Conjunctionis: This operation signifies the union or synthesis of opposites, representing the integration of diverse elements to achieve unity and wholeness.
In coniunctio, the previously separated substances such as Sol & Luna or sulphur and mercury are combined through the secret fire to create a new third substance. This philosophical child is more than the sum of its parents. In psychology, the operation often involves an association between the conscious and the subconscious, which thereby creates an expanded consciousness. In herbal alchemy, a coniunctio occurs when the alchemical tincture is re-combined with its salt. Together they create a new compound that is significantly more powerful than the two parts are individually. What distinguishes coniunctio from coagulatio is that coniunctio does not necessarily require a new body but can be a compound of the red and white elixir. In the human alchemy, there can be a union between the etheric and the astral bodies without the involvement of the physical body. There is a coniunctio coeleste – heavenly union – where the soul and spirit marry and create a new whole in the form of a soul-spirit. We meet it as a bright hermaphrodite with angel wings, which shows that the soul is now one with the higher guardian angel. There is also a coniunctio corporalis – corporeal union – whereby the soul-spirit reunites with the rejuvenated and re-created body. The alchemical image of the hermaphrodite with bat wings conveys that the lower material forces have now been refined and restored in purified form. The final union in the opus is called the alchemical wedding and involves a vertical fusion of body, soul and spirit as well as a horizontal union of masculine and feminine. Then the alchemical cross is created, through which the intersection of the rosy heart gives birth to the divine child.
- Alchemy – the divine work
