Your Guide to Alchemical Leadership
Alchemy.
Have you heard of it? Perhaps you're a mystic and you know all about it. Perhaps you envision a bubbling science lab, or remember some mention of the philosopher's stone…
What is Alchemy?
Whether you're familiar or not, here's a brief Alchemy 101 crash course. Alchemy is both straight up, old school magic + perfect transformational metaphor. Alchemy is the process of turning 'base material' into gold.
Transformation.
Transmutation.
Metamorphosis.
This sounds like seriously magical business, and it is!
And… Alchemy is a metaphor for the process of awakening, of raising those lower polarities inside of us to a higher frequency of love, truth, transparency, integrity and virtue.
If you’ve found this article, you probably know the incalculable importance of shadow work— you've done this work yourself for many years, in many different 'classrooms' and settings, with many different guides and teachers, and you've gathered many, many gems in your journey through the darkness. This is alchemy, simply put.
What’s your base material?
Your “base material” is grief, unconscious patterns, harm you've caused, shame and guilt, fear, rage and anger expressed in unhealthy ways, thoughtless words + mindless actions, all your "mistakes", resistance to your life curriculum, refusal on any level to step into your highest self.
And here's the unbelievably beautiful irony: All. that. shit. makes you the paradigm-shifting leader you are today. You literally would not be as wise, kind, mindful, aware, awake, or attuned without experiencing the worst of yourself, and your own ego.
Way too often, we judge these manifestations of 'shadow material' as bad. Self judgment, comparisons… They mock us, taunting us with how un-woke we really are. And yet, I see you doing the work that so many people are terrified to do.
Look around the world and it's impossible to ignore the leaders who've come to power and brought ALLLLL their 'base material' with them. It's ugly, harmful, and deadly, to say the very least. It brings to my mind the old fables from Arabian Nights— thieves who crept into the Cave of Wonders and, when attempting to grab all the gold they could pocket, watched it turn to dust before their eyes as the whole place went up in a deadly blaze around them.
That glittery, shiny stuff isn't real gold.
The real gold is your steadfast courage. Your unshakable trust. Your open heart.
The real gold is your forgiveness, compassion and humility.
The real gold is your willingness to be changed by what you hear, and to serve where you are needed most.
(Aladdin, y'all. Aladdin.)
This is alchemy.
And you are an alchemical leader.
Embracing Your Hero’s Journey
Whether you’re an emerging leader, a reluctant leader, an experienced leader, no matter where you are on the cyclical hero’s journey of this path, you ARE on the path. The heroine’s journey is a perfect image to surface here, as it is not linear, but rather a circle, or even a spiral.
Hopefully, if we’re doing the work, when we return to those places of heartache, of being humbled, of hitting our wall with fear or discomfort or self-doubt, we can draw upon our previous lessons and apply what we learned. We can take our pain and discomfort, and we can literally transmute it into the most precious gift imaginable: wisdom. Not intellect or smarts… WISDOM. Which means not only do we “know” but we’re applying and implementing that information to our life experience.
The Alchemist Archetype
So who is the alchemist?
Let’s pause a moment and look at this archetype more deeply. The alchemist is a magician, a scientist of spirit, someone who works with the elements of nature and the forces underlying reality to create something new and illuminated.
The Magician in the Tarot deck, whom we’ve discussed before, is a great example of an alchemist. Take a look at the traditional card (for ex in the Rider Waite Smith deck) and you see a person standing with one arm raised toward the sky, and one hand extending toward the earth. The skyward hand holds a wand, and the earthbound hand points to the ground.
The Magician acts as a lightning rod, literally channeling energy from spirit and ether down into the earthly realms. He stands next to a table, upon which are represented the 4 “materials” or suits: cups (water/emotions), swords (air/thoughts), wands (fire/spirit, energy) and pentacles or discs (earth, body, prosperity, work). These are the foundational building blocks of our life experience as human beings, and it is the job of the alchemist to combine these elements in new, innovative ways, in order to manifest and create. She/He is the force of creation itself.
The Truth About Temperance
Another example from the Tarot deck is Temperance, seen as an angel, woman or a non-binary person who holds two cups of water and pour/transfers water from one cup to the other. Where the Magician is working with all the elements and acting as a conduit for spirit, Temperance specifically blends the waters of the subconscious.
She stands with one foot on land and one foot in the water, acting as a bridge between the realms of earth/body and emotion. Many people think Temperance is an act of muting ourselves or our feelings, but the true medicine of Temperance is careful (care-filled) balance.
This also feels deeply resonant with the metaphorical path of the alchemical leader we discussed, as indeed to work with our “base materials” does require great measures of temperance, kindness, care, balance and patience.
As we witness the ugliest parts of ourselves, it's really easy to fall into self-loathing, self-criticism, comparison or beating ourselves up for everything we’re not. Temperance reminds us to be gentle with ourselves as we continuously stir the cauldron of our soul. Temperance is an angel, who knows this dance between higher and lower polarities is not for the faint of heart, or the “quick-tempered”.
Temperance is a slow process, which is why it comes much later in the major arcana… we only arrive in this place of balance and care once we’ve begun in earnest to look at our shit, and start to take real, awakened action towards liberation of the mind, care of the body and devotion of the heart.
This path of alchemy is not an easy path, and we can't walk it alone. We need each other to act as sacred mirrors, to help us remember who we really are, to encourage us to share from the depths of the dark, not just the glittery parts of ourselves. Because truly, grit is what inspires people.
Show me a leader who reveals their shadow, owns it, and stands in their courage as they face it with grace and humility, and I'll follow them to the end of time.
Intrigued by this topic and want to take your alchemical leadership skills to the next level?
I invite you to join me for a brand new 3-day workshop series called Alchemical Leadership, where our aim is to turn your creativity into prosperity & unearth the gold that's at the heart of your deepest service.