Need to read jabir ibn hayyan
he is the master on this sort of things
he also invented chemistry
http://www.ptmistlberger.com/psychospiritual-alchemy.phpThe key to alchemy is found in the word transmutation, a word that in its original Latin meaning refers to total change. Physically this denotes a change of the properties of matter, and thus of substance; psycho-spiritually, it refers to inner transformation—in specific, certain actions to aid in freeing the spiritual essence that is ‘trapped’ within (echoing the Gnostic view that spirit is trapped in matter). This idea had its basis in the ancient belief that within the Earth ‘grew’ metals and that, given enough time, these metals would ultimately become gold. Nature was seen as fundamentally engaged in a process of evolution, and the essential idea of alchemy was to speed this process up—in short, to save time.
Spiritual alchemy is concerned with the transmutation of the personality and its structures, so as to allow for the light of unobstructed consciousness and pure Being to be directly known. The direct knowing of pure Being is gnosis, Self-realization. Spiritual alchemy is thus a means by which we re-structure our personality and the various levels of our identification with it, so as to realize the infinite potential of our true being. It is essentially a comprehensive roadmap, using colourful and sophisticated symbols, detailing the means and steps by which we get ourselves ‘out of our own way’ and allow our highest and best destiny to unfold.
Fire: In esoteric studies all elements carry great significance, but in the realm of alchemy, it may be said that fire rules. It is the key, the mastery of which has long been held to be of prime importance by alchemists and shamans of old (as well as by smiths and potters, craftsmen whose work was related in many ways to alchemy). This is because fire is the element of transmutation par excellence, the key to changing things from one state to another—beginning with the most obvious examples of the power of the Sun and the core of our planet to heat the surface of the Earth, allowing for the possibility for life as we know it to develop.12 Of the four qualities mentioned above—hot, cold, wet, and dry—only two, hot and cold, are foundational (being found in space beyond our planet), and as cold is but the absence of heat, in the final analysis only fire (hot) is the essential transformational force. As Titus Burckhardt put it.
