The word Alchemy is a combination of Al and Chemi. Chemi means Fire. Khem was also the name of ancient Egypt. Hence, it was believed that the science of alchemy originated in Egypt. In the article "Alchemy in the Nineteenth Century," H.P.B. mentions that Alchemy was cultivated in China, in 16th century B.C. It was only towards the end of fourth century A.D. that it penetrated into Europe. From the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century, knowledge concerning Alchemy, imported from China, was transformed into Hermetic writings and later fabricated by the Greeks and Arabs, making it incomprehensible.

Alchemy is studied under three aspects—cosmic, human and terrestrial. Terrestrial alchemy is concerned with a transmutation of gross metals like lead into pure gold. This process is going on in the bowels of the earth. But this is only one aspect of alchemy—purely material and symbolic. Like in the bowels of the earth, alchemy goes on in the body of man. Whatever we eat gets transmuted into blood, bones, mucus, tissues, etc. Shri Krishna says: "Becoming the internal fire of the living, I associate with the upward and downward breathing, and cause the four kinds of food to digest." (Gita, XV)

"The occultist-alchemist, spurning the gold of the mines, gives all his attention and directs his efforts only towards the transmutation of the baser quaternary into the divine upper trinity of man, which when finally blended are one," i.e., towards transmutation of lower, animal nature into divine nature (The Theosophical Glossary). H.P.B. mentions that in the course of development, in their egotism and vanity, humanity denied the existence of spirit and soul and hence forgot this science of their earlier ancestors, viz., spiritual alchemy. The sole aim of the modern alchemist has been transmutation of lead into gold. The great alchemist, Eiranaeus Philalethes, writing in the seventeenth century, says:

Would to God that all men might become Adepts in our art. For then gold, the great idol of mankind, would lose its value, and we should prize it only for its scientific teaching.

In other words, when people are satiated with making and obtaining gold, they might inquire into its symbolic meaning. Alchemists say that Gold represents perfection and it is the highest form that any metal can reach. Gold can withstand the action of fire and all known corrosive liquids, except aqua regia. Alchemists say that all metals have the potentiality of becoming gold. Thus, gold may be taken to be a symbol of spiritual perfection. All men have the potentiality of becoming spiritually perfect. Paracelsus declared that man and the universe are composed of "Three Substances"—Salt, Sulphur and Mercury. H.P.B. explains:

Man, in their eyes, is a trinity, which they divide into Sol [salt], water of mercury, and sulphur, which is the secret fire, or to speak plain, into body, soul, and spirit....Man is the philosopher's stone spiritually—"a triune or trinity in unity," as Philalethes expresses it. (Isis Unveiled, I, 309)

Thus Salt refers to the physical form or body, Mercury symbolizes the soul, while Sulphur represents the Spirit. Sulphur was taken by the alchemists to represent the principle of combustion. The alchemists took Mercury to represent the metallic principle and to Mercury was attributed malleability and lustre. Salt represents the principle of fixity and solidification. Malleability is the capacity of the metal to be moulded without breaking down. Mercury represents soul or mind and in man the process of change or transmutation must begin with the mind. Mind is often compared to water. Just as water takes the shape of the vessel it is poured into, so mind becomes that to which it is devoted. Mind in its lower aspect is Kama-Manas and comparable to the base metal lead. If left to itself lead stays lead, and nature takes very long to transmute it into gold. An alchemist accelerates this process. So also, it would take man many lifetimes to reach perfection, unless the incarnated mind or "everyday mind" undergoes transmutation and is so purified as to be capable of being absorbed by the Higher Trinity. In the process, the four lower principles, body, astral body, Kama and Prana are also purified. For this, one has to decide to become an alchemist and the beginning is to be made by earnestly aspiring for spiritual life. In the language of Occultism, one has to decide to become a chela. The sooner we decide the better it is. As a Master points out:

The process of self-purification is not the work of a moment, nor of a few months but of years—nay, extending over a series of lives. The later a man begins the living of a higher life, the longer must be his period of probation, for he has to undo the effects of years spent in objects diametrically opposed to the real goal. The more strenuous one's efforts and the brighter the result of his work, the nearer he comes to the Threshold.

What is it to become a chela? H.P.B. writes:

Chelaship was defined, the other day, by a Mahatma as a "psychic resolvent, which eats away all dross and leaves only the pure gold behind." If the candidate has the lust for money, or political chicanery, or materialistic scepticism, or vain display, or false speaking, or cruelty, or sensual gratification of any kind, the germ is almost sure to sprout; and so on the other hand, as regards the noble qualities of human nature. The real man comes out. (Raja-Yoga or Occultism, p. 7)

As soon as one offers himself for chelaship, he rouses and lashes to desperation every sleeping passion of his animal nature. All the weaknesses and drawbacks in one's nature, of which one was not even aware, come to the surface. One experiences an inner conflict, a strife between one's will and carnal nature.

The heart of alchemy is transmutation and that implies change. We resist change, because it involves going from one state of consciousness to another. It involves surrendering personal will to the divine will. It involves leaving behind the familiar in order to obtain spiritual perfection, which to us is a mere abstraction. Mr. Crosbie describes such a transition stage in the disciple's life:

There may, and there often does come a time when one feels...like "standing on nothing, in nothing and about to topple over." The centre of consciousness has been changed; old landmarks are slipping away, and sometimes black doubt ensues. (The Friendly Philosopher, p. 8)

"Tale of the Sands," a traditional Sufi tale, is an allegory of alchemy (from The Sufis by Idries Shah). Once a bubbling Stream was unable to cross the desert. The Stream said aloud: "My destiny is to cross this desert, but I can see no way. Whenever I try, I am absorbed into the sand." The Stream symbolizes the disciple or spiritual aspirant whose destiny it is to cross over this "limitless desert of illusion called earth-life."

Then the voice of the Desert answered, in the hidden tongue of nature, saying, "The Wind crosses the desert, and so can you." The Stream said, "The Wind can fly, and I cannot." "You are thinking in the wrong way; trying to fly by yourself is absurd. Allow the Wind to carry you over the sand. Allow yourself to be absorbed in the Wind," replied the Desert.

Does not Light on the Path give the same advice to the disciple? "Stand aside in the coming battle, and though thou fightest be not thou the warrior. Look for the warrior and let him fight in thee....He is thyself, yet thou art but finite and liable to error. He is eternal and is sure." The "warrior" is one's Higher Self, the gentle but fierce Krishna. The help and guidance for spiritual living comes from inner planes of being. It is only when we are ready to efface the personality and are prepared to surrender our personal will to the divine will that we can get the help. And this is difficult. The story goes on that the Stream protested, as it did not want to lose its identity in that way. If it did, it might not exist again. The Sand explained that when the Wind absorbed moisture, it carried it over the desert, and then let it fall again like rain. The rain again became a river. But how, asked the Stream, could it know that this was true? The Sand replied that if the Stream did not believe, after many years it would be sucked by the Sand and form a quagmire. Here again we can see that if the aspirant resists change from fear of the suffering it entails, he invites stagnation. H.P.B. explains:

Woe to those who live without suffering. Stagnation and death is the future of all that vegetates without a change. And how can there be any change for the better without proportionate suffering during the preceding stage? (S.D., II, 475)

Finally, the Stream asks, "Will I be the same Stream that I am today"? The Sand answered, "You cannot be the same Stream that you are today. The wind will carry your essence, the finer part of you. When you become a River again, on the other side of the desert, men may call you by a different name, but you yourself, essentially, will know that you are the same." Thus spiritual perfection is not annihilation, but it is self-realization, it awakens in the aspirant the true sense of identity, so that the "I" is no longer limited to personality but encompasses the whole of creation. As Buddha says, "The Universe grows I."

Alchemy, says H.P.B., is the foundation of all occult sciences. In her article "Occultism vs. the Occult Arts," she describes Atma Vidya as true Occultism and considers it superior to all other occult sciences like Yajna Vidya, Maha Vidya, etc. Thus, true or spiritual Alchemy is the same as true Occultism. While learning occult sciences requires no previous preparation or adopting a restraining mode of life, pursuit of Occultism or Spiritual Alchemy requires unselfishness and purification of thoughts and desires.

If we seek to supress the lower desires by a strong effort of will, instead of slaying them, it is like allowing "the fire to smoulder under a thin layer of ashes," so that a whiff of wind can make it leap into flames. We need to purify our desires. Even love for one's wife and children becomes a barrier for the alchemist-occultist. In the ultimate analysis, such love is selfish, as one is perfectly willing to sacrifice the happiness of others for the sake of one's wife and children. When our heart is full of thoughts for our near and dear ones, what percentage of love and care will remain to bestow on other units of mankind? Alchemy is transmutation of passion into compassion. How does one purify one's desires?

When the desire is for the purely abstract—when it has lost all trace or tinge of "self"—then it has become pure. The first step towards this purity is to kill out the desire for the things of matter, since these can only be enjoyed by the separated personality. The second is to cease from desiring for oneself even such abstractions as power, knowledge, love, happiness, or fame; for they are but selfishnes after all. (U.L.T. Pamphlet No. 7)

The aspirant has to be extremely vigilant, for, his vices also undergo transformation—from gross to subtle. As Light on the Path says: "For the vices of the ordinary man pass through a subtle transformation and reappear with changed aspect in the heart of the disciple." For instance, ambition is very tricky; as we drive it out at one level, it reappears at a subtler level. It can appear at the level of wealth, fame, power or love. A person may not look for any compensation in terms of money or material wealth for his good turn to others, but he may still want public acclaim, recognition, praise and so on. So long as there are even traces of pride, longing, envy, anger, etc., there is a possibility of reverse transmutation, as sometimes takes place in nature. For instance, uranium can decay and transmute itself into radium and then into lead. So also it is possible to fall down, slowly and gradually, from great heights, if we are not vigilant. The Voice of the Silence cautions the aspirant who is trying to build for himself an island of pure thoughts, to beware of pride, saying, "a sense of pride will mar the work," even when the victory is very nearly achieved. After reaching the desired goal, we must sustain it. It is said, "Let him who thinketh that he standeth, take heed lest he fall."