Alchemy is an ancestral discipline that is based on transmutation. Jung quickly understood the interest in the analogy to be made with the psychological realities of human evolution when he drew the main lines of his principle of Individuation, and as astrology has drawn very close to this discipline over the last century, there is a great symbolic treasure which has emerged from this combination, as psychological astrology makes considerable use of alchemical principles, and since I frequently use these notions in my work, I think a small, non-exhaustive summary would do us some good.
The alchemical processes and their astrological similarities
There are 4 great alchemical processes, Calcinatio, Coagulatio, Sublimatio, and Solutio, each of which can be directly related to the Astrological Elements (fire, earth, air, and water), our interest would be in dwelling on the complementarity of the different Transits that we can live (and we all experience these different processes alternatively according to our own birth Chart and its actualizations), up to the final objective, the Great Work (the Magnum Opus) representing the union of opposites, of masculine and feminine principles, but above all, beyond that, at the subtle level, the union of the personal to the collective, the transcendent, the process of Individuation.
+ Calcinatio (fire) :
This alchemical process can be compared to the process of diamond creation, or of purification of certain metals, the goal is to intensely heat the “prima materia” in a crucible, to subject it to intense pressure, so that it releases the slag that has become useless. This is a healthy, purifying fire, intended to destroy in order to progress towards a new, more Noble element.
This fire in psychological and astrological terms can be found above all in the Animus, in Mars, Pluto, the Black moon (seed of incarnation), sometimes Uranus (do not forget that this planet is exalted in Scorpio), and the various corresponding analogies ( 1st House, 8th House, etc), it represents desire, passion, creativity, impulsiveness, anger, violence, the strength born by feelings and emotions. It’s the driving principle that fundamentally pushes for change, for action, for breaking the status quo.
Paradoxically, this process can also take on a very deeprooted aspect (due to Plutonian influences), which sometimes results in a cold, detached, and above all very “dry” aspect, as access to the emotional (aquatic) parts gets more complex.
In the end, Calcinatio is a process of galvanization of the ego, it’s at the root of the process of Individuation, because without the germ of strong individuality on which to build, it cannot exist. The Calcinatio often has a very intense nature at the beginning of the process where one’s temperature rises very quickly, sometimes to the point of a violent explosion, but it’s meant to “purge”, to make us get in touch with ultimate self-control, and can provide a great calm and serenity once the storm has passed…
+ Coagulatio (earth) :
The core purpose of this alchemical process is to stabilize, to secure, to perpetuate things, to provide them with a concrete aspect. It’s the springboard through Saturn that gives access to the transpersonal planets and to the aspects of transcendence. Without this basic process, our access to the unconscious parts remains on an anarchic, compulsive, less controlled way and in the case of extremes, can completely cut us off from the reality of incarnation, causing a lack of stability and perseverance.
We thus find the Coagulatio in Saturn obviously, its first representative that keeps us in touch with time ( patience), but also in all the values of earth, Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn, their houses, and Venus (in its attributions to Taurus at least, simplicity, the carpe diem aspect but also hardworking, sensuality, need for tenderness and reassurance).
Through Saturn this stage confronts us directly with our Shadow, with matter in its weightiest form, and requires that we understand and integrate it, in this light, it can be an extremely structuring process even if it often has a marked solitary and introspective aspect, not very joyful and extroverted.
The Coagulatio is very useful to the other 3 processes, it represents a kind of “starting point” of the “prima materia” to which we can refer during the delicate phases ( we can refer to it as the “lowest” process that we can find, that is to say as a root or basic reference).
Having a strong Coagulatio will allow us obtain the best in all the other processes, with the least psychological risks, even if it can obviously slow them down, they will be more reliable, secure, this is why Coagulatio processes must never be neglected but on the contrary accompanied, fostered !
+ Sublimatio (air) :
This alchemical process encompasses a notion of elevation, of sublimation, of heightening, of better objectivity, the “prima materia” is supposed to transform itself into vapor, to connect with its etheric, spiritual form, coming closer to perfection or at least to a deep, archetypal idealization. This form makes room for displacement, exchange, and hence confers some degree of instability, versatility, with a risk of dispersion, of scattering.
With this form, we obviously find the different astrological factors linked to air and the mind, to the intellect, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus (through Libra) and the different analogies concerning them.
It’s Emblem is the Mercurian process of differentiation during childhood, the birth of reason and self-awareness born through the understanding of what the other is (through binary logic what is not the “other” is obviously me, and vice versa).
The risk of Sublimatio is a marked intellectualization of things, a distancing from the emotional and concrete parts of reality, which in the extreme can lead to madness, loss of self, mental breakdown.
Often the great spiritual revelations of an existence experience episodes of marked Sublimatio, the difficulty then being to come down from one’s perch and to find a concrete function for it, to live a classical daily life, and in this case, a strong Coagulatio will be very useful to live this Sublimatio in the best possible way (I already mentioned quite a few things on the subject in my articles on the Quest for Meaning and on Depression).
In the extreme, for very evolved souls, the Sublimatio, if it’s properly directed, can lead to advanced states of modified consciousness, to Nirvana…
+ Solutio (water) :
Through this alchemical process the “prima materia” is totally dissolved, returning to an indiscriminate, nebulous state… It’s also a purifying and creative process in the same light as Calcinatio, but in its opposite and complementary aspect. If Calcinatio’s purpose is to strengthen the ego, Solutio’s vocation is to erase its limits for a more universal perception of the world.
These two processes are complementary in the sense that you need to have already “learned something” to be able to forget it, so they often work hand in glove.
But it must be understood that Solutio is not intended to suppress the ego, but rather to ultimately create some sort of “transcendental super ego” where old slag of the personality can be dispersed, diluted, sublimated into something deeper, more fundamental, primordial.
Emotions are very strong in this stage, these are the domains of the Moon and Neptune, sometimes Venus, which dominate (along with all their analogies in Signs and Houses), and also the connection with the unconscious, both personal and collective, is very intimate, which can also present many dangers. In this case as well, a strong Coagulatio will come in handy, it will allow for a connection to matter, reality, it will allow the establishment of limits to perceptions, which in the end will give them a healthier expression.
It’s a process which is by nature very feminine, very close to the Anima, it’s not rare to observe a direct confrontation with the Logos at the time of its actualizations, and in this sense it embodies the opposite counterpart of the Sublimatio by drowning reason under emotion, the difficulty will then consist in finding a healthy exteriorization of the feelings and in this case the artistic or spiritual disciplines would really be of assistance (meditation, Yoga, etc).
It’s primordial that we understand that we encounter these alchemical processes in the birth chart (representing the incarnation scheme to be “solved”) but also in Transits, making us then express the different states for accomplishing our potentialities…
To go further, see Alchemy on Wikipedia.