Alchemy - Part 2
How slowing down helped me make magic
In Part 1 of this story, we left off at the place where I spoke about learning to perform the sacred act of alchemy, inside of myself, during my down-time from the hustle & grind of the music business. As I mentioned in that piece, my “time out” was both self-imposed & put upon me by the closure of music venues during the pandemic. So I figured we could start Part 2 by discussing ALCHEMY itself, & why I’ve chosen to use this specific word for the title to these essays.
If you know me at all, you know I love my dictionary & thesaurus, so here’s how the Miriam Webster Dictionary defines ALCHEMY:
I love all three of these possible ways of thinking about alchemy. The first definition conjures up fond memories from my younger years; images of magician-like characters from what are typically labeled fantasy stories. I’m reminded of characters like Merlin from the King Arthur legends; a tall, thin, elderly man with a long, white beard … always seen wearing the requisite pointy hat, velvet cape, draped in robes & carrying a craggy wooden staff with a crystal ball on top. He provides sage advice to the young, future King, all the while being an actual magician, usually working with potions & vials that are brilliant colors & which produce sparks or smoke of some kind, & at the same time, what he is *actually* doing is helping King Arthur perform magic of his own making … the kind that allows Arthur to find the wisdom & knowledge he needs to complete his quest. A journey that lies inside of himself.
Merlin, while an entrancing character for the reader of the Arthurian Legends, is actually a metaphor. He is the inner voice personified. It is only when Arthur listens to Merlin that he is able to move forward with the wisdom required to ascend to his rightful throne. Arthur must perform his own alchemy; not in a physical way using lead & turning it into gold, but in an internal, personal way, which allows him to transform his inner self into the person he must become in order to be The King.
