---
title: "Tracing the Path of Alchemy: From Symbols to Practice with Lynn Osburn"
url: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/post/tracing-the-path-of-alchemy-from-symbols-to-practice/
date: 2025-01-19
modified: 2026-07-03
lang: en
author: "Perseus Arcane Academy"
description: "Introduction Lynn Osburn's journey into alchemy began with a childhood fascination with symbolic imagery and grew through years of study and experimentation. From early encounters with alchemical symbols to learning..."
categories:
  - "Alchemy"
  - "Interviews"
tags:
  - "Alchemy"
  - "Hermetics"
image: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Lynn-Osburn.jpg
word_count: 8656
---

# Tracing the Path of Alchemy: From Symbols to Practice with Lynn Osburn

## Introduction

Lynn Osburn's journey into alchemy began with a childhood fascination with symbolic imagery and grew through years of study and experimentation. From early encounters with alchemical symbols to learning from mentors and exploring transformative practices, this story offers a personal look at how alchemy shaped his path. Huge thanks to Lynn for answering so many questions in so much detail, it is very much appreciated.

You may also enjoy our interview with John H Reid III: Alchemy, Gnosis, and the Path to Understanding - [Read it here](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/post/alchemy-gnosis-and-the-path-to-understanding-interview-with-john-h-reid-iii/).

---

## Personal Journey and Background

**PAA: Could you share the story of your initial exposure to alchemical concepts and what aspects drew you in?**

I was seven going on eight years old when we moved from Central to Southern California. I went to a new church that was a scaled down replica of a European cathedral. The ceiling was vaulted with fantastic paintings.

High up the wall on one side of the alter above an open arch was a pelican poking holes in its chest feeding its young the blood. Stained glass windows with vibrant colors and symmetrical patterns that caught my attention were all around. Near the ceiling was a circular one with strange animals, a lion, bull, eagle and a lamb together hanging out. In another next to it was a red rose with bleeding thorns. Above them was an all seeing eye in a triangle.

Above it all on the ceiling in a cloud was a man with a white beard pointing his finger touching another man reaching out his finger. On a lower wall just above the wooden bench seats was a stained glass window with a baby on a blanket floating in the air. Angels in frescoes and stained glass were everywhere.

Those images plus many others and lots of statues captured my attention and imagination. I did not know it at the time of course. Those images were alchemical symbols. Relics of some ancient mysteries. The mysterious symbolism infected me. I was drawn to it as I grew up.

**PAA: Were there any pivotal mentors or experiences that significantly shaped your path alchemy?**

I was fortunate enough to have had one mentor though I was not looking for one. That was in the early days of the internet around 1999- 2000. When I first got online I went looking for anything on alchemy. What I found was far more information than was previously available in print.

I was already well practiced in the laboratory methods of Frater Albertus and Manfred Junius. I had met Manfred Junius in person at his lab. He was the author of the Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy, published in 1979. That book inspired me to take up practical laboratory alchemy in the early 1980s. I met with him at his laboratory, Australerba, in Adelaide Australia in 1995 when I was there on a book tour. We talked for several hours.

I told him about my revelatory experience with an elixir of Cannabis I had made the year before. What I described seemed to be beyond his experience judged by his reaction. Dr. Krishna Kumar, manager of Australerba laboratory was part of our discussion. He to my surprise knew about the metaphysical mechanics I was describing. Apparently the Hindu sages were also aware of Occult Technology I had experienced.

So almost five years later at the turn of the millennia I entered the world stage of internet alchemy. That was an amazing time for the growth and international exchange of alchemical knowledge. I joined Forum Alkahest and immersed myself in the discussions alchemical. There I met many enthusiastic players in the Royal Art like Steve Kalec from Canada and Greg Boag, aka Parush, from New Zealand now known as Rubaphilos. Kalec was agreeable and Parush was confrontational. Telemaco Pissarro, aka Rubellus Petrinus from Portugal was there and many others from mostly European and North and South American countries.

It was there at Forum Alkahest that I met Jerry Tamul. I consider him to be my only mentor in Alchemy. He contacted me privately after following my posts and how I reacted to Parush’s inflammatory commentary aimed at me. Jerry was way ahead of all of us as far as alchemical laboratory work was concerned. He was a retired chemist at the time. His attitude or approach to alchemy was more scientific and less philosophical. He was pragmatic when the others could not get past their belief in assumptions of the last century they applied to the laboratory practice. The teachings of Frater Albertus and Manfred Junius had dominated the alchemical paradigm of the later 20th Century.

What got him interested in me was my posts about the destructive distillation of biomass. He saved me many years of fruitless experimentation with lead and antimony. He had experimented extensively with them following Ripley for the Acetate Path with lead and antimony, and also Basil Valentine for antimony work. He made it his practice to study and follow the methods of the old adepts and not the interpretations that were in vogue at that time. When the destructive distillation of lead acetate did not deliver the products described by Ripley he concluded Ripley was not using lead to make the acetate called Sericon or Adrop. While others like Rubellus reached different conclusions as a result of the same experiments. They developed the idea that the materials like lead and antimony had to be prepared canonically. Meaning they had to be prepared like the old alchemists did from minerals found in mines. Still they had no success.

He showed me a photo of his Regulus of Antimony. It was bright and had the classical star rays pattern on the surface. I asked him what he used it for. He replied, “A paperweight.” He had made one with phosphorus that was even more brilliant, but still a paperweight.

It was working with him sharing the results of collaborative experimenting that we discovered the Philosophical Mercury of the Adept Philosophers in 2003-2005 through experiments with the destructive distillation of coal and wood soot. I wrote about it in “Philosophers Spirit of Wine.”

Sadly Jerry began losing his focus erratic and somewhat unhinged in his behavior. He became more cynical and temperamental losing patience with the ignorance of others on the path. He had not been able to see beyond the Energy/Matter of the material into the Soul/Spirit responsible for the cascade of molecular ligature expressing the Spirit of the Philosophical Mercury. His condition worsened to the point that I and the few others that had worked with him privately in small groups had to withdraw. That was in 2014. He died a few years later. It was the two of us that created the concept of Stone Works Lab Ring. Which lives on...

The most pivotal experience for me was when I took a double dose of an alchemical elixir I had made in my lab and integrated the dose into the Inner Circulation as taught by Taoist alchemist, Lu Kuan Yu detailed in his book Taoist Yoga Alchemy and Immortality, written in 1973. I had been practicing the Inner Circulation since 1973.

I took the double dose in 1994. The experience was profound revealing or initiating the awakening of my Subtle Body becoming aware of it; feeling it for the first time. This is what the Taoist alchemists called the Birth of the Immortal Fetus. That broadened my horizons far beyond what I had gained from LSD in the late 1960s and early 1970s and from experimenting with entheogenic plant substances like psilocybian magic mushrooms. It was then that I became aware of the Occult Technology of Alchemy. That it was for real; not just metaphors and allegories. I wrote about the experience as an allegorical science/fantasy illustrated novella, Alchemystic Fire: Tranzmute.

**PAA: How have your studies in biology, chemistry, physics, and psychology informed and enhanced your alchemical practices?**

The high school and college courses I took in biology, chemistry, physics and psychology added much valued depth enriching my understanding of Alchemy Philosophy on many levels.

Chemistry and Biology are especially helpful tools for the practical laboratory work in the Vegetable Kingdom. Knowledge in these physical sciences allows the Artist to really refine the methods used by the old adepts considering the brevity of their formulas. Chemistry and physics are likewise helpful in the Mineral Kingdom work.

The practical work in those Kingdoms of Life are conducted in what I call the Terrestrial Theater of the World. So is the work in the Animal Kingdom. Only working in the Animal Kingdom beyond applying the same methods to blood and urine will lead into serious moral dilemmas. Consider the alchemist Johann Konrad Dippel who conducted experiments to bring the dead back to life near Frankenstein Castle in Gernsheim, Germany about 100 years before Mary Shelley wrote her novel, Frankenstein.

Physics and psychology are essential tools to the Artist operating in the Celestial Theater of the World. Without them the Artist trying to understand the Mystical Metaphysical Philosophy of Alchemy can fall under the spell of religious ignorance dogmas of blind faith that cannot be verified by experiment.

**PAA: Reflecting on your journey, is there a particular event that profoundly impacted your understanding of alchemy?**

Yes. The spontaneous alchemical initiation with the cannabis elixir in 1994 made me aware of revealed to me the 11 dimensions of the Universe within the Omniverse. From Chaos at the Core to Cosmos unfolding the Periphery through the Cosmic Egg transmuting One Thing into another out of the unfathomable origin Point, which is Paradox, No Thing: Not a Thing. This transcendent mystical metaphysical map I could navigate chart the great Ocean of the outer Gray Area Dimension where the Macrocosm of Space/Time reality blends with the Microcosm of Metaspace/Eternity.

On a more pragmatic level the Subtle Body, Immortal Fetus powered by Alchemical Occult Technology was my Alchemical Dragon taking flight in the outer Gray Area Dimension. That is were all of the action is that can be described with words. That is the World in which we live from the Subtle to the Gross in a mystical Mobius loop. This is the Alchemysitc Fire in the Dragon’s Breath: the Philosophers’ Stone.

> Alchemy is the Philosophy that encompasses all other philosophies
>
> Lynn Osburn

## Philosophical Foundations

**PAA: Alchemy is often described as the original "Philosophy of Theory." What is the significance of this designation, and how does it shape alchemical practice?**

Alchemy is the Philosophy that encompasses all other philosophies. Philosophy is belief in Information System Theory that can be verified by reproducible experimentation. Once the theory is verified the belief is elevated to faith in the Information System. Experiments can be either physical or mental, such as thought experiments. All philosophies become Alchemical by adoption ― once they pass the test or trial by experimentation.

Here I have adopted into Alchemy, Information System Theory from physics adapting or making it Philosophical Information System Theory in Alchemy. This is within the parameters of Alchemical Philosophy where Theory says: “‘Tis true without falsehood, and most real: that which is above is like that which is below, to perpetrate the miracles of One thing. And as all things have been derived from One, by the thought of One, so all things are born from One by adoption. ... Wonderful adaptations will emerge from this; it is the Way.”

**PAA: In your view, how does alchemy differ from modern science, and what unique insights does it offer into the nature of reality?**

The most obvious difference is that modern science is focused on the physical phenomena of things. Alchemy is focused on the metaphysical phenomena of things. Modern science uses the technology of experimentation first developed by the alchemists to verify theories derived from the Philosophy generalized in the Emerald Tablet. The tech verified an ever increasing body of knowledge that was applied to the manipulation of material things. This was extremely valuable to the economic stability of human societal enterprise.

As the knowledge of the manipulation of matter increased the aim of the technologists became more dedicated to pragmatic empirical concerns related to increasing economic value. These pragmatic considerations became independent from the Philosophy of Alchemy that guided the adepts.

The adepts remained devoted to understanding the Nature of Reality through the manipulation of Lifeforce Principles called Soul and Spirit of the World. These Principles were too abstract for the pragmatic scientists because they could not be measured objectively.

There was kind of a “divorce” and science left alchemy and its Soul and Spirit of the World paradigm to embrace the study of Energy and Matter. That went on for a few centuries in the West. Until the mathematics science relied on took them down a philosophical rabbit hole. That was the realm of Quantum Physics. It left them in the land of Paradox where they could no longer measure the nature of things with certainty. That Principle of Uncertainty has lead science to consider the reality of Metaphysics again.

Of course Reality is ultimately a subjective experience. The idea of objective reality requires a consensus of minds to set limits and conditions creating an artificial agreed upon collective state of mind and experience. People are deluded into thinking there is a common reality that is Normal. To adhere to it, striving for it, can give one a temporary sense of security. Religions feed upon the insecurity that is inevitable when people strive to be normal in an absurd world.

Alchemy teaches one to know thyself to know the nature of Reality.

**PAA: Alchemical texts are rich in symbolism. How do you interpret these symbols, and what guidance would you give to those seeking deeper understanding?**

Interpreting the symbolism in alchemical texts requires input from both sides of the mind, the logical, reasoning mind and the analogical intuitive mind. Consider the scientific theory that the two hemispheres of the brain have generally different application protocols. The left brain is more logical, analytical, linear, verbal, factual and sequential. The right brain is more creative, intuitive, artistic, non-verbal, emotional and imaginative. Both sides naturally work together in a cyclical flow or circulation. However the demands of society for individuals to adhere to rules of behavior regarding interactions tip the focus of mental activity to the more logical analytical left brain. This upsets the balance in the flow circulation.

The preponderance of focus on logical analytical awareness makes alchemical symbolism appear to be confounding, impenetrable conundrums. The adept alchemists fashioned their treatises deliberately to lead the rational mind in a logical direction with their recipes of sequential operations. At the same time they also injected poetic musings directed toward the analogical mind. This juxtaposition causes the logical mind to pause its operations while the intuitive mind creates imagery built from the poetic musings. At first it seems to be conflicting the understanding of the theme of the treatise. People with a strong habit to the logical reasoning mental functioning will often skip over the mystico-religious notions injected between the logical instructions.

The sagely philosophers of alchemy intended their writings and images adhere to the credo of unity revealed in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes. The World is a duality, sets of opposing constructs becoming complementary through acts of willful metaphysical correspondence initiated by circulation of the opposites. The above is like the below a miracle perpetrated by the thought of One.

To achieve a deeper understanding of alchemical symbolism one must observe the pair of opposites in action (circulation) and see what they do. That will be the correspondence revealed in the Emerald Tablet. That is the miracle of ascending to Heaven and returning to Earth uniting them in the glory of the World.

The Occult Technology embracing the symbolism is to find the opposites in the alchemical treatise using the logical analytical mind. Hold them in your mind’s eye. Then set them free of the logical mind into the analogical mind’s imagination. Let them do what they will and observe what develops and how you feel about it. From that experience comes insight that you will adopt into your personal alchemical evolution. We are all the One.

**PAA: How does the concept of putrefaction fit into the alchemical process, and why is important?**

For one thing to become another in Heaven’s Celestial Theater or the Terrestrial Theater’s Earth. It must sacrifice itself to feed the new thing through a metamorphosis. The first sign this is happening is putrefaction. Which germinates the seed of the new thing. And feeds the embryo of the new thing with the Principles and Elements cultivated by the old thing. That is the relationship between the old and the new.

Without putrefaction there is no connection or correspondence between the old and the new. There will be no Transmutation from one thing into another. No growth. The thing will wither under the yoke of Entropy losing its unique Information System Gravity.

For example new Life feeds on the putrefaction of the old Life.

**PAA: The themes of death and rebirth are central to alchemical work. How do these ideas manifest in your practice, and what relevance do they hold?**

The empirical fact that putrefaction exists relates to the theme of death. Living things constantly moving eventually wear out. The parts no longer work in harmony. The cycling of the systems that give rise to Life cease. The Life that was there in the body no longer manifests. What happened to the living person that operated the body no one knows for sure. The body decays. To the living this is an astonishing unnerving absurdity. Knowing that someday they will cease moving and die.

The inevitability of dying and not knowing what will become of you causes extreme angst. People want to believe Death is not the end of them. Comforting speculations myths arise about an afterlife become popular and are bound together in a practice of Religion. The practice is a belief in a set of moral conduct codes connected to the worship of a supernatural being, a Savior, that has made a place for the dead in an afterlife realm. In this system there is no rebirth of the person into the world of the living.

A popular alternative to that system of belief is one where the person that dies is reborn into new body at the birth of an infant. Practitioners believers come up with subjective tests attempting to prove that rebirth or reincarnation is verifiable. Neither of these belief systems can be verified objectively. So the belief in them is an act of blind faith.

The Sages and Philosophers looked to Nature for guidance in ways to cope with the inevitability of Death. The Savior motif was embraced by the Gnostic Philosophers including the Hermetic Gnostics 2000 years ago. For them the Savior reveals the path of transformation into rebirth that the person must follow to be reborn into a new level of existence in the life being lived at the moment. That Savior is not a superhuman entity. That Savior is innate potential in every human life.

The Taoist alchemists in the Tao te Ching or Way of Things developed a means of realizing the Savior though they never mention that aspect of the Superior Man. The Superior Man in all of us can guide the Inferior Man of reactionary emotions and instincts through a disciplined practice based on pragmatic observation of Nature, the Tao.

Nature takes us through several stages of life from infancy to old age. At each stage the living being undergoes a metamorphosis wherein the body of the person changes. The infant changes into the toddler and dies in the transition. For the body of the infant is gone. The infant has been reborn into the body of the toddler. The toddler evolves expanding the world of the infant into new horizons. And so it goes naturally. We have no difficulty accepting this death and rebirth because we retain the memory of the previous stages of life.

And then there is the radical metamorphosis of some beings like insects. Where at first the life goes through stages completing its natural course. It then fashions a hardened outer layer and retires into this cocoon. There it dies as it is transformed into an entirely new being with a new body quite different from the first. That new creature has abilities and goals to maintain its life that are alien to the old life.

Alchemists strive to follow the Way of Nature in their personal evolution. We make medicines from the vitality collected by Life. The only way this can be done is for the old life to die. And the vital force be drawn out of it. Where this leads in the transforming transmutation of the individual beyond the death of the physical body is best described by the Taoist alchemists.

The process is similar to the metamorphosis theme of the insect spinning a cocoon around itself. And then on the inside becoming a new being independent of the old life conditions when it emerges from the cocoon. It has been reborn and no longer is concerned with the old world of the previous life. This rebirth is into a new body that is not physical flesh and blood. It is a body of energy operated by the Soul/Spirit of the alchemist. The Taoists believed the energy body could carry the individual Soul/Spirit for thousands of years operation in a world beyond the senses of the alchemist’s old physical body.

This metamorphosis is only possible if the alchemist can successfully realize the innate energy complex configuration of the Soul/Spirit residing in the physical body. The Intelligence that operates that body. This realization is has been accomplished by a multitude of alchemists over the millennia. The process is repeatable through the technology of the Inner Circulation described in the Emerald Tablet and the Taoist Secret of the Golden Flower.

## Practical Alchemical Work

**PAA: Could you describe your laboratory setup and the types of experiments you undertake?**

My current main laboratory is the top floor of my house divided into two 20ft. x 20ft. rooms. I call it New Helm. The East room is set up for all types of distillation from low temperature sweat distillation to high temp destructive distillation. Sweat distillation is carried out using modern high efficiency electric heating mantles where the temperature can be precisely controlled in the range from 100F to 200F. I use several sized heating mantles from 500mL to 5000mL flask capacity. I use heating mantles in this temp range for digestions and incubations also.

The next range of distillation is carried out in water baths called Bain Marie or BM after Maria Prophetessa a female alchemist operating between the 1st and 3rd centuries of the Current Era, 1700 to 1900 years ago. The temperature range is from 200F to the boiling point of water, 212F. For BM operations I use various size pots and kettles that will hold flasks from 500mL to 5000nL. The water baths are heated with modern electrical hot plates. Waterbath distillation is used to prevent extracts from burning at higher temperatures that start to change the molecular structure of sensitive compounds.

For distillations above 212F I use heating mantles. These distillations are conducted in purification and conjunction operations performed on components of the starting material that have been mineralized. The temperatures here can be from greater than 212F to 400F in general depending on what I want to accomplish.

The highest range for distillation is the destructive distillation of the starting matter. This distillation starts at room temperature and continues to a maximum between 900F and 1200F. For this operation the old alchemists used wood fired brick or stone furnaces. I use modern electric kilns housed in Fume Containment Reaction Chambers, FCRC, for high temperature destructive distillation. Which is also called dry distillation and pyrolysis. The kilns are also used for calcination of the starting material mass that remains in the flask after the pyrolysis operation. This process mineralizes the material.

The West room is set up for mechanical operations to prepare the starting matter for extraction and distillation. Some exploratory distillaton operations are carried out in a smaller FCRC when the fumes produced are still toxic. The results of this work experiments carve out processes that will be carried out in larger quantities in the East room. The long term digestions, incubations and incerations are carried out in the West room.

**PAA: What obstacles have you encountered in your practical alchemical work, and how have you addressed them?**

All of the equipment in my laboratory has been gathered over time starting decades ago in the kitchen. That was fine for making simple tinctures. I conducted incineration and calcination operations outdoors in those early days over 40 years ago. That was fine for work in the Summer months. During that time working outdoors my wife called me Professor Moonbeam. I went from no lab to StoneWorks lab in my garage so I could carry out destructive distillation operations without stinking out the house. Then I transitioned to Know Lab which was modules that could be moved around. That was too confining. Finally I moved all my laboratory equipment into the 3rd floor attic which is large enough for all operations.

**PAA: Are there any particular successes or breakthroughs in your alchemical endeavors that stand out to you?**

The first breakthrough was the realization of my Subtle Body initiated by a double dose of Cannabis elixir. The second breakthrough was when I was able to expose Philosophical Mercury during the destructive distillation of wood soot. The third breakthrough was distilling and condensing Shen Qi into the Inner Circulation Subtle Body fueled by a Quintessence containing the Philosophic Mercury. The fourth breakthrough was when I joined Philosophical Sulfur to the Quintessence along with Philosophic Mercury.

**PAA: Mercury, Sulfur, and Salt are described as the three Philosophical Principles. How do you approach their purification and application in your work?**

The Three Philosophical Principles are in everything in the World. Everything is a creation of the Three Principles. To purify the Three Philosophical Principles you have to first separate them from the thing they are in. That thing is the alchemists Starting Matter for the work in the practical chemistry laboratory in the World Terrestrial Theater.

The matter must be putrefied to begin all operations. That operation can be wet or dry, hot or cold, or combinations of both. Dry and hot operations are the fastest; cold and wet are the slowest. Whatever combination used in the end the putrefied matter must face trial by fire before it will release the Three Principles it possesses. That trial by fire is symbolized by the alchemist adepts as the Dragon’s Breath. The Dragon’s Breath frees the Soul and Spirit from the Body of the starting matter. The Body dies in the Dragon’s Fire.

A great deal of toxic matter called feces by the alchemists clings to the Soul and Spirit manifest in the Philosophical Sulfur and Mercury that condense out of the Dragon’s fiery breath. The crude Philosophical Mercury is in the Water Element. It is separated from the crude Philosophical Sulfur which is in the tar oil that floats on the water. That is done by rectification at BM temperatures. This operation is in accordance with Emerald Tablet Philosophical Theorem: “Thou wilt separate the earth from fire, the subtle from the gross, gently and with great care. It ascends from earth to heaven, descends again to earth.”

After seven or more rotations the Philosophical Mercury is pure enough for the Conjunction operations. At this stage I call it Mercury/Water. The same process operations also purify the Philosophical Sulfur to a state fit for Conjunction operations. At that stage I call it Sulfur/Fire.

Those operations are mirrored in the metaphysical laboratory in the World Celestial Theater. The Dragon’s Breath stirs the Soul and Spirit within the alchemist’s Body. The alchemist carries the Dragon’s Fire in every breath you take. That is potential that must be activated or made conscious to purify. Otherwise it remains asleep in the Unconscious. This operation is in accordance with the same Theorem in the Emerald Tablet: “Thou wilt separate the earth from fire, the subtle from the gross, gently and with great care. It ascends from earth to heaven, descends again to earth and receives the power of the higher and the lower. By this means, thou wilt have the glory of the world. And because of this, all obscurity will flee from thee. Within this is the power, most powerful of all powers. For it will overcome all subtle things, and penetrate every solid thing. Thus the world was created. Wonderful adaptations will emerge from this; it is the Way.”

Then the Soul and Spirit in the Celestial Theater must be Conjoined with the Mercury/Water and Sulfur/Fire of the Terrestrial Theater in a new Philosophical Body born to the alchemist and fed by the Conjunction.

> The Green Lyon of Alchemy is the embodiment of the Fourth Philosophical Principle. This has not been declared as such until now.
>
> Lynn Osburn

**PAA: The Green Lyon is described as a transformative force or appetite. How do you work with this concept in both theory and practice?**

The Green Lyon of Alchemy is the embodiment of the Fourth Philosophical Principle. This has not been declared as such until now. That Fourth Philosophical Principle is Intelligence. The Green Lyon is also the Fifth Philosophical Element, the Quintessence, which is Life Force. It is the One “all things have been derived from, by the thought of, so all things are born from One by adoption. And for this reason, I am called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the world. What I have said of the Sun’s operations is complete.”

The alchemist adept becomes the realization of Hermes Trismegistus, the living intelligence that possesses the three parts of the Philosophy of the World: Body, Soul and Spirit.

**PAA: How do you expose and manipulate the soul and spirit within a given material during your experiments?**

If you do not see the Intelligence manifest in the Soul and Spirit when exposed from a given material during experiments those Philosophical Principles will remain dormant or unconscious. As such they will escape the vessel returning to the World at large. And you will not see the Philosophical transformation in your Work. It will be a chemistry experiment devoid of Life.

You must become aware of it by observing what it does in the experiment vessels. When you become aware of its remarkable actions you become entangled with it Philosophically. Then the Green Lyon will take what it needs from the matter you are working on and evolve it into something wonderful. The Intelligent Lifeforce within the vessel will evolve the matter into a Body, determine it through the new constellation of the Soul and Spirit you manipulated and transferred from the old Body of the Life.

**PAA: Can you describe a memorable instance where the "Fifth Element" or Quintessence revealed itself during your work?**

One time I was transferring a piece of just finished shapeless and still a bit sluggish Red Quintessence Stone to a small jar for storage. The Quintessence popped off the micro-spatula and fell into the jar. When it hit the bottom of the jar it had transformed into a little dragon. That was the Intelligence Principle expressing itself showing me the Lifeforce it had evolved into the Quintessence. I took a photo of the little Dragon to commemorate its spontaneous birth. Over the next few weeks the little Dragon joined with me in the Inner Circulation Praxis.

![](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Dragon-Alchemy.jpg)

**PAA: The conjunction of the substantial and insubstantial defines "Living Matter." How does this concept guide your laboratory experiments and philosophical reflection?**

It is a matter of Observation. Substantial is what is observed. Insubstantial is what observes. The observer and the observed is a conjunction or entanglement between some-thing substantial and no-thing insubstantial. The play of words is nonsensical to logic and reason hopelessly entangled with the observation attempting to find to make meaning out of it. The Life of it is the observation. No observation and there is no thing.

The Life in the Matter is animation I gives it. Some times I gives it no animation; so the observation of it is like a rock or stone. Sometimes I sees deeper into it, and the stone appears to be more than a rock. It is an assembly of things that have a bond or agreement to work together to be something more than they were alone. They agree to become the rock or stone that is observed. I observes the agreement and sees deeper into it and learns the details of the agreement. The details can be manipulated and the bonds altered. I can do this. We do it all the time we live.

**PAA: How do you integrate Hermetic principles into your practical alchemical work?**

Everything I do is inspired by the Philosophy and Theorems in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Thrice Great. Therein are the Hermetic Principles of Alchemy the foundation for all operations of the Magnum Opus. For example when in the kitchen I apply the Philosophy to the saute enhancing elevating the native Principles and Elements of the ingredients that create the saute.

## Alchemy and Modern Science

**PAA: You’ve described alchemy as the "Science of a Subtle Technology" that can be demonstrated and repeated. How do you believe alchemy bridges the gap between metaphysics and empirical science in the modern era?**

In Alchemy Philosophy there is no gap between metaphysics and empirical science. What has evolved into empirical science is the technical methodology alchemists employed to verify or validate a premise derived from the Theory developed from gnosis of the Philosophy.

What appears to be a gap is a difference in focus on application of the technology. Empirical science manipulates the technology for economic purposes. Pragmatic science must earn a living. So things are made aimed to improve the quality of life. There is no end to the things that can be made employing the Scientific Method. As a result the accumulated knowledge has increased so substantially that Science had to bifurcate into many branches like the sciences physics, chemistry, astronomy, and biology. The accumulation of knowledge in the branches of Science continues to expand. So scientists have to specialize into narrow avenues of investigation in each field of science.

Metaphysics was ignored by the early empiricists who separated the Subtle Technology of the alchemists from the gross application that became known as the Scientific Method. An alchemist can move seamlessly from alchemy to science. Scientists have great difficulty moving from science to alchemy. The limitations or constraints or criticisms of the “peer review” system can stifle a scientist from investigating the usefulness of metaphysics to see deeper into the observation.

**PAA: How do the methods of gnosis in alchemy compare with the scientific method, and where might they complement each other?**

The scientific method is a process invented by Philosophers and refined by alchemists to verify knowledge and substantiate awareness. This is the tree of gnosis. Awareness is observation multifaceted with multiple layers and levels. From Awareness comes Knowledge evolving and expanding. There is no end to it but a transcension from Space/Time Causality to Eternal Synchronicity.

**PAA: The interplay between metaphysical insights and material focus often creates tension in scientific inquiry. How do you bridge this gap in your practice?**

For me there is no gap between metaphysical insights and material focus. It is more a matter of intensity. Material focus is to pay attention to the obvious, gross or substantial components of an observation. Metaphysical insights can inspire focus on the material aspects of the matter. Focus into the material aspects of the matter can inspire metaphysical insights. It is a cycle of gnosis.

**PAA: The text mentions that much of alchemical philosophy was nearly lost. What efforts do you believe are necessary to restore and preserve this knowledge for future generations?**

Much of Alchemy theory and practice was lost because of secrecy. It was a combination of disguising knowledge to avoid persecution, and oaths for keeping trade secrets. It worked pretty well as long as there was a chain of custody preserving the knowledge.

That was a system of on the job training. One started out as a novice learning what was available to the open public. The novice could follow that stream of information to find a teacher. With a teacher the novice became an apprentice learning the basic operations. Then one advanced to journeyman level capable of doing the operations without supervision. A journeyman could advance to alchemy adept or Philosopher. That process was personal and individual and depended on the talent for metaphysical insight.

To restore and preserve Alchemy Philosophy, Theory, and Praxis the knowledge and technology must be openly available to anyone that is interested in learning. Open with avenues to practice like Science is today. Currently a novice can find worthwhile courses online for beginning laboratory alchemy with an introduction to some basic theory. Unfortunately no public courses are available for the advanced theory and practice of the Philosophical Principles and Elements.

**PAA: Intelligence is considered a fundamental principle alongside Soul, Spirit, and Body. How does this principle manifest in your practice, and what role does it play in understanding matter?**

Intelligence is Mindful observation of the Matter which is the presentation of Soul and Spirit in the Body of Information under consideration. I am is conscious and aware, Mindful, of the Elements and Principles weaving the Body of the Information System under observation. The operation is dynamic a circulation that evolves coherently threading coincident synchronicity into Intelligent meaning crystallizing into Gnosis.

**PAA: With advances in physics and chemistry, how do you envision integrating modern tools into traditional alchemical practices without losing their philosophical essence?**

I and others I know do use modern tools in alchemy praxis. There is the obvious electrical equipment that has replaced the old wood and coal fired heating systems for the basic operations. I use paper chromatography in my lab. It is not expensive. High pressure liquid, and gas chromatography equipment is very expensive; so are mass spectrometers. I have a old used photo spectrometer in my lab. Used ones are not too expensive.

With these modern analyzers one is able to look much deeper into the Body of the matter of the experiment to see how the Soul/Spirit is knitting things together on a molecular and atomic level. The only way to lose the philosophical essence is to ignore it.

## Publications and Contributions

**PAA: What inspired you to write "Better Living Through Alchemy," and what core message do you hope readers take away from it?**

“Better Living Through Alchemy” began as a way of presenting alchemy theory and practice to the public before the internet was widely available. I was inspired to write it after getting involved with the grass roots political movement to legalize Cannabis sativa for medical use in California. At the time I had been an anonymous author writing articles for High Times magazine under the pseudonym Owl, my initials backwards. I had been an outlaw sinsemilla farmer in the southern California coastal mountain ranges during the 1970s and 1980s.

I wrote down what I had learned about Alchemy from reading and practice in an outline that I presented at the Meeting of the Minds conference at Chapman University in Southern California in 1993. The presentation included loads of slides of classical alchemy art from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance. Students saw the imagery while walking down the hall going from class to class. The room filled and after the talk students wanted to sign up for the course. I had no intention of developing it into a college course at the time. But the enthusiasm for the subject inspired me to develop the notes into a book that people could use to begin the practice of Alchemy.

I was still learning at the time and did not have access to the vast repository of alchemical texts still hidden away in museums and universities around the world especially in Europe. Near the end of the millennium the internet opened up. And hundreds of old classical alchemical treatise were transcribed into digital form. Adam Mclean lead the way creating a website devoted to making available digitized alchemy texts.

My knowledge and experience expanded exponentially compared with my progress before the internet. So now I am putting the finishing touches on a second volume that greatly expands on the ideas presented in Better Living Through Alchemy. It is titled, Better Living Through Alchemy Praxis. The core message in both is that people will live better knowing and practicing Alchemy than continuing to be victimized on the manipulated ill winds of professional politics and organized religion.

The best analogy I have found for comparison is dreaming. In all dreams the observer is held prisoner to dream scenarios where things happen and the hapless dreamer is hit with reactionary emotions instigated by the dream dramas. Sometimes the dreamer becomes aware that one is dreaming. One becomes aware or conscious in the dreamscape. In that state one is no longer under the influence of emotions instigated by the dream scenario. One has become lucid in the dream and can look around at the scene and the characters. One can then step outside of the drama and even stop it, or probe the contents, and more.

It is very difficult to become lucid in a dream. And just as difficult to stay lucid in the dream without popping out of it and waking up. In the waking collective Reality of human society we are carried along by emotions that infect thinking. The cause is the near constant exposure to fears promoted by the Authority which is a hegemony, a hierarchy of politicians and priests espousing Egregores, effects that keep them in power culturally and civilly. When one becomes lucid while awake one becomes aware of the cause and effect of the Authoritarian charade and can dismiss the Egregores. One can then move about between the threads of the imposed causes free from the effects that have enslaved the people indentured them to the Authority. And one can do much more. Things that appear to be miraculous even supernatural to those still ensnared by Egregores.

Most are unable to become lucid while awake because they do not have the tools to transcend the snares of Egregores. Alchemy tech when put into practice gives one the opportunity to become lucid while awake in the World of human society.

**PAA: Could you elaborate on the process of creating the living coherent mineral life as described in "Metamorphosis of the Green Lyon," and its significance in alchemic practice?**

It is elaborated in the book in full detail. In short you extract dried vegetable matter with distilled vinegar. Distill off the vinegar then dry distill the gum that remains when the vinegar is removed. Calcine the black mass that remains into a white calx. Add the purified distillates of the pyrolysis to the calx to make a soggy paste. Heat the paste in a closed vessel to around 125F. After some days the crystal life will begin to grow.

When matured the crystal life contains a very lively concentration of World Soul/Spirit readily available to the alchemist for operations in the Celestial Theater metaphysical undertakings.

**PAA: Have you been involved in teaching or conducting workshops? If so, how do you approach introducing alchemical concepts to beginners?**

I’m not involved in conducting workshops. I work directly with alchemists that have read my books and have the desire and the skills to do the operations detailed in my books. I assist them at their request with operative advice free of charge.

## Historical Perspectives

**PAA: Alchemists are credited with the foundation of the scientific method. How do you see this legacy continuing to influence or diverge from contemporary science?**

The scientific method is at the core of contemporary science. There is no science without the scientific method. Which is our “trial by fire.”

**PAA: The separation of life force from scientific paradigms is a recurring theme. How do you reintegrate ontology into alchemical research?**

Ontology has always been part of alchemical research going back to the Emerald Tablet. The theory derived from the Philosophy in it proposes the reality of the fifth Element called Quintessentia or Quintessence. The discourses left to us by the old alchemist adepts describe Quintessence with attributes we can associate with Life Force. The reality of Life Force is amply displayed by the multitude of living things going about their business constantly in this world. Yet you cannot extract even a particle of Force of Life from the Matter it animates. That being so Life Force cannot be subjected to physical analysis. Though we alchemists can transfer Life Force from a Body inhabited by it into another Body prepared by the operative tech.

Scientists focused on the transformations of Physical Matter have no avenue to move their point of view from physics to metaphysics. Which is necessary to focus on the transformations of Philosophical Matter like Life Force. However it appears that physicists are using metaphysical concepts to help them to see with the Mind’s Eye what has become of the smallest particles of physical matter when they vanish under observation becoming nothing more than discrete motion. What had appeared to be solid is broken in the “trial by fire” into cyclic motion.

What is doing the moving remains a great Mystery beyond the scope of physics. So they invent multiverse string theory and attempt to prove it by the scientific method.

**PAA: For centuries, alchemy was relegated to the occult. What steps do you think are necessary to reframe it as a scientific and philosophical discipline?**

Alchemy is not in need of reframing. It continues as the parent of Science and its scientific method. Science is the offspring that continues to live its own life. And like children it matures into its own way of doing things with the talents given to it by its parent. And as children often do Science has distanced itself from its parent, Alchemy, seeing it as an archaic artifact or relic of an earlier time.

## Contemporary Applications

**PAA: In what ways do you believe alchemy is relevant to today's scientific and spiritual communities?**

Alchemy is Philosophy tried by fire. Science is not Philosophy. It is technology algorithms applied by the community of scientists to manipulate physical things. Spiritual communities all involve practices based on belief systems that cannot be verified by experiment. They mostly focus on selective effects of general causes that halve caught their interests. Then ratiocinations are built from the affects they have strung together in order to create or consolidate the belief into a system of conduct.

**PAA: How do you apply alchemical principles to daily life and personal development?**

The application of alchemical principles in daily life for personal development that I practice every day involves learning to perceive the World of human endeavor as unfolding in two Theaters. One is physical, the Terrestrial Theater; the other is metaphysical; the Celestial Theater. Theater implies observation. From there one applies the technology of the Emerald Tablet. I discuss this in great detail in my forthcoming book, Better Living Through Alchemy Praxis.

**PAA: How do you envision alchemical philosophies influencing contemporary fields such as psychology, medicine, or technology?**

Alchemy philosophy has already influenced the field of psychology as seen in the collected works of Carl Jung and his colleague before him Herbert Silber over 100 years ago. Holistic medicine employs alchemy philosophy in the observance of Life conditions and responses that have affected the patient. It employs the tools of old time apothecary methods first written down hundreds of years ago in herbal compendiums like Nicholas Culpeper’s in the 1600s. Culpeper like most apothecaries of the time was an alchemist. Technology is also influenced by Philosophy in the Emerald Tablet in the creative endeavors of inventors imagining what to create in the Celestial Theater and building the product of the imagining in the Terrestrial Theater.

**PAA: What do you see as the relationship between alchemy and modern science or technology?**

The relationship I see is in the application of Alchemy Philosophy creating an artistic application of modern science and technology. The alchemist is the Artist working in the fields of physics and metaphysics following the inspiration of the Emerald Tablet Philosophy in the discovery of new meanings adding to the collective knowledge of humanity.

**PAA: How do you perceive alchemy’s role in addressing contemporary issues such as ecological sustainability or the search for meaning?**

Those contemporary issues like ecological sustainability and the search for meaning are directly addressed in the Emerald Tablet. The essence of it is every thing is connected in a cyclic balance of opposing forces in the physical World that apply to the search for meaning in the metaphysical World: the Spirit connecting Body and Soul of Everything.

## Personal Reflections and Legacy

**PAA: What message would you impart to aspiring alchemists about the enduring value of alchemical wisdom?**

I would advise aspiring alchemists to embrace the wisdom of the Emerald Tablet. Let it be your guide in the critical assessment of the cryptic words and symbolism of the old adepts in your work. And apply what you learn to your search for meaning.

**PAA: Reflecting on your work, how would you like your contributions to shape the ongoing dialogue between alchemy and modern science?**

I hope my candid inclusion of modern science concepts into alchemy praxis highlight the congruency between their mutual technologies. That includes the relationship of metaphysical insight shedding light on the results of experimentation and enriching the subtility of meaning exposed.

I hope that Science can recognize and respect its parent Alchemy. And at least consider our Philosophy in the pragmatic and economic application of science technology. So our World can return to a balance in the exercise of the Power manifest in the ever expanding sophistication of our Technology. It is our responsibility to preserve the World in this new Anthropocene age. Not destroy it in the search for economic wealth and power.

**PAA: With one foot in ancient traditions and the other in modern contexts, what do you see as the most critical role for alchemists in today’s world?**

The most critical role for an alchemist in these times is to open an avenue to Lucidity exposing extreme surrealism caused by the avaricious use of high technology. This invidious crusade for power is afflicting humans with an ever increasing flood of irrational information masquerading as fact in an Orwellian nightmare. Once exposed the Pigs lose control of the Animal Farm. It takes the persistence of a Mule to succeed.

**PAA: How has the practice of alchemy shaped your own spiritual or intellectual growth?**

Through Alchemy Praxis I have become the carver of my own Progress. This theme was first introduced by alchemist Edward Bolnest in the 1600s. This Philosophical carving appears to be without end as in the Way of Things in the flow of Tao. To navigate through the cosmic river of cause and effect with great care causing effects and effecting causes ― not swept along merely reacting furiously to currents of emotion that induce flailing responses of desperate instinct.

Eventually arriving at the Cosmic Ocean where all rivers and streams of content are incubated in the Deep Mystery churning one thing into another in waves on the surface into the Deep. Wherein lies the Unfathomable Nothingness at the bottom of it All. Eternal: moment to moment from Time infinitely unfolding to Eternity without beginning or end: I/O

**PAA: Thank you very much for such detailed answers to our questions.**

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## More Information

##### See Lynn Osburn Books

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