In this partnership, the human partner provides attention and intention, and the ally creates results. If the ally does not approve of the intention, it does not cooperate, but if it does, it sets in motion processes by which the intent will be brought to fruition. Thus, each partner has an appropriate place in the relationship. For this partnershi

Alchemical writings contain much insistence on cultivating humility and all the virtues. At the same time, however, the alchemists repeat often that the Philosopher's Stone is not found in nature. What they mean by this is that the Stone requires both alchemy and alchemist to come into existence. Without the alchemist, there can be no Philosopher's

It is as if the ally communicates by thinking with your mind; it forms thoughts and words in response to your thoughts and words. Eventually you find yourself in the position of the alchemical rebis; that is, there are two heads in one body. In time there are two centers of consciousness that speak with each other and exist together in one psyche.

If we recall that the ally acts as a mirror, reflecting back qualities that belong to both the ally and the partner, the form the ally assumes becomes even more significant. If the ally appears as a lion, it is because there is something about this form that is true of not only the ally but its partner as well. It is therefore no accident that the

Students invariably project this perfection onto the ally, forgetting that ally work concerns itself with the ally's transformation. In other words, the ally presents itself in an imperfect condition to its partner, requiring transformative processes. Far from being perfect, it needs human help to develop.

In Dorn's conception of attainment, spirit symbolizes the unconscious and soul consciousness. Thus, the extraction of both from the body in order to create a bond between them means that the conscious mind examines and relates to the products of the unconscious. It makes no attempt to embody what it discovers, so the contact between the two remains

In the third coniunctio, termed the unus mundus by Dorn, the ally and its partner explore imaginal space together and experience processes connecting them with other imaginal entities. At this stage, the two partners recognize a shared purpose and begin to carry it out in both imaginal and ordinary reality.

The ally, on the other hand, grows stronger the more we work with it, and it never disappears. You may wonder how an ally grows or develops. It gains in consciousness, in the capacity to incarnate in the imaginal, and it shines with a brighter light. Though it is capable of infinite growth, it always remains true to itself. People often ask me if t

Attention acts like fire in the alchemical process, stirring the dense substance into life and activity. Attention brings the unconscious to life, and it acts in the same manner with the ally. It is not so much that attention brings the ally to life, but that it quickens its growth and initiates processes of transformation. At the same time, attent