Alchemy, the Liver and the Soul

In many traditions the liver was considered to be the "seat of the soul", and it is linked to the eyes. This is also the case with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It would be safe to say we have all heard the saying "the eyes are the window to the soul". The question then is why the liver? How is it connected to the eyes?

First thing is first, in the mystery teachings around the world, they each describe that we have 3 "bodies", that are really levels of our Conscious being. There is the carnal soul, associated with the conscious awareness of our "common" state. This is the soul that is associated with the liver. This is why in TCM it is such an important organ for the overall health and wellness of the body's energy.

In Alchemy they worked with what they called "Liquor Hepatis" which means "liquor of the liver", and the alchemists made a perfume of it called "Balsam of the Soul." In Kabbalah, this part of the Soul is called "Nefesh". This is also described as being the instincts of the Soul.

The second of the three is centered in the heart, and the third is centered in the mind/brain. You will find these three bodies described in different ways in virtually every tradition.

Alchemy: Salt, Mercury, Sulfur
Kabbalah: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshemah
Taoism: Jing, Chi, Shen
Sufism: Nafs, Qalb, Ruh
Egypt: Ba, Ka, Akh
and so on and so on.

Then we find the story of the Greek Myth of Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from heaven and brought it down to man. In the myth, Prometheus is punished by being chained to the side of a mountain to have an eagle (the bird that represents Zeus) eat his liver, only to have it regenerate overnight and have the process repeated again. Compare this to the Titan Tityos, who was punished for rape (falling to carnal urges) and chained in Hades (Underworld) to have two vultures (the bird that represents Hades, the god of the underworld) eat his liver, which also regenerated repeatedly.

Then there is the story of Jesus and his crucifixion. In the crucifixion of Christ, he was pierced in his "right side" (the liver) while on the cross. Similar to the story of Prometheus and the regeneration of his liver, his death was followed by his resurrection.

In both the story of Prometheus and Jesus what we are being told is that the carnal soul (associated with the liver) is to be sacrificed to a higher purpose. Jesus was able to ascend after his sacrifice, and Prometheus was chained to the Mountain (the High Mountain of the gods). While Tityos was tied to Hades (Underworld).

The question then becomes, is this a moral allegory or is there more?

The Liver and TCM

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the liver is considered to be the General of the body. It is the largest glandular organ of the body, and plays a major role in the general flow of energy (qi). It is also considered to be the ruler of jing (essence).

In TCM each organ has a channel called a "Meridian", that travels to and from the extremities. The liver channel begins at the large toe and moves up the inside of the leg and torso, ending at the level of the liver.

Internally the energy circulates to the groin and moves into the body, moving up the front side of the body and leading to the eyes. It continues to move internally through the brain and down the cerebrospinal tract where it returns to the genital area.

This is an important connection because in the practice of Internal Alchemy, the first stage is Laying the Foundation, and it is taught that the manifestation of the Essence resides in the seminal fluids/seed of the genitals. The practice itself is called the "backward flowing method", which uses the eyes, breath and intent to move energy up the spine and down the front, which is opposite the natural flow of energy for the associated channels.

Because the flow is backward to the natural flow of the center channels (Conception Vessel & Governor Vessel), which typically flow up the front and down the back, along with the natural flow of the liver channel, the energy is redirected inwards. This inward movement of energy and essence causes it to nourish the neuro-endocrine systems which are considered to be instrumental in the spiritual development of Internal Alchemy and symbolized as the 7 metals. It is because this energy is redirected inwards as opposed to out toward the physical use of the energy that we can see the connection between the stories of self-sacrifice​ and the liver.

Laying the Foundation

The phase of Laying the Foundation makes use of a period of chaste practice, where the practitioner does not allow for sexual release (ejaculation) and engages in the daily circulation of energy with a practice commonly known as the "microcosmic orbit". Traditionally it is taught that this phase takes 100 days. While this is not meant literally as an exact 100 days, the process does take roughly as much due to the process of spermatogenesis.

In the microcosmic orbit, energy is directed up the spine as you inhale and down the front of the body as you exhale. While this may sound like an exercise in imagination, the ability to kinesthetically feel the sensation is an important part of the process. Being fully aware and present of the sensations within the body helps to form a stronger link between mind and body, as well as strengthen the connection between the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.

Over time this link becomes strong enough that the practitioner begins to have images that appear in the minds eye related to the stimulation of certain regions within the body. This is an important development as many of the symbols and allegories are related to the nature of the visions that occur when the appropriate regions have been sufficiently impacted as a way to ensure that only those who actually take up the work can fully understand.

One such example that describes the very practice of Laying the Foundation is the Biblical story of Jacob's Ladder. In this story, Jacob rested in a place called Luz (which in Hebrew means almond or nut), and used a stone for a pillow. He then had the dream of the ladder with the angels going up and down, and at the top of the ladder he saw God. When he woke up he set the stone up as a pillar and anointed it, and called it Bethel (house of God).

While Luz is literally the Aramaic name for the tailbone, it also is the name of a mythical immortal city in Hebrew myth. The stone that he set up as a pillar WAS what he called Bethel (house of God), not a pillar IN the house of God like is often thought. This is the same foundation stone of the Kabbalistic Yesod, the Sacrum that sits on top of Luz (tailbone/coccyx).
​Above this is the ladder, which is symbolic of the spine itself. A quick look at an image of the spine and one can easily see that the vertebrae look like a ladder. In his vision, he saw angels that were ascending and descending on the ladder. This is the visual representation of the energy that is moving up and down the spinal tract as done in the microcosmic orbit during the phase of Laying the Foundations.

When the process of energizing the essence during spermatogenesis is complete, the practice of Laying the Foundation directs it to nourish the brain. The process of puberty itself is caused by an interaction between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. These are considered the master controls for the endocrine system in general and the completion of this stage regenerates the brain and endocrine system, which is the physical component related to what is commonly known as the chakra system in Yoga.

A sexual release would eliminate the seminal fluids and stop the process, and the work would have to begin again. This is why it is written in sacred texts that a man that has "spilled his seed" was not fit to perform rituals in the temple. It was symbolic allegory to the fact that the loss of Essence diminishes the necessary energies to cause the alchemical operations. For women it was during menstruation, as this is the way Essence is lost in women.

Using the Eyes to Circulate the Light

In alchemy, the Sun and the Moon carry great symbolic significance; and understanding their role and function in the alchemical work is fundamental to successful operations. While symbolically they represent everything yang and yin both internally and externally, in the practical applications found in the stages of internal alchemy they are most specifically related to eyes. The rolling of the eyes is an important key in the internal work and is hidden in allegory in many​ myths, legends and sacred texts from various different cultures and traditions. In the book "Taoist Yoga, Alchemy and Immortality" it states:

"Roll round the positive yang and negative yin (i.e. the two eyes) to shake the brain in order to pull out from its center spirit which has developed and will then emerge from the mysterious gate."

Chi'ien Feng Lao Jen said: "The sun and the moon when turning round unite positive yang with negative yin so that a glorious light emerges from the center of the brain. If you only gather the outer alchemical agent during the "inner copulation" of the male and female principles and do not gather the inner alchemical agent during the phases you are like a cart without wheels or a boat without rudders."

In Taoist Alchemy the eyes are referred to as "the two thieves" and are used to generate and gather the inner alchemical agent. If the positive and negative forces are not sent up and down the psychic channels through various phases of sublimation in the microcosmic orbit, the generative and vital forces cannot be transmuted into the "wondrous light". For this reason, it is important to use the movement of the eyes.

Even in the Bible we see when Jesus was crucified, it was in a place called Golgotha/Calvary, which translates as "the skull", and by his side were two "thieves".

Why are the eyes so important to the process? The eyes play a key component to the stimulation of the brain. When our eyes are open it accounts for two-thirds of the electrical activity of the brain with 50% of all neural tissue directly or indirectly related to vision. In fact there are more neurons dedicated to the sense of vision than the other four senses combined.

Each optic nerve connects at a crossing point called the optic chiasm before splitting again to each hemisphere of the brain. This crossing point is situated directly below the hypothalamus, near the pituitary gland and makes a cross or X. Remember that it is the interaction between the hypothalamus and the pituitary that causes puberty.

This crossing point is where the "Wondrous Light" emerges from, in the central region between the two hemispheres of the brain as in the quote above. By combining the movement of the eyes, which helps direct the energy throughout the body, while also working with the seminal/generative fluids you are able to activate and rejuvenate the brain and body.

The meditation practices allow the brain and body connection to manifest images in the mind, which are the source of much of the symbolic expressions used so heavily in the esoteric traditions during the process.

We can see this symbolism depicted in various traditions, including this one which is a Masonic image. In it you see the 3 pillars that relate to the 3 center channels (and nerve branches) as well as the image of the sun and the moon over each of the outer pillars. Above the middle pillar is the eye with radiating light. While also relating to other esoteric and philosophical principles, it depicts the "Wondrous Light" that appears and within it, the All seeing Eye, which is also described in Eastern traditions as being the 3rd Eye.

While not as openly discussed and commonly known in the Western traditions, we find it in none-the-less.

"The light of the body is in the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." - Matthew 6:22

​The association of the sun and the moon to each of the eyes (and subsequently each hemisphere of the brain) is also found as a common trait.
In ancient Egypt, the sun and the moon were considered to be the "Eyes of Horus". In Shinto Izanagi no Okami purified himself and out of one eye was born a sun deity, out of the other eye a lunar deity and out of the nose (middle) a storm deity (lightning). In Taoism, Laozi transformed his body, and one eye became the sun and the other became the moon. Likewise in Hinduism, Shiva is depicted with three eyes. The two relating to the sun and the moon, and the third is considered the "Eye of Wisdom".
Of all the traditions, Alchemy could arguably be considered to be the one most obscured by the symbols and allegories that have come to define the art. However its process of transformation can be found as the working mechanism that is hidden within virtually all of the spiritual traditions when they are viewed as a process of spiritual development over a belief system.

For us to have a working understand of the process we revert to the ancient view that presupposes that the Spiritual plane precedes and supersedes the physical. As a result the "fingerprint" of the Divine would be found in Nature.

This gives us three places to look in order to find and confirm the Truth of the work; the Cosmos (Astrology), Sacred texts & Myths, and within the body (Anatomy and Physiology).

Join us as we delve into the ancient and mysterious art of Alchemy. Unlock the hidden keys within your own traditions!

Truth is One, its garments many