The Hemp Coven Meeting 80: Intro to Alchemy

Name: The Hemp Coven Meeting 80: Intro to Alchemy
Uploaded: 2026-09-20T15:00:27+00:00
Duration: 16 min
Channel: The Hemp Coven

00:04Welcome back to The Hemp Coven, or THC for short. If you're new here, I'm Scarlett and

00:09we're a group of magical cannabis enthusiasts of legal age using legal products. Our meeting

00:15videos are more informational and our rituals videos are demonstrations and explanations

00:20of various rituals, spells, and potions that correspond with things like moon phases and

00:25holidays. If you prefer not smoking, that's fine. I recommend doing your favorite breathing

00:30exercise or taking a few deep breaths instead. If you want to join The Hemp Coven, all you

00:37have to do is use the Reddit link in the description to request to join our subreddit. You must

00:42request to join because you must be 21 years or older. In order to begin our meeting, we

00:48must first cast a circle. There are many ways to do this, but what I like to do for our

00:53videos is imagine a sphere around me. Take a hit and then imagine that sphere filling

00:58up with my smoke, cleansing and protecting me, and then we will invite the entities that

01:03we want to join us. So feel free to do this with me and invite whatever entities you want

01:08to join us. The spirit of cannabis, I invoke you. Hekate, goddess of witchcraft, I invoke you. Athena, goddess of

01:38wisdom and

01:38knowledge, I invoke you. Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, I invoke you. Hephaestus, god of craftsmen,

01:46I invoke you. Eris, goddess of chaos and discord, I invoke you.

02:04For this week's meeting, we will be discussing alchemy. Alchemy is the original science along

02:11with magic. It is the root of a lot of different things and one of my favorite subjects. I was

02:19first

02:20introduced to alchemy because when I was introduced to the world of anime, I chose Full Metal Alchemist

02:26as my first. Long story short, I was instantly obsessed, watched both shows and both movies and

02:35read the manga. And if you're interested in FMA, I must warn you that a lot of the first anime

02:43was kind

02:44of made up by the people who were making the anime because it passed the point that the manga was

02:51at

02:52at the time because the manga was still being made. So there's a lot of things that make more sense

02:58in

02:58Brotherhood than they do in the first anime. So while I do recommend watching all of it and reading the

03:07manga,

03:07if you only want to watch one show, I recommend watching Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. It is almost

03:13exactly the manga in anime form. I love it so much. And a lot of things make more sense in

03:22it. Also,

03:23the first movie, which is Conqueror of Shambhala, is terrible. It is a dumpster fire. I'm sorry,

03:30but it is. And it's set shortly after the first anime. So no wonder it's a dumpster fire.

03:37I still love Full Metal Alchemist, the universe though. But the second movie, Sacred Star of Milos,

03:44is really good. And it's set during Brotherhood. So it's kind of like a little side story set during

03:52the overall story of Brotherhood. Anyway, I became obsessed with FMA. And I

04:00learned that alchemy is real. And a lot of the alchemical facts and symbols that are used in the

04:07show come from real alchemy. It is very evident that the writer did research on the matter,

04:15and words cannot express how much I love it. At the time, I was agnostic and had almost no awareness

04:23of witchcraft. And I've always been a bit of a science nerd. So I began studying the more

04:30scientific aspects of alchemy because that's all I knew. Alchemy is the science and magic of

04:38deconstruction, examination, and transformation or reconstruction. However, there are many lies

04:46about alchemy. So let's talk about those first. You may have heard of the goal of turning base

04:53metals into gold. This is a part of alchemy, but it isn't what it appears. It is not driven by

05:01greed.

05:02It is a metaphor for transformation. The other reason is that the Philosopher's Stone is said to

05:10possess such a power. However, again, this is not what it seems. This is merely a test to show that

05:18you made an actual Philosopher's Stone. It is not the goal of the Philosopher's Stone. That is merely a

05:26test to prove that one has created a real Philosopher's Stone because the Philosopher's Stone can break the

05:33rules of science and magic and do things that nothing else can. You may have heard of the elixir of

05:41life,

05:42which is said to be made using a Philosopher's Stone. This is another metaphor, but it's also believed by

05:49many to be a true function of the stone. There is no evidence of anyone creating the real stone.

05:56However, there could be many, many reasons for this. Aside from being slandered by the

06:03church, alchemists were looked down upon due to alchemy being impersonated by people who became

06:09known as puffers. Puffers were con artists who posed as alchemists to steal. They were called puffers

06:19because they would set up fake labs and experiments that would produce a lot of puffs of smoke

06:24from beakers and things that would impress the audience. The puffs of smoke would impress

06:33crowds of commoners and those of higher classes alike. They would use it to steal by selling fake

06:41elixirs, tricking people into investing in their fake research, and sometimes distracting crowds while

06:48their co-conspirators picked pockets. Some see alchemy as being state-sanctioned witchcraft done by

06:56rich noblemen to create gold. This is mostly untrue. Alchemy has existed since ancient times and some of

07:04its secrets have been leaked to the wrong people. Yes, many alchemists were rich, but they had to be

07:11in order to afford the equipment, materials, and secrecy involved in being an alchemist. They had to

07:21hide the fact that they were alchemists because royals, nobles, and churches would kidnap them

07:28and try to force them to make gold. When they failed to do so, the alchemists would be executed

07:35or imprisoned, sometimes even tortured, for the rest of their lives. Most of the alchemists that we know

07:43of today were not revealed to be alchemists until after their deaths, when their secret labs were exposed

07:50and their notes began being decoded. Each alchemist had their own intricate coding systems for their

07:58notes, some of which still haven't been successfully decoded. The only alchemists that were safe were the

08:06ones that were working within the churches. I'm sure this comes as no surprise, but while the major

08:13churches were condemning alchemy, they were secretly practicing it within the church walls.

08:20The other lie within this myth is that alchemists were all men. The truth is that most alchemists worked

08:27in pairs of one woman and one man because of the significance and symbolism of luna and soul,

08:34which are the moon and sun, as well as the significance of the divine feminine and the divine

08:42masculine being in balance to create perfect harmony and, in some cases, a perfect being.

08:51You may have heard of Nicholas Flamel, but have you heard of Paranel Flamel, his wife and partner in

08:59alchemical studies? For a short time, long after they both died, there was a rumor going around that there

09:07actually was no Nicolas Flamel, and that Paranel was actually using a philosopher's stone to turn

09:16herself into a man in order to keep control of her own life during a time when women were seen

09:25as

09:25property of their parents or husbands. This is completely false, but perhaps it shows that Paranel

09:32was such a fierce and powerful woman that such rumors could circulate over a hundred years after

09:40her death. Yes, that happened over a hundred years after their deaths. However, the most common known

09:47theory regarding the Flamels is that they created a philosopher's stone, brewed the elixir of life,

09:54became immortal, and faked their deaths to start a new life elsewhere. A lot of people still believe

10:01this theory and that they are still alive today, moving to distant places to avoid questions about

10:08their lack of visible aging and questionable documents. I'm not sure how much I believe it,

10:15but it is a fun rabbit hole to dive into. One of the most important symbols of alchemy is the

10:23Ouroboros,

10:24which is a serpent or dragon in a circle eating its own tail. This is essentially the infinity symbol of

10:34alchemy. It represents the endless cycles, infinity, and perfection. Fun fact, the Ouroboros is also a symbol

10:44of the Hellenic god Hades, who is my patron god, the king of the underworld, and the god of wealth.

10:52Alchemy is

10:53science, science, witchcraft, and so much more. It's full of symbolism, metaphors, theories, and hard facts.

11:00Because of this, the themes and lessons of alchemy can be applied to any area in one's life. It consists

11:08of work to understand the world around you, inner work, work to understand the universe, and work to

11:15understand and interact with other worlds. You may have heard something that's referred to as the

11:23alchemy of the soul. This is the part of alchemy that focuses on inner work. In many unique ways,

11:32nature reflects what is inside of each of us. One principle of alchemy is one is all and all is

11:38one.

11:39We are all small parts of the whole that is this universe, and often other connected worlds.

11:48There are things that all beings share, such as consumption or creation of energy using energy,

11:56and even specific characteristics. We are all part of the circle of life and the cycles of nature.

12:03Alchemy of the soul focuses on those connections and how observing the outside world affects your inner work.

12:13Perhaps you see a cat laying in the sun and you feel like you would enjoy laying in the sun

12:19too.

12:20Then you think about why you would enjoy it. What connections do you have to the sun?

12:27The spot the cat is laying on, the way the cat is laying, or something else about the situation.

12:33Alchemy of the soul is taking those thoughts deeper, searching within yourself for connections, lessons learned,

12:41the journeys that you are on, the journeys you have been on in the past, or a journey that you

12:46want to begin.

12:47Remember that at its core, alchemy is about deconstruction, examination, and transformation or reconstruction.

12:57That's all the information that I have for you today. I will definitely revisit the topic sometime in the future

13:03because I truly love alchemy, and it is a part of witchcraft that is often overlooked due to the widely

13:10spread lies.

13:12If you have any further questions or insights, please leave them in the comments or in our subreddit.

13:18But for now, let's dissolve our circle and thank the entities that joined us.

13:25Thank you, Spirit of Cannabis. Thank you, Hakate. Thank you, Athena. Thank you, Hestia. Thank you, Hephaestus. Thank you, Eris.

13:34I treasure our time together and look forward to our next encounter.

13:49Thank you so much for watching this video. If you liked it, please follow, like, comment, and share.

13:55If you want to join the Hemp Coven, all you have to do is use the Reddit link in the

13:59description to request to join our subreddit.

14:02You must request to join because you must be 21 years or older to join THC.

14:07If you want more content from me, the description has links to my Patreon and Instagram.

14:12Patrons give bonus content and access to a private Discord.

14:17If you're looking for a high-quality vape, hot knife, torch, or electric grinder, the description has my link to

14:25Yocan.

14:25That was thunder. I love it.

14:28And Yocan makes vapes for cartridges, dry herb, and concentrates.

14:32I have the Orbit 2.0. I named her Pam after Poison Ivy.

14:39And this is a concentrate vape. I didn't press it enough times.

14:47This is a concentrate vape. It heats up really quickly and it hits so nicely.

14:52I love this thing. It actually has a really awesome design.

14:57So if you're looking for a dab vape, definitely check this one out.

15:02My link to Yocan is in the description.

15:04If you missed our previous videos, the description has links to our daily motion playlist and my YouTube channel.

15:11My YouTube channel has our early videos, but they blocked me from posting and have started to take down those

15:19videos

15:20because they suddenly decided that you can no longer use the word hemp in video titles.

15:25So check those videos out before they're gone because I don't have them backed up

15:31because that would be a ridiculous amount of storage that I just don't have.

15:36I do have the scripts though, so I can revisit those topics at a later point.

15:42Again, thank you so much for watching. Stay spooky and magical.

15:46and I will see you in the comments and in our subreddit.

15:50Okay.

The Hemp Coven Meeting 80: Intro to Alchemy

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