In becoming gold, mercury becomes perfected. This sixth stage of the ascension completes the spiritualisation that was begun in the fifth stage. In becoming gold, a character becomes perfect, meaning that their every thought and action is in accordance with the will of the divine. The transmutation process of this final step is extremely subtle.
The major difference between mercury and gold is that the latter is egoless. Characters of mercury might be truly great and good people who alleviate the suffering of those around them – but they usually have egos to match their position. The transmutation to gold, therefore, entails an elimination of the grandiosity that characterises the realm of mercury.
When the mercurial is so triumphant, so awe-inspiring, that it might weep for there are no more worlds to conquer, the gold is perfectly satisfied with its life journey. Characters of gold have learned a humility such that there is no longer any need for self-aggrandisement. Learning such humility is crucial to perfecting one’s consciousness. But this is not the beaten-down, resentful humility of the characters of lead and tin. The humility of the character of gold is something divine.
If the stage of mercury represents the solve of the spiritual phase of the alchemical journey, the stage of gold represents the coagula. So the breaking apart of the spirit involved in the stage of mercury is followed by the resetting together of that spirit in the stage of gold. This resetting together implies the perfection of that spirit, in that the spirit has been reconstructed according to eternal truths.
The great challenge of this stage is that the more energy one has in the realm of mercury, the more difficult it can be to transform any of that energy into the realm of gold. A character with a natural mercurial frequency might rise quickly through the lower levels of the Mithraic Ladder, being impelled upward by a powerful force at the sixth level. But upon attaining that sixth level, a powerful mercurial frequency will not help attain the seventh level. It often hinders.
Physically, what is striking about the character of gold is that they are at peace. Thus, the awesome impulses that lead a character to the heights of the realm of mercury finally become sated. The visage of such a character will transform from terrifying to peaceful. They will smile a lot – not the intoxicated grinning of the character of tin, but a smile of contentment.
It is possible, but for from essential, for a character of gold to be elderly. This is for the simple reason that many people don’t learn any real humility until they become physically vulnerable, which often doesn’t occur until senescence. Such a late transmutation might not be particularly interesting for the reader. It can be more interesting to read about those who achieve great things while still young.
In terms of body language, the transmutation to gold brings with it a serene bearing. Whereas the character of mercury carries themselves as if something dramatic could happen at any moment, the character of gold is perfectly relaxed, content with any outcome. Knowing that the will of the divine will out eventually, no matter what obstacles may have been dreamed up for the sake of overcoming the boredom of eternity, the character of gold expresses physical, intellectual and spiritual tranquility. This differs greatly, but subtly, from the gravitas expressed by the characters of mercury.
Emotionally, the transmutation from mercury to gold reflects the achievement of inner peace. The character of gold feels ataraxia. Again this is greatly, but subtly, different to the supercharged emotions of the character of mercury. Thus, the internal world becomes very quiet, desireless, allowing divinity to shine through.
None of this means that characters of gold are passive or weak. It’s true that gold is the softest of metals – but it is still a metal. A character of gold is still capable of kicking arse – one who is too old to do that has degraded to a character of lead (see Part Three). They just never kick someone’s arse unless doing so truly accords with the divine. Unlike a character of mercury, a character of gold won’t be seen leading a conquering army. But they can still fight, if necessary, to defend that which they love.
Socially, characters of gold can play the role of characters of mercury in retirement. When a character of mercury loses interest in worldly concerns, pleasures and attainments, and starts thinking more about what frequency they will take with them into the afterlife, they transition into gold.
A character of mercury, then, might transition to gold by escaping society and its strictures, and retiring into the mountains to become a wise person. By climbing into a cave far from civilisation they might find the serenity necessary to perfect their consciousness.
However, the transition to gold does not imply indifference to material suffering. A character of gold is not merely religious, or concerned with religion: they truly live so that their every action is in accordance with the will of the divine. Thus, they do not neglect their family and friends. Rather, they seek to guide those family and friends through wisdom, as opposed to the direct leadership of the realms of mercury, silver, copper and iron.
In a sense, gold is the realm of the divine and of heroes, and not ordinarily attainable by mere humans. Thus it’s possible to transmute mercury into gold by means of an exceptionally glorious death. A character might not be able to express being of a frequency of gold if they’re dead, but other characters will still be able to honour them as if they did.
Thus, it can be possible to transmute into gold through one single glorious act of perfection. Confucius once said that “If for a full day you can overcome selfishness and keep to propriety, everyone in the world will return to humaneness.” An act of sublime selflessness could transform the entire world for centuries to come. If it is characteristic of the lower stages that transmutation is achieved through a great number of repetitions of small acts, it is the opposite at the higher stages. So one single great act can be what’s necessary to effect the change from mercury to gold. This could involve martyrdom, or giving all one’s property away.
Unlike characters of mercury, who usually play important roles in society, characters of gold have no desire to be the centre of attention. They are perfectly content with not being high in the social hierarchy. A character of gold could even be a homeless person living under a bridge. Emblematic of gold is that it is rare and hard to find. Thus a character, in transmuting to gold, might make themselves scarce.
Alchemically, mercury bonds closely to gold to form gold amalgam. To the outside observer, it can almost seem as if the mercury devours the gold in doing so. This is analogous to how a sense of grandiosity, typical of characters of mercury, can devour those characters’ chances of attaining the level of gold. Pride is the last obstacle to be overcome in the perfection of the consciousness.
For this reason, the transmutation to gold is something that is generally achieved in isolation. The archetypal literary example is Nietzsche’s Zarathustra, from Thus Spake Zarathustra. This Zarathustra was a prophet who brought tidings of the Overman; an Overman who would institute a new set of moral values in the wake of the death of the god of Abraham. A character of mercury could transmute to gold through prophecising a new era of humanity to come.
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This is an excerpt from Vince McLeod’s The Alchemy of Character Development, the sixth book in VJM Publishing’s Writing With Psychology series. This book will show you how to use alchemy to create deep, realistic and engaging characters for your creative fiction.
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