the opposite—a rite of initiation into the depths of the unconscious. It is an encounter with the transpersonal forces that operate in the deeper layers of the human psyche, and in order to engage with them, a different approach is required.
Until now, my engagement with the spiritual symbolism of alchemy has been shaped primarily through the writings of Jung and Jungian analysts. Recently, however, I have also turned to other authors, which has offered me new nuances for understanding the processes of spiritual transformation—the central subject of the alchemical opus (Magnus Opus). Below, I will present a psychological and spiritual interpretation of the first stage of this process—the so-called calcination—by sharing quotations from the website alchemylab.com and accompanying them with my own reflections and personal observations.
Calcination transforms through the element of fire—a symbol of our desiring nature
Calcination is the first stage in the alchemical process of transforming lead into gold, and it works with the element of fire. Psychologically, fire symbolizes human passions—our desires and ambitions—while the lead being worked is the experience of frustration when these desires are not fulfilled (such as anger, depression, jealousy, envy, vindictiveness, malice, and similar states). What is essential at this stage is the experience of powerlessness in the face of forces—external or internal—that we do not have the power to change.
Even when we do the “right” things, we still fail to obtain what we want. We feel trapped—unable either to make the external world give us what we desire, or to leave the situation or relationship in order to stop experiencing the emotions that torment us. We find ourselves at the very center of hell, and the only thing that can help us emerge from its flames is a new approach to dealing with our problems: the understanding that the time has come for a deep inner change and a reconfiguration of consciousness.
Falling into “hell” as the beginning of spiritual initiation
It is important to know that the intensity—the heat—of the emotions experienced during this period is an indication that transpersonal factors are involved in the process: the soul and the archetype of the Self are engaged. Life refuses to give us what we want because the soul wants something different from our earthly identity. For this reason, the ego’s descent into the hell of frustrated desires is understood as a spiritual initiation—it is necessary for our attachment to material things to be destroyed so that it can later be rebuilt in an entirely new way.
In the language of alchemy, this severing of bonds with things and people in the external world is called “the separation of the spirit from the impurities of matter.” Psychologically, this means the dismantling of the ego’s identifications with the transient world of matter—including identification with our own body, thinking, and emotions—so that only the essence of our true, immortal nature remains.
“…to transform anything permanently, it must first be reduced to its most fundamental ingredients. All the dross, falsity, and extraneous material must be removed. It is the job of this fundamental operation in alchemy to see that this purification is done correctly and completely. The Emerald Tablet tells us “Its father is the Sun,” and the alchemists called this initial Fire operation “Calcination” and represented it by the symbol for a crucible. Calcination means literally “reduced to bone” by burning in an open flame. In the laboratory, it is the heating of a substance in the fire until all that is left is a pile of white ashes. On the personal level, those white ashes represent the purified essences of your personality ¾ the real you stripped of all pretenses.”
Burning in the fire means only one thing — suffering
You understand what this is about, don’t you? In this process we shrink — and dramatically so. The greater part of what we have thought ourselves to be, and from which we have drawn meaning and value, begins to burn in the furnace. And burning means only one thing — suffering. Long, and often deeply agonizing suffering. It is not at all easy to let go of the various claims, ambitions, expectations, and attachments we have lived by up to this point. Here, too, are our projections, judgments, and expectations, which cling like hooks to things in the external world and give rise to the illusion that they are the true cause of our suffering.
“If you do not begin Calcination with the right attitude, it can be a negative and even frightening experience. Signs that your attitude during Calcination is wrong are usually expressed as constant frustration and anger. You feel as if everything is going wrong in your life no matter what you do. Everything you attempt seems to backfire on you. These are the fires of Calcination attacking your ego, assumptions, and habitual thoughts. As strange as it seems, your quality of consciousness or inner attitude has a lot to do with how life treats you, with what kind of “justice” comes your way on a daily basis. The only proper approach to Calcination is one of humility and sacrifice. Like it or not, you are moving to a higher level of consciousness, and the stronger you cling to the previous level, the hotter the fires of Calcination become.”
What has been said above is extremely accurate and corresponds both to my personal and my professional experience. That is why I will repeat it once again: the key factor for passing successfully through the period of calcination—and emerging from it—is the right attitude toward suffering.
At the core of this suffering lies the capitulation of ego-will
I have clients who know very well what this is about and who, at first glance, seem willing to pay the price. Yet their persistent emotions of anger and depression are a sign that resistance is still alive in them. Or, even if it has begun to weaken, the new attitude has not yet permeated their being one hundred percent; it remains partial.
And we need experiences of powerlessness, because they are the very essence of subordinating ego-will to a higher center of self-regulation of the Self. Therefore, the appropriate attitude toward suffering in this case is: “Let everything nonessential burn away, and let only what is most essential remain—no matter how much it hurts.”
“Psychologically, Calcination is the destruction of the leaden center of consciousness, which is the ego and all the illusions and self-deceptions it maintains to protect or enshrine itself. Personal Calcination means getting free of the stranglehold of earthbound ego and replacing it with the true Self, which is rooted on a higher plane of reality. For most of us, Calcination is a natural humbling process as we are gradually assaulted and overcome by the trials and tribulations of life. People caught up in Calcination often feel as if they are trapped in the fires of Hell, burning up and suffering through their life yet unable to escape. Surprisingly, it is not until these fires are burning that your transformation begins, for the only way out of Hell is rise up with the flames.”
Painful honesty with oneself
The beauty of alchemy is that it offers symbols which help us understand our experiences through right-hemisphere thinking—thinking in images. The comparison with the chemical process of purification through burning away impurities is a very precise metaphor for what happens during this period to our emotions, thoughts, and body.
“During this primary phase of transformation, you have to turn up the fire of consciousness and concentrate on your thoughts, habits, assumptions, and judgments. You have to be utterly truthful about all situations, all relationships. In this way, you learn to recognize falsity and burn away the leaden or crystallized thoughts that often take on a mind of their own and become unintended responses or robotic reactions to people and events. During Calcination, you use the flames of consciousness to burn through illusion, self-deception, defense mechanisms, bigotry, and all the other dogmas and dramas of the Tyrant Ego that has usurped the throne of the transpersonal Self, who is the rightful ruler of the personality. As in the Grail legend, the kingdom of your personality will wither and decay until the true King is restored.”
The attitude of humility
What turns calcination into a spiritual initiatory process is that it expresses the struggle between the two aspects of the Self—our earthly and our spiritual identity. The empirical self (the ego) relinquishes power with great difficulty, and this is why its “illusions, self-deceptions, defense mechanisms, fanaticism, and all other dramas” become the primary fuel in the alchemist’s furnace. As long as we remain governed by our claims, vanity, and pride, the fire will continue to burn.
“Controlled Calcination begins with a deliberate surrender of our inherent hubris (pride or vanity) through a variety of spiritual disciplines that ignite the fire of introspection and self-evaluation. Before undergoing Calcination, people are stubborn, materialistic, and fearful of change. About the only positive quality that can be found in such a person is a certain practicality born from having their dreams repeatedly squashed. However, those who have passed through Calcination no longer approach the world through the pulpit of ego, for they have discovered a more genuine identity at the tabernacle of soul. People describe being in the presence of a calcined person as “refreshing.” They sense the freedom of no longer having to be manipulated or controlled by deceits of someone else’s ego.”
This is important to know: very often we fail to deal with ego resistance not for any other reason than the fact that the foundation upon which the emerging new identity can take root has not yet been built. Through habit and automatic reactions, we continue to seek a sense of inner value in external and concrete things. The appropriate attitude in this case is to be truthful, no matter the cost. To live with the truth about ourselves, even if the initial encounter with it is painfully burning. If we sustain this intention for a long enough time, we gradually begin to witness the birth of something far more beautiful than before—the strength to be ourselves without fear of others’ reactions and judgments.
“Remember to keep a sense of humility during Calcination. Seek out new teachers, read books on alchemy and other spiritual sciences, and stay open to new ideas. Realize that the viewpoint of ego is materialistic and narrow and concentrate more on intuitive feelings, invisible forces, and lasting truths.”
Conclusion
Thus, the suffering of calcination has a very specific spiritual meaning, thanks to which we are able to endure its burning pain. That meaning is that we have entered “a period of intense bodily, mental, and spiritual transformation” and have no choice but to cooperate with it. The formula for this radical reversal is as follows:
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To understand the meaning of what is happening and to accept that the powerlessness we experience is an expression of the transformation of ego-will and its submission to a higher Self-centered authority.
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To accept our painful emotions and feelings, knowing that they are the other side of the truth of the soul’s incarnation in the material world.
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To accept that the time has come for a requalification of consciousness, and that the primary focus of our attention now becomes the inner realm (our reactions, thoughts, values, projections), rather than the outer one (people, objects, events).
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To be maximally honest and sincere with ourselves, no matter how unpleasant what we see may be.
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To accept our limitations and transform them into healthy ego-boundaries, because only in this way can we regain the power to change our lives in a new way—guided by an attitude of humility and compassion.
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To know that freedom is a choice; even if we cannot change what happens to us, we can always change the way we choose to respond to it.
When we are “reduced to bone” and only “a pile of ashes” remains in the alchemical furnace (see the article “Cinderella’s Slipper”), the process of calcination is complete. Something within us has been profoundly transformed; we feel light and free. The phoenix is reborn into a new life.
The end of calcination is not the end of the processes of inner transformation, but it is the most important and the most difficult among them. After “destruction by fire” comes destruction by “water,” and after that—by “air.” Their astrological correspondences are the three transpersonal planets: Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus. Howard Sasportas’s book The Gods of Change, which presents them, begins with the following quote by Kahlil Gibran:
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”
For me, this quote contains the most essential element of the attitude we must maintain if we wish to pass through the processes of inner renewal in the right way.
It is precisely this attitude that is the most important ingredient in the recipe for calcination.
I know that this recipe works, because it has been personally tested. When we begin to shed ego resistance, we realize that the suffering of the fire was so great because the gift we receive is equally great. Before that, however, we must reach the ashes.
Kameliya Hadzhiyska
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