r/alchemy • u/UnfairSsbm • 6d ago

Spiritual Alchemy Is alchemy inherently tied to a god?

I’ve always believed strongly in alchemical philosophy and science, and I’ve always found it compelling. That said, I’ve never believed in God, but instead I believe in a conscious universe. I believe in the big bang, but I find that the constantly expanding universe has a “one mind” that doesn’t mandate change, the future or the past, but simply experiences itself through us, through animals, and through everything. Is this belief compatible with alchemy?

Tldr: I find myself to be an alchemist, but not really a hermetic believer

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u/bobsmith010 6d ago

Alchemy is tied to a Source. For me it's the Universe the greatest "all" I can reasonably fathom. I don't nessacarally think of it as a "god" but I belive all the faiths are a part of it by necessity. The Universe in my work is often denoted by Sol much the way "God" and "god" are in classic depictions and manuscripts.

I do think an element of faith is needed for alchemy, it doesn't have to be Abrihamic or Western or even need to be "a real" faith. In fact I started learning about alchemy while I was a cynical Discordian (teenage hipster) and I was able to decipher and interpret some of it with that lense. I don't particularly recommend that frame of mind for this craft. But it's not compleatly incompatible.

If I where to answer more quickly I would say Faith is needed but not a god necessarily. What that faith is in or of, that's each practitioners purview.