The Athanor Letter

February 22, 2024

You are an immortal Soul temporarily living inside a biological machine.

This statement, while true, can lead to a certain degree of 'new age' confusion.

In reality, we make the division between ‘Soul’ and ‘biological machine’ in an almost arbitrary way, and this division - which occurs on the mental level at the beginning of the Work - is very useful in order to set us on the path of Awakening.

However, this division, while very useful, is still false.

There is no real division between your biological machine and your Soul.

They are made of the same spiritual substance, which simply vibrates at a different frequency - and which therefore materializes at a different degree of density.

I cover this topics in depths in the Modern Alchemy program, but to sum it up… the biological machine is literally an imprint of the Soul.

Inner Alchemy is a path of spiritual realization that leads you to honor this Soul imprint, because obviously it is not ‘random’.

The Soul builds its “avatar” (physical, emotional and mental body) with millimetric precision, so that it represents the qualities already acquired in past incarnations and - above all - makes the acquisition of new qualities possible.

When you magnify the physical body with a microscope, you realize that it is not physical at all: it is pure spiritual energy.

As they say in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition:

The ‘spiritual’ practices that take you away from the body - no matter how much temporary relief they may give you - are actually diverting you from the real Work.

Spirit is reflected in matter.

Dissociation from matter is dissociation from spirit.

Salvatore Brizzi, in one of his texts, writes:

This is an advanced concept, which concerns Rubedo, the last phase of Alchemy (I talk about these stages in my book The Door of Fire).

The initial phase - Nigredo or ‘dissociation of the mixtures’ - brings an illusory and temporary separation.

You begin to dissect your parts - your psychic aggregates - so that you can know and observe them better.

You become master of them.

Dividing a process into small steps helps you achieve mastery - and this fact is easy to notice when learning any skill.

Therefore it is also valid in Alchemical work - because “as above, so below”.

But Alchemical work is ultimately a process of complete integration and union of opposites.

You initially make the division between Soul and biological machine, only so that you can purify them and then integrate them more consciously.

Go back to the body, get comfortable with it.

Bring your unconditional attention to it.

Be truly present in your body.

As with every other manifestation of the Universe, the state of presence can also be found on different octaves.

A tree lives in a constant state of presence.

Jesus also lives in a constant state of presence.

Are they then at the same level of consciousness?

I would say not.

The difference is - as always - in awareness.

New age spirituality often demonizes the physical body, labels it as something dirty and unworthy, something to leave behind as soon as possible to rise to subtle and more dignified dimensions of existence.

In Alchemy, you are called to integrate.

To become a unit.

The physical body becomes your magical instrument, in which you start to flow without friction.

The first symptom that the Alchemical work is having its results is that you begin to feel at ease in the material world, to feel joy where you previously felt pain, unity where you previously felt separation.

You begin to grasp the sacred logic of matter.

You start to see beauty where you used to see ugliness.

You start to fall in love with the image you see in the mirror.

Now, if you want a deeper introduction to Inner Alchemy, my book ‘The Door of Fire’ is the perfect starting point.

And if you are ready to take it a step further, I cover these topics extensively in my Modern Alchemy program.

I open a maximum of 2 spots per month to work 1:1 with me, and 1 spot for March is already taken.

If you're interested, feel free to book a free discovery call from the website, or straight from this link.

May the fire blaze,

Riccardo