21st Century Alchemy & the New Renaissance in Science

Explore…

• The relevance of the alchemical worldview today in communicating a holistic vision of reality that unites both inner and outer worlds
• The redemption of alchemical methods and the fertile cross pollination with contemporary scientific practice and thought
• A sophisticated dialogue between modern chemistry and the advanced alchemical procedures of antiquity
• The Alchemy of the aetheric and applications of alchemical philosophy to aetheric technology
• Applications of the alchemical worldview to physiological, psychological and spiritual healing working the flower realm
• The legacy of Paracelsus in the 21st century: innovations and discoveries from neo-spagyrics to the advancements in perceiving the doctrine of signatures
• Ayurvedic alchemical medicine making from ancient times to the present day
• The ‘artist as alchemist’ and the dissolution of the boundary between science and art
• The alchemy of the year and the inner transformations that correspond to the passing of the seasons

Event Features

• 12 speakers
• 15 sessions including three Q&A panel sessions

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Day One – Building bridges between alchemy and natural science

Keynote – Alchemical Fundamentals

Dennis Klocek – Teacher/Researcher – soilsoulandspirit.com

Renowned for his contributions to anthroposophy, Goethean science, and alchemy, Dennis promises a keynote that weaves together spiritual science, transformative processes, and esoteric facets of alchemy as applied to farming, medicine, education, and art.

The keynote will explore many aspects of alchemy, delving into its symbolic language and spiritual significance and how they can be applied in a holistic and qualitative approach to the exploration of natural phenomena, including the natural sciences and healing.

Alchemy in the 21st Century

Robert Allen Bartlett – Teacher/Laboratory Alchemist – spagyricus.com

The 20th century alchemist known as Frater Albertus was a great advocate of the use of scientific method and modern chemical analysis techniques in alchemical research. It was Frater Albertus that started Robert on this path over 40 years ago and it has become central to his own researches into alchemy. During this time Robert has witnessed firsthand the progress of chemical technology and the benefits it offers to the modern alchemist.

In this presentation Robert will examine the rise of chemical analysis methods through the centuries up to the present state and discuss some of the possibilities it offers to those researching alchemy in their own laboratories today. He will also present a practical example of these principles attempting to answer questions regarding the temper of herbs as indicated in the old herbals.

Flower Essence Alchemy & the Doctrine of Signatures

Patricia Kaminski – Flower Essence Practitioner – flowersociety.org

Patricia Kaminski is the Executive Director of the Flower Essence Society, an international collegium of flower essence practitioners who research and heal with the subtle essences of plants.  She will discuss the origins of alchemy in Egypt given by Hermes Trismegistus through the Emerald Tablets.  A key principle of these tablets is,  “As Above So Below”,  describing  the resonant relationship between Macrocosm and Microcosm.  This concept is then developed further by Paracelsus in his Doctrine of Signatures.   Patricia will present examples of her original research using this principle of perception to understand specific aspects of anatomy and physiology and their resonance in botanical structures and elemental qualities within plants. She will show how this alchemical approach to plant wisdom results in a deeper understanding of healing qualities and outcomes in clinical cases provided by practitioners in the Flower Essence Society over the last four decades.

Alchemy and Electricity: Unveiling Synchronized Realms

Warren Kistenbroker – Spagyricist/Researcher – evolvedalchemy.com

Spagyricist and researcher Warren Kistenbroker will share a presentation of his original research regarding alchemy and its mirrors in resonant electricity, radioactivity and connections to the aether. Including an exploration of alchemical procedures and their application to the distillation and condensation of electricity. Discussion will follow of applications and philosophical ideas behind the aether and its force.

Day One Panel

Dennis, Robert, Patricia, Warren

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Day Two – Alchemy: healing body & soul

Introducing Aurelian Medicine: Paracelsian Medicine Rebooted for the 21st Century

Phoenix Aurelius – Alchemist/Researcher – phoenixaurelius.com

In this presentation, Phoenix exposes some core tenets of Aurelian Medicine – a new Medicinal Tradition firmly rooted in Paracelsianism that incorporates modern elements and advancements in the fields of spagyria, philosophy, psychology, iatrochemistry, technology, and more. In particular, Phoenix will be speaking about the Entia (Macrocausations) of Disease within Aurelian Medical Philosophy. Building upon the 5 Entia of Paracelsus, Phoenix has added an additional 2 Entia to this list based on his clinical research since 2018. Furthermore, he will be discussing the methods he uses for identification for each Entia as well as what he has discovered to address each of these imbalances with outstanding success in his clinical research. Attendees will walk away with an understanding the 7 Entia of Disease and the approaches used to further identify and eliminate the detected Imbalances at their Root.

Attendees can get a 30% off coupon by joining the email list during the symposium, between
Jan 26-30: Sign up here

Rasa Shastra: The Hidden Art of Medical Alchemy

Andrew Mason – Vedic Alchemist/Researcher – neterapublishing.com

While the science and practice of Rasa Shastra is most commonly associated with Ayurvedic medicine, it is a discipline in its own right. It is also a living tradition, with many pharmacies in India and Sri Lanka devoting some portion of their production facilities to the production of these alchemical remedies.  Some remedies can be very simple and quick to prepare, others are more involved and require many months to manufacture. Rasa Shastra is an ancient practice and while some of its techniques have been developed in recent times, many of its original practices remain intact and unchanged. 

In this short introduction to Rasa Shastra Andrew will discuss the general techniques behind the manufacture of Indian alchemical remedies, he will illustrate how and why items such as minerals, metals, gemstones and certain types of toxic plants are selected for medicine and will will aim to show how the system of Rasa Shastra is simplistic on one level, yet sophisticated in other ways. 

Alchemical Herbalism and the Transformational Medicine of Plants

Sajah Popham – Spagyricist, Medical Astrologer and Clinical Herbalist – evolutionaryherbalism.com

Spagyrics is unfortunately commonly thought of these days as simply adding ash back into a tincture or just classifying plants based on the planets. This presentation will explore the bigger picture of uniting alchemical philosophy within the context of clinical herbalism. Sajah will explore how to understand people and plants holistically by synergizing the alchemical understanding with traditional Western herbalism, deciphering the archetypal associations of plants (rather than just looking them up in a book), and what the healing process looks like when working with spagyric preparations. Sajah will also explore a map of what the actual practice of alchemical herbalism looks like, from field and forest, to lab and formulary, and ultimately to the clinic. The essence of this approach to herbalism is effectively uniting the science and spirit of people and plants to initiate a process of transformational healing.

Biodynamics & the Alchemical Cycle of the Year

Matias Baker – Biodynamic Consultant/Researcher

Matias will explore the alchemy and pictorial language of the biodynamic remedies and the significance of how they are woven into the cosmic yearly cycle.  This will lead into a further exploration of how the pictures coming to us out of biodynamics can support our search for soul healing and the renewal process within the cultural sphere.

Panel

Phoenix Aurelius, Andrew Mason, Matias Baker

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Day Three – Nature, alchemy & art

Gaia Alchemy: Science, Psyche and Soul

Dr Stephan Harding – Deep Ecology Research Fellow, Senior Lecturer in Holistic Science

How can we reintegrate psyche and soul into the practice of science?

About 400 years ago during the scientific revolution science and soul were drastically separated, propelling humanity into centuries of a valuable yet one-sided style of empiricism and rationality which has fundamentally disconnected us from each other and from nature. In this perspective, there is no room for the soul (anima or psyche), or for the development of empathy, intuition and feeling in relation to nature. This tragic separation is at the root of the serious ecological, climatic and psychological crisis which we currently experience all over the planet.  Now, for the first time, we have access to detailed scientific knowledge of the dynamics of the Earth, while depth psychological understandings of alchemy have shed light on the functioning of the human psyche. In this talk we will spend some time exploring how combining these apparent opposites – science and psyche – can help us recover our intrinsic wholeness to heal ourselves and the earth. We’ll do this by integrating the science of Gaia (Earth System Science) with alchemical ideas and images from our pre-scientific past in relation to the evolution of our planet throughout geological time.

The Emerald Tablet and the Creative Act

Brian Cotnoir – Alchemist/Artist – khepripress.com

Alchemy is the art and science of bringing something to its final perfection, that is, completion in the sense that a work of art is completed or perfected. 

The Emerald Tablet, famous for its declaration “as above, so below,” is a cornerstone text of alchemy and, as such, it embodies all aspects of alchemical work and so can be read as both a physical and non-material process. The challenge in the practice of alchemy is in the union of these two views. Working with a new translation from the oldest known version of the Emerald Tablet, Brian will examine this text in light of the actual inner and outer practices of alchemy and its implications and possibilities for any creative work.

The Emerald Tablet – Download a DIY pamphlet of Brian’s translations from the Arabic and Latin.

Nature’s Alchemists: An Exploration of our Ancient Relationship to Honeybees & The Wisdom Embodied Within The Hive

Courtney Cosgriff – Herbalist, Beekeeper & Writer – honeybeeherbals.co

The bees have been revered by many ancient cultures and civilizations for thousands of years. Their wisdom has inspired artists, healers, mystics, poets, leaders, philosophers, and many more throughout time creating a rich web of myth, medicine, magic, and symbolism surrounding them. The spiritual traditions around bees and beekeeping are some of the greatest lost to the world and in exploring them we gain a deeper understanding not only of the bees but nature as a whole and our relationship to it. In this presentation from alchemist and beekeeper Courtney Griff, we will explore nature’s great alchemists, the honeybees and the wisdom and teachings they carry imperative for our understanding in this time.

The Tending of the Bees is Courtney’s new in-depth online course which introduces one to the world of natural and sacred beekeeping

The Sexual Alchemy of Biodynamics: Kundalini, Sublimation, and Compost

Stewart Lundy – Biodynamic Farmer & Researcher – perennialroots.com

The sublimation of sexual energy, directed away from the outer world and to the ‘head’ is the process of a kundalini sublimation. This takes the alchemical ‘sulfur’ polarity and reunites it with the ‘salt’ polarity. It is the process of transmuting the basest materials into the highest, and of reuniting what, by nature, is separated.

Biodynamic farmer and educator Stewart Lundy will share his research concerning how in biodynamics the preparations take the same aspects of plants: the erotic libidinous impulse that wishes to go upward and outward (sulfur) and settle it down in suitable vessels so that it can be introduced to the ‘head’ (salt) of the plant and give birth to Sophia in the garden. 

Explore Stewart’s excellent and thoughtful writing on the Josphine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics SubStack. Join Stewart at their upcoming Spring 2024 Biodynamic preparation-making workshop.

Panel

Brian Cotnoir, Courtney Cosgriff

Special surprise presentation by Dennis Klocek

The Dreams of Metals: an Alchemical Rosetta Stone

In this presentation, Dennis discusses his research on the solar length of day and its impact on the growth and properties of plants. Using the reactivity series of metals he explores the connection between minerals, metals, and plants, and how their rhythmic sequences impact the development of essential oils in plants. He shares how this same sequence is active in the human, and thus of importance in developing a deeper understanding with plants and the natural world.

Closing

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