Alchemy is a funny thing. I want to define it for Dog, Dragon and eventually tortoise.
On this site, we shall call Mind Dog, Emotions Dragon and Heart Tortoise.
Each of these will be given a complete article on their own where we can explore the excesses, benefits, and how to balance and make them work for us.
Also I use the new gender neutral pronoun "they" so we can keep some dragons in check, even if some dogs will be upset over a minor grammatical issue.
I'm going to explain alchemy to our mind, Dog or dog energy if you will. But be forewarned, Dog has been so busy that they may not truly understand it. Trust that Dragon will or has, and Tortoise will ultimately guide us to understanding.
We've all been exposed to the schoolyard fantasy that alchemy meant to "turn lead into gold" and involved "secret societies" who "didn't practice real science."
Ok, Dog, that's good. Now sit. Stay.
Alchemy is when you take one thing and transmute it into another. Generally by something other than mechanical or technical means.
I just confused Dog, lick your chops it's ok.
So Dragon, here are 2 examples from my own life.
I was outside and there was deep snow on the ground. It was Idaho, had been far below freezing. But now, due to things Dog understands, the warm was coming upon us. Raindrops began to fall, singing their elegant, twinkling songs as they struck the snow.
My young dragon energy was ON FIRE! They were captivated by this beautiful song, and how it might be done again sometime. even if Tortoise did not fully understand the implications yet, alchemy had already begun. Years later, in studios as a session musician, then trained in synthesis (now called sound design) and as a performing keyboardist, I (dog and dragon together) transmuted freezing rain into one form of my own characteristic "singing glass" "singing ice" and similar motifs.
Dragon was enthralled by the sound. Could even communicate how beautiful and elegant an experience it was! But no framework for recreating it, or understanding the alchemy of it. What Dragon could do, and indeed did do, was provide the passion that was used to stimulate Dog to learn what it would take to recreate the experience.
Dog was given to understand this is "freezing rain" and that there is a purely scientific basis for it. Also, Dog was learning Classical music, the intricacies of playing music after having read it in Braille, a task for Dog and Dog alone. There is no Dragon energy there at all. But Dragon pushed, Dragon did as fiery Dragon generally does, and wouldn't leave Dog and Tortoise alone.
So ultimately Dog began to break from the Classical traditions and learn the discipline and skills needed to perform electronic music. This was the 80s, so the material now available for learning sound shaping, keyboarding technique with synthesizers, and all the rest of it, was rare to nonexistent. Also in my case, Dog, Dragon and Tortoise all live on a body that has not experienced the dimension we call eyesight. So Dog didn't have the luxury of sniffing around in libraries and nosing through pages and parchments. But Dog energy is persistent energy if nothing else. Dog gives us our "inner achiever," details, facts, figures, all the things our modern world worships with Bronze-age fervor. For Dog, facts and figures, details, question after question after question, all of it is crack cocaine to dog. Dog loves to be critical, to correct the slightest perceived misstep, the tiniest fragment of error. Not because Dog is judgmental or mean, Dog does this for the same reason a pet dog will try and sniff my nuts. An attribute as a human I find contemptible, but Dog has no knowledge of this. The only way Dog could do otherwise is to be trained. But Dog can know things. Dog can debunk, criticize and correct things. Harnessed correctly, "given something to do," Dog can do exceptional things! I'm writing using a machine and an Internet all designed and created by Dog, passionately promoted by Dragon.
Meanwhile, Dragon loved the freezing rain and continued to see the wonder in how things that are said to be one thing create the sounds of many others.
Unfortunately it seems now that we don't very well know how to understand Dragon, harness them properly, and listen to what they're saying. We treat Dragon like dog far too often. We tell Dragon to sit, stay, listen, learn. Dog, especially in our current culture, must be handled quite firmly most of the time. Watch an experienced dog handler and you will hear them issue a directive. After the dog has done as instructed, there is always praise. That is an affirmation to Dog.
But telling Dragon to sit makes no sense. We must tame the dragon, yes, as the older stoics called "ride the stallion." I use Dragon here due to the gender-neutral nature of it, ironically so we don't get Dragon all upset. Dragon, while they have all the passion in the world, never has answers. Dragon without Dog and Tortoise is blind, being thrown from mystical wonder to nightmarish terror and back again. And Dragon by themselves will never understand the what or the why of it. In fact, since dragon lives in a dog-addicted culture, might try to emulate Dog and come up with reasons, justifications, and explanations. This is no more possible than it is for me, a blind man, to pick up a printed newspaper and read it unaided by technology. Note that Dog does not control Dragon, you control both. I control both.
While we give directives to Dog, (sit! Down! Listen! Memorize! Repeat), we take a very different track with Dragon. When Dragon is upset, we must tell them "It's OK. I've got this." any affirmation you like. If you need more, the New Age spirituality movement, 40 years and counting, is rife with your pick. Let Dog and Dragon work together as a team to pick the ones that work for you. Dragon is extremely individualistic, libertarian, and Dog will see Dragon as quite underdeveloped most of the time. But Dog's advantage is they know how to work on a team. The "self-made" myth is not from Dog, it's from Dragon. Dog knows its limitations, or at least can learn them.
So help Dog listen to Dragon as they communicate "But for me ... but for me ..." and help Dragon be still while Dog does the research and presents affirmations which Dragon can use to settle themselves.
Besides affirming Dragon, you often need to redirect them. Sometimes Dog or even Tortoise will run into something they know Dragon can appreciate: an experience. But Dragon is so preoccupied they need to be told, "Hey! Come look at this! I want you to see this!" What Dragon does not need is a million explanations from Dog.
I saved the tough one for the last: Tortoise. If you were to become a tortoise breeder, one of the first things Dog would have to learn is patience! The female tortoise will not lay eggs for you until she's over a decade old. Dogs, sit. I know there are exceptions, and I thank you for sniffing.
Did you hear that little "Yes but, I know there are exceptions" with a long list of exceptions in your mind? A Russian tortoise, perhaps. That was Dog, even if they sounded very individualistic like Dragon. Dog knows a lot, and Dog always wants to be literal and precise.
Tortoise is understanding and intent. Where Dog is in the head, Dragon in the solar plexus, Tortoise is in the heart. Unlike the New Age and some Eastern spirituality, I would say the Tortoise, the Heart, is the highest form. Not the crown. So we must have patience with Tortoise. We can feed tortoises a variety of vegetables, and we can keep Tortoise from running into things. Did you know Tortoise cannot see through glass? So a tortoise in a terrarium will bang their nose on the glass constantly. Not because they're stupid, it's for 2 reasons. They can't see the glass at all. And their sense of distance and depth perception is remarkably poor. They do not have the echo location abilities of migratory birds, bats, or even blind humans! Sensory wise, they feel, smell and like most reptiles can see into the UV spectrum. So if you are a fully seeing human being, you are but blind to a reptile like a tortoise.
We really don't tell Tortoise very much, but we do feed Tortoise a lot. We feed to Tortoise the alchemy started by the teamwork of Dog and Dragon. We make sure Tortoise doesn't run into things, getting stuck and not being able to free themselves. Without Tortoise, there is no alchemy..
That was long, so here is the next example.
If you ever go to a Christian church, in particular one that is Pentecostal, you might experience both Dog and Dragon.
All the jazz chords and lyrics Dog understands as music, perhaps has a label for it, "praise and worship". Dog can even dog-matically defend, like only a member of the pack can, the correct way to sit, stand, believe, vote and even have sex!
But there is Dragon and now I understand. Observe the many who will sing in tongues, stand with hands raised in celebration and faces totally serene in the experience. Here is Dragon in full form. Dragon should not communicate this to Dog, but to Tortoise. Tortoise could lead one to full understanding after digesting what Dog and Dragon have both found.
After the Praise and the Worship, there is the talk commonly called the Sermon. Sometimes as long as "The Sermon" by Jimmy Smith, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. This is not "less spiritual" as some might imagine, it's just giving Dog something to do and keep themselves occupied.
I do not believe, as many thinkers do, that Dog unattended will just go inert, "use it or lose it." I think Dog needs to be occupied or they will occupy themselves. With or without something you'd prefer they pay attention to. Dog needs a leash and a purpose, but not a chain. The dog-matic "true believer" who can only see what their book says, only believe as instructed, only interpret their surroundings from a very narrow lens is the backyard dog who is chained. Chained behind a fence. Let us say at least well fed and tended. But barking, snarling and growling constantly. They have nothing to do but bark, growl and snap, under the illusion they are defending their territory. Their cause. Their faith. Their logic and academic pursuit. actually they aren't defending anything. Faith, ideology, academic adherence, these are all just shadows Dog has been trained to believe. Dog has been trained to be critical. Judgment generally comes from Dog because Dog is the only social animal of the 3. Wolves judge, by hunting prowess and fur color, among other things. But tortoises and dragons (lizards) do not.
as I said earlier, Alchemy only comes about through Tortoise. The problem Tortoise has can be seen in some New Age elements, where teachers present stillness and disconnection as the absolute highest form. It is a great place to observe from, and you will learn more about this in the articles on Dragon and Tortoise both. Suffice it to say reptiles have 4 modes: Sleeping, hunger, fear (often thought of as aggression), and the most common of all, observation. Ever hear someone say, "Your pet tortoise just sits there like a bump on a log!" They are observing. They feel, and even experience air pressure changes. A reptile in a completely temperature and humidity-controlled enclosure still acts as though it is Winter outside, even though they can't feel the cold or snow. Or perhaps in some way they can.
It leads to excess when observation is being done when Dog should probably be acting for justice, motivated by the passion of Dragon.
Full alchemy can be achieved when Tortoise is protected by Dog and provided for by Dragon. When we feed tortoise food to Dog, Dog doesn't understand and turns that experience into some kind of rote memorization and motions that we commonly call religions. Dragon gets a glimpse once in awhile to keep everybody motivated, but Tortoise never fully brings the two into alchemy.
Dog is really good at taking Inspiration and turning it into Action. It is true alchemy when we can properly feed each of the three with their relevant food.
Provide Dragon with no transcendent experiences, Dragon will either fall into fitful sleep, the dragon of the rationalist where all transcendent things are seen as the "fearful bawling of our infancy" (Christopher Hitchens). Or, they will try and become like Dog. Only Dragon cannot bark, they can only breathe fire and destruction when roused like that.
When we don't feed tortoise, we lose all connection with meaning. We can have purpose without Tortoise, Dog brings purpose. But Tortoise brings meaning. Tortoise can alchemize facts and experiences. More on this in the upcoming article on Tortoise.
The way I see it, Dragon is both fetus / baby, and teenager. Bawling, crying, yelling "But for me! What about me!" Also Dragon will, as my daughter did as a toddler, step onto and off of a rock for an hour in complete wonder and amusement.
Often Dragon may sleep in childhood, while Dog receives there training. Be it the tough discipline of the Fundamentalist, the rigors of school, the coalitions on the playground, the memorization of facts that will help us navigate life. 2+2 means nothing to Dragon.
Dog can learn to do things at this stage. Dog is a doer.
There was no Dragon, and thus no alchemy, for me when it came to doing math for instance. As a blind boy in the 70s and 80s, to do any kind of math I would first write it in Braille so I could see and understand it. Then, I would transcribe this, as the LDS call it, "line upon line, precept upon precept." You got it done, and you solved it, good dog. Problem is, there could never be true understanding of it or its purpose.
Dog was pretty good at reading Braille music notation. In fact, Dog knew enough to do nothing else musically for fear of punishment. If you can read music notation, try this: Look at a measure of your music. For the uninitiated, that's everything between two vertical lines. Now close it, so you can't see it, and play that measure on your instrument. Now open the music again, look to see you got it right. If you did, read the next measure. Close it, play both measures together.
There is nothing at all transcendent here, there is no Dragon. AI could do this better than I ever could have, because AI is in fact Dog with no other archetypes.
I'll get into all this in the upcoming articles on each.
On "secret knowledge" as some call it, I believe we have been told wrong. The reason alchemists kept their methods secret was not so others couldn't repeat it. They kept things secret so that Dog wouldn't get in the way of Dragon having an experience.
I alchemize the affirmations you get on this site if you're a member. Actually alchemized affirmations appear all over my electronic music. I'm not keeping my method secret from you out of some desire to be a cartoon of a wizard with a pointy hat, gloating over what I know and you don't. In fact, I have mistakenly exposed my alchemy to people before. And to use a Christian euphemism, they were cast out of the garden of experience by having eaten of the tree of knowledge. I did not "cast them out," the knowledge did. Now, Dog immediately wants to know: "Is this the part where that starts? What section of the breathing count are we in right now? Did you use Omnisphere? Why do you use the Alchemy and ES2 synthesizers?" Dragon has to go to sleep now, so Dog can pretend they're having an experience, instead of leading Dragon to the experience. And, who knows what's up with Tortoise at this point? Probably left very confused.
Alchemy is us, when we can provide for Dragon, Dog and Tortoise.
Give Dog something to do: sniff out and do research, make things, be productive, achieve, and be rewarded every step of the way.
Make sure Dragon has transcendent experiences. Make sure Dragon can feel and experience what Dog has been creating. And Dragon's passions can and should motivate Dog. Dog wants to please, and the fulfillment of a passion for something is exquisite pleasure for reward.
We have to bring Tortoise online at some point. That way, the factoids from dog nerding out, and the woo, oh, ahhh from Dragon, can marinate together in the slow digestive process only reptiles have. The end product is personal alchemy.
Perhaps the mature person can someday see that their experiences are entirely their own. Dog has fully grown out of puppyhood and domestication, no longer seeking validation and identity. Dragon is no longer fearfully bawling and screaming "Me! Me! Me!" nor are they so easily bamboozled by unexpected experiences.
Tortoise can continue to feed upon the results of Dragon's experiences, and the achievements from Dog, slowly digesting and alchemizing the results. Hopefully expelling the toxicity often associated with what young Dog and young Dragon can produce. Although frequently unknown to themselves.
Future articles will break down each archetype we all possess. So Dog, this is not a directive. Just letting you know there's more treats coming. Meanwhile, you can lead Dragon to some music on this site, much of which will appeal to Dragon experiences.
Meanwhile, let's give Dog something to do, keep providing meaning and transcendence to Dragon, and we can keep feeding the results of each to Tortoise. Then Tortoise can alchemize the results for us into something magnificent. And let us keep Tortoise from getting stuck or falling off the edge; for all the magick of Tortoise, they have no depth perception and cannot see the glass of a terrarium.