The Seven Metals, Seven Planets, Seven Stages
We’ve all heard the phrase "as above, so below." But few realize just how literally the alchemists meant it. In the ancient world, the seven classical planets were more than lights in the sky — they were archetypes, cosmic intelligences, and inner forces. And each one had a corresponding metal, energy, and stage in the spiritual transmutation of the human soul.
This wasn’t superstition. This was encoded psychology. The ancients saw the body as a vessel, the soul as a volatile flame, and the journey of life as a sacred operation: the Great Work. Every trial, shadow, insight, and illumination mapped perfectly onto this universal system. If you understand the metals and the planets, you don’t just understand alchemy — you understand yourself.
Let’s walk through them — not as a history lesson, but as a mirror. Because you’ve already lived some of these stages. And others… are waiting.
Lead — Saturn — Calcination
The journey begins at the bottom: Lead. The heaviest, darkest, most inert of metals. Ruled by Saturn, the planet of time, restriction, karma, and structure. This is the black stage — Nigredo — where the ego dies. The fire of Calcination burns away illusion, pride, attachment. It’s when life humbles you, when things fall apart, when the mask cracks.
But Lead is necessary. Without it, you have no gravity. No discipline. Saturn teaches the hard lessons: that nothing external lasts, and the soul must be freed from the prison of form. This is the long night of the soul. But it’s also the doorway.
Tin — Jupiter — Dissolution
After burning away the calcified ego, the next step is to dissolve. Tin, ruled by Jupiter, brings expansion, wisdom, and insight. This is the phase where the rigid structures of identity melt. It’s the oceanic phase — emotion floods in. Old patterns lose meaning. You question everything.
But Jupiter also brings philosophy. You start to see the bigger picture. The soul begins to float again. Tin is softer than Lead — more malleable, more generous. It teaches how to yield. This is where you begin to hear the soul whisper beneath the noise.
Iron — Mars — Separation
Once you’ve dissolved, it’s time to extract what matters. Iron is the metal of Mars — action, will, sharpness. Separation is about discernment. You cut away what doesn’t serve. Friends, ideas, habits, addictions — all on the table.
Mars gives you the strength to sever. This is the spiritual warrior phase. Iron teaches you how to protect your energy, enforce your boundaries, and claim your space. You’re no longer floating — you’re forging.
Copper — Venus — Conjunction
Now that you’ve clarified your essence, it’s time to reunite opposites. Copper, sacred to Venus, symbolizes beauty, harmony, and relationship. Conjunction is the sacred marriage — of masculine and feminine, light and dark, soul and spirit.
This is where balance returns. You begin to integrate. Love enters the picture — not just romantic love, but a sense of sacred wholeness. The heart opens. The soul reclaims its gentleness. And from that union, something new is born.
Mercury — Mercury — Fermentation
Now comes the mystery metal — Mercury. Fluid, ever-changing, able to unite opposites. Ruled by the same planet: the trickster, the messenger, the god of alchemy itself. Fermentation is the death of the lower self and the beginning of spiritual rebirth.
In this stage, a new energy takes hold. Synchronicity increases. Visions, dreams, insights bubble up. The soul starts to breathe. You’re in contact with something bigger — your higher mind. But it’s unstable, volatile, divine. Mercury teaches you to move between worlds.
Silver — Moon — Distillation
Next is purity. Silver, ruled by the Moon, reflects. It doesn’t generate light — it refines it. Distillation is the process of elevating the essence. You’ve purged, separated, fused — now you crystallize.
The Moon represents the subconscious. This is a quiet stage, but powerful. Your inner world becomes clearer. Intuition sharpens. You’re no longer ruled by emotion — you observe it. Silver teaches clarity. Stillness. Precision. It’s the priestess within.
Gold — Sun — Coagulation
And finally, Gold. The Sun. The goal of alchemy. Not literal gold, but spiritual gold — the soul fully realized, unified, resurrected. Coagulation is the final stage. Spirit and matter fused. Heaven and earth joined. The true Self reborn.
This is enlightenment. Not escape — embodiment. You become who you actually are. Not a personality, not a reaction — a being of light in form. The Philosopher’s Stone is not a rock. It’s a state of being. And Gold is the radiant soul — stable, shining, whole.
Final Thought
The seven metals are not just old world chemistry. They’re mirrors. Each one marks a season of the soul. And each planet, each phase, plays its role in the forging of the divine human.
You are the crucible. You are the fire. And if you dare to go through it, stage by stage…
You don’t just understand alchemy.
You become it.
Most people think alchemy ends at Gold. But truthfully? That’s where the real life begins.
The Great Work wasn’t about turning metals into money. It was about turning chaos into cosmos — within yourself. It’s the lifelong process of aligning your body, soul, and spirit into one coherent flame. And that flame doesn’t just sit there. It radiates. It acts. It transforms the world.
Each planetary force doesn’t disappear after its stage — it remains, reshaped. Saturn becomes wisdom. Mars becomes discipline. Venus becomes devotion. The full spectrum of being is harmonized. You are no longer ruled by these energies — you wield them.
The real secret? These seven metals aren’t just stages. They’re tools. You return to them. Again and again. Every new challenge is another mini-opus — another cycle of calcination, separation, conjunction. Life becomes a spiral — not a ladder. You revisit the same energies, but from a higher octave each time.
That’s the difference between chasing light and becoming it. The alchemist doesn’t just seek enlightenment once. They repeat the work, refining deeper layers. Always burning off the dross. Always seeking the truer gold.
And in this repetition — this sacred labor — the soul becomes clear. The vessel strong. The fire unwavering.
This is what it means to live the Great Work. To walk the path of the inner sun. Not just to know the seven metals… but to embody them.
So the question is no longer: “What stage am I in?” The question is: “What am I doing with it now?”
Because the fire’s still burning. And the Work is never done.