Thirteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Alchemy can be understood as an ancient and syncretic theoretical-practical system. The main ideas can be summed up to the premise of the correspondence between micro and macro cosmos, as well as the objectives of transmutation and conjunction of opposites, all of which lead to the manufacture of the Philosopher’s Stone. Metaphorical writing and its allegorical narratives allow alchemy to be both practical in a chemical and metallurgical sense and speculative in a philosophical and literary way. Taking an interest in alchemical studies, Novalis began conciliating their conclusions within the spirit of his time through his literary productions. In the philosophical way, alchemy works towards the expansion of consciousness. The perfection of the matter is related to the perfection of the human being in a moral and spiritual senses. This idea will find a space to be developed with German Idealism and Romanticism, specially with Novalis, for whom this expansion results from the return to a primordial unity. Novalis found the perfect symbol of this unity: the blue flower. This paper considers how the alchemical process was thought to lead to the expansion of consciousness and how Novalis reworked this idea in his literary productions. Moreover, I link Novalis’s thought to the question of how a (re-)confrontation with Romantic poetry and its reconceptualisations of alchemy may catalyse its readers’ own (spiritual) awakening and the development of a more conscious and thus perhaps ‘woke’ outlook on the world.

Presenters

Sérgio Das Neves
Student, PhD, The Institute for the Study of Traditional Literature (IELT) at NOVA University of Lisbon – School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH), Lisboa, Portugal