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Since the Victorian revival of alchemy, "occultists reinterpreted alchemy as a spiritual practice, involving the self-transformation of the practitioner and only incidentally or not at all the transformation of laboratory substances", [104] which has contributed to a merger of magic and alchemy in popular thought.
In alchemy, the Magnum Opus or Great Work is a term for the process of working with the prima materia to create the philosopher's stone. It has been used to describe personal and spiritual transmutation in the Hermetic tradition , attached to laboratory processes and chemical color changes, used as a model for the individuation process, and as ...
For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal in alchemy. The philosopher's stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest, divine illumination, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the philosopher's stone were known as the Magnum Opus ("Great Work"). [3]
In Hermeticism, however, alchemy is primarily a spiritual discipline, where the physical transformation of materials is a metaphor for the spiritual purification and perfection of the soul. The ultimate goal of alchemical work is the creation of the philosopher's stone , which symbolizes the attainment of spiritual enlightenment and immortality.
Development of the immortal embryo in the lower dantian of the Daoist cultivator. Neidan, or internal alchemy (traditional Chinese: 內丹術; simplified Chinese: 內丹术; pinyin: nèidān shù), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. [1]
For Carl Jung, "the rediscovery of the principles of alchemy came to be an important part of my work as a pioneer of psychology". [3] As a student of alchemy, he (and his followers) "compared the 'black work' of the alchemists (the nigredo) with the often highly critical involvement experienced by the ego, until it accepts the new equilibrium brought about by the creation of the self."
The allegorical text suggests to the reader that the ultimate goal of alchemy is not chrysopoeia, but it is instead the artificial generation of humans. Here, the creation of homunculi symbolically represents spiritual regeneration and Christian soteriology. [3]: 321–338
The Sufi monks drank coffee as an aid to concentration and even spiritual intoxication when they chanted the name of God. [59] Ilex guayusa: Ilex guayusa: Leaves: 1.73–3.48 % caffeine. [60] Theanine: Stimulant: A ritual use by the Quechua people involves drinking guayusa infusion to have foretelling dreams for successful hunting expeditions. [61]