Recently, I’ve been examining the art of manifestation and its connection to alchemy.

After my big breakup in the spring, I had to take my power back in order to rebuild my life. I’ve seen a lot of miracles happen since then and I felt a breakthrough coming in September.

Miracles happened, sometimes daily. My cards announced something exciting was near. I remained skeptical and dared the Universe to act.

In mid October we discussed alchemy at Rosicrucian convocation and the forum was an eye opening experience for me. I’m still trying to find out what the heck the six gold talisman I have been given to sell are so I can price them so the fact that I brought the gold coins to show to my fraters and sorors that day was a small miracle in and of itself.

No one at convocation knew what they were either but I learned that some of the symbols on the talisman are related to alchemy. We also discussed that alchemy is an internal process and that the ability to turn base metal to gold comes from a heart centered place.

I was fascinated and wanted to know more. So I read everything I could get my hands on on alchemy. And some strange things happened.

I knew I was on to something.

I felt close to cracking the gold coin mystery.

To test what I discovered in my research, I decided I was going to try to turn a rosary gold.

When I was a kid a friend of the family had a rosary that turned gold from her constant prayers. I wanted to see the same kind of miracle when I was a little girl. My mom took me to the rosary maker and I designed my own rosary. It was sterling sliver with crystal Hail Mary beads and pink Glory Be beads.  I prayed the rosary as much as I could, like a weapon.

I remember examining my rosary closely, looking for any sign it was turning gold for about two years.

Nothing.

So I gave up and put my rosary aside.

Then this year I got a gorgeous rosary from the antique shop where I get Magdalena Tower stuff from for my naughty nun Halloween costume. I hadn’t touched a rosary in years but I decided to give it a try after reading about alchemy, just to see if the work I’d done on my heart made me pure enough to see the miracle of alchemy.

I sat down at my altar, lit my candles, sat back and began to focus my will. My back felt really hot and I smelled something burning. To my astonishment, my back was literally on fire! I tried to brush the flames out but they still licked at my shoulders. I made peace with the element of fire and found in the face of what could be a very bad emergency because the flames were spreading. I laid down on the floor and rubbed my shoulders into the ground. Then I sat up. The fire was out. At first I thought I had to have been hallucinating. But when I removed my jacket and smelled it, it smelled like char.

I was puzzled and alarmed. I took it as a warning to be careful. I shook the feeling and I focused my will. I had no expectations. when I opened my eyes, my rosary was gold …

… But only because the candle light made it that way.

Sometimes miracles are only in the eye of the beholder.

But I was still amazed because, in a way, it did happen.

The rosary glittered gold in the candle light and dazzled my soul.

Miracles are just a matter of perception.

A couple of days later, I continued the quest for the answers to the gold coin mystery at a store that holds an alchemy meet up.

There I found something I had been trying to manifest for a while. It hit a lot if check marks down to eerie, minor details. And when I got a glimpse of what I had invoked in this world, I couldn’t believe what I had drawn into my life. My Tarot readings all told me “this is what you’ve been working for”. The realization hit like astral doorways blowing open. It was like knocking over a row of dominoes, one mystical experience leading into another.

It was like acting out an alchemy marriage.

And it really scared me.

So I made a big mistake. I reacted with fear instead of manifesting from a heart centered place. Instead of thanking the Universe and reaffirming that this is what I want, I spoke out of both sides of my mouth. I went around telling everyone that I had no expectations and that I didn’t care if things worked or not. But from all the signs that led up to this, I spoke different things in my heart.

And just like magic, it all fell apart and that glimpse of a potential future disappeared as quickly as it materialized.

After the experience, my energy feels drained and scattered.

But this year I’ve been working with the darker side of the Tree of Life — I’ve made friends with Death and made love to the Devil. And now I wonder if I’ve been struck by lightening like the Tower.

At any rate, I’m starting to learn the lessons of how to navigate the darkness. So even though I didn’t feel well, I went to AMORC because I knew that I’d find the light and guidance I was seeking there.

And oddly enough, the convocation topic was about manifestation. I told my fraters and sorors that I’d had a manifestation that backfired and asked them what went wrong. First of all, everyone chuckled and shared stories with me about how they also had made mistakes while learning how to manifest. But their lighthearted comments about the trials and errors that come with learning the art made me not feel so ashamed that I failed. Failure is part of the journey.

I also got several pointers about what could have possibly gone wrong but the one that stuck out the most was out of tune with the will of the Divine. When my focus shifted from finding a connection to bring the power of the Divine to Earth to pushing that very thing away with fear, I started playing out of tune with the Universe and it sounded like a cat being skinned instead of a harmonious song.

I talked a long time with a soror named Natha who gave me her book, Waking Up Indigo, to read which includes a couple of chapters on manifestation.  I realized I had actually learned some important lessons on how to use the power of manifestation so here we go.

Top 10 Things to Keep in Mind when Practicing the Art of Manifestation

1. Visualize in holographic detail. When manifesting, be specific down to the tiniest detail. There were some things that were part of this experience that I did not ask for but I got them because I left blurry edges around my intention that filled themselves in without my input because I didn’t think big enough to see them coming.

2. Be READY. When what you want shows up and surprises you, don’t take off running because you asked for it!

3. Be grateful. Everything I’ve ever manifested was taken from me when I stopped expressing gratitude and chose fear.

4. Nothing lasts forever. Things come to teach us things at the right time. And sometimes things just run their course.

5. Stay focused. When you get something, it’s easy to put your arms down, kick back and enjoy the fruit of your labor. But just like after every harvest, you must plan the next year’s crops to be prosperous. If you’re building something, you need to set the notch higher to keep things together and keep manifesting. This is not happily ever after where the story just ends and that’s a good thing. After you manifest one thing, work on what comes next to stay in the reality that you’re creating.

6. Set intentions for the higher good. The moment you slip into selfishness is the moment you set your manifestation up for failure.

7. You can’t control anything. There is a good amount of surrender in manifestation. Putting your thought out there is step one. Then putting the work in is step two.

8.You Have the Midas Touch. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

9. Choose love. Love is the law. If you put love instead of fear into manifestation you can never go wrong. If you put fear in instead of love, you can absolutely create monsters.

10. Don’t fight the future; surrender. The Universe has two answers: yes and there’s something better.

One thing I can say is that although the experience I manifested was brief, it taught me some important lessons about where I am on this mystical path. I have nothing but gratitude toward what caused all of this but as I was told “the Tree of Life is not fun all the time. It’s work.” And although I’m on the way to learning some very real lessons, I have good guides teaching me how to handle all of this. The more I wade into the mysteries, teachers appear when I need them. And for that, I am thankful. Because life truly is an unexplained mystery.

And one day I’ll be ready to repay the service of my mentors and teachers and pass knowledge on to others.