The Inner Fire: a coaching alchemy

Working out loud: sharing the first few ideas about a new book. I began work on this in the last few months of 2020. A structure emerged, and deep into the research for the book, new ideas began to emerge which are now informing the outline and progress that I am making so far. It’s not just about the content, it’s about the process. At this stage, the writing is very open and not attached to the outline and structure that I have developed for the book.

Alchemy as a topic keeps appearing all around me – in a weird set of synchronicities. Of course, I began the process by seeing who had written about the role of inner alchemy in coaching. Believe me, there is not much out there. The term ‘alchemy’ is used regularly, but not in the pure sense that I intend to use it. The work on this begins with Carl Jung’s writings on the topic, spread across three volumes of his Collected Works. There are then also some really helpful commentaries on his work from Marie Louise Von Franz. Then, the studies I am pursuing take us right up to the last few decades, looking at the work of James Hillman and his colleagues working out of the Dallas Institute for Culture and Humanities. I’ve been fascinated by a set of volumes of “Conversing with James Hillman”, proceedings of an annual conference that each year responds to a different volume of James Hillman’s Uniform Edition. The volume on Hillman’s “Alchemical Psychology” is inspirational. It comprises a series of remarkable short pieces in response to the writings of Hillman. One of these was about astrology which set me thinking.

As I explored the fire of alchemy, and began to look into that element (one of four western elements, five Tibetan elements) I have established that the fire element is a key aspect of my star sign (Aries). Last week I had an Astrological Chart reading to get more insight into astrology. Jung says:

“Alchemy is inconceivable without the influence of her elder sister astrology.”

So, I thought I had better build a better understanding of astrology. I am only at the beginning of this exploration. It’s a key part for me already, of a broader understanding of Alchemical Psychology. This requires the learning of a whole new language, a new approach to meaning. 

It has felt for a few years now that as I become more experienced as a coach, the process I undergo in a coaching session is much less logical and ordered – much more intuitive. The need to draw on different aspects of my own understanding of what is going on for the client, will, I am expecting, be given greater depth through the use of the alchemy lens. Without wanting to overstate things, I feel like I am on the brink of something really exciting. 

If these connections all sounds a little difficult to understand at this stage, that’s because I am still forming the ideas, developing the frameworks and setting out how the transformation of the alchemical process is a depiction of the shifts that happen during a coaching session (and afterwards of course). 

One thing I have been testing out with people, is Jung’s theory of individuation, the idea that we splinter as we grow up, partly because we are seeking to please, seeking to fit in, and partly as we attempt to understand who we are. The individuation process draws these splintered aspects of ourselves back together so that we become a coherent whole again. The bit I’ve been testing that seems to really resonate with people, is the idea that this bringing ourselves back together happens either in regular time phases (every seven years or every ten years, depending on who you study). Hence, the tendency for “crises” and long dark nights of the soul to happen as we hit milestone birthdays. And it also happens at times of major upheaval – such as divorce, bereavement and other major stress factors. 

Interestingly, at the moment, as we all struggle with a pandemic, this could be causing major shifts for many people, the process of individuation ruling rampant over our lives. Whilst the pandemic is creating so much suffering and loss, could it also be the bringer of massive creativity and change for the better?

I’m really excited about the writing of this book. It’s a difficult book to write, a real case of “writing to understand what I am thinking”. It also wants to be an unusual book – I am keen to include poetry and imaginal letters (fictional letter exchanges with people alive or dead). The structure is adapting and changing to that, as well as having the underlying structure drawn from alchemy. 

I will write regular updates on this blog as the book evolves. For now, feel free to email me or comment if this brief summary sparks anything for you.