--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alchemy is about the generation of a…" description: "\"Alchemy is about the generation of a psychic construct, a wholeness, a thing which has many properties, which is paradoxical, which is both mind and ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/terence-mckenna-287_alchemy_alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psy_799293.png" --- # Alchemy is about the generation of a psychic construct, a… ![“Alchemy is about the generation of a psychic construct, a wholeness, a thing which has many properties, which is paradoxical, which is both mind and matter, which can do anything.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/terence-mckenna-287_alchemy_alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psy_799293.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/terence-mckenna-287_alchemy_alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psy_799293.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/terence-mckenna-287_alchemy_alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psy_799293.png) > “Alchemy is about the generation of a psychic construct, a wholeness, a thing which has many properties, which is paradoxical, which is both mind and matter, which can do anything.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Alchemy is portrayed as creating a unified mental-physical construct that embodies paradox, suggesting that true transformation blends mind and matter to achieve limitless potential. **In simple terms:** Alchemy merges mind and matter into a unified whole. Key Takeaway Seek integration of thought and reality. Themes transformation philosophy paradox potential mind-body Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - artistic creation - scientific innovation - spiritual practice Key Concepts holism metaphysics creative synthesis Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to unite mind and matter? - How can paradox drive innovation? A Different Perspective Integration can be conceptually abstract. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind and matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-matter/) [Paradoxical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxical/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Psychics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychics/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Wholeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholeness/) ## Related quotes > [The words of truth are always paradoxical. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-words-of-truth-are-always-paradoxical-to-the-mind-that-is-still/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The movement of a single atom from one known position to another known position changes an experience from nothing to overwhelming. This means that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-movement-of-a-single-atom-from-one-known-position-to-another/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is essential to understand at this point is that until now there was no such thing as mind and matter, subject and object,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-is-essential-to-understand-at-this-point-is-that-until-now-there/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“The physicists called it an adjustment of quantum emphasis. But the effect was to change the role of the observer. Of you and me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/the-physicists-called-it-an-adjustment-of-quantum-emphasis-but-the/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." "Don't cry because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/be-who-you-are-and-say-what-you-feel-because-those-who-mind-don-t-2/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [What you think you become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/what-you-think-you-become/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Science enhances the moral value of life, because it furthers a love of truth and reverence-love of truth displaying itself in the constant endeavor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-planck/science-enhances-the-moral-value-of-life-because-it-furthers-a-love/) [Max Planck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-planck/) > [“Westerners view the physical world as the operative reality and the unseen, nonphysical world as an abstraction (comforting or not, depending upon our beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hoover/westerners-view-the-physical-world-as-the-operative-reality-and-the/) [Thomas Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hoover/) > [Synchronicities, epiphanies, peak, and mystical experiences are all cases in which creativity breaks through the barriers of the self and allows awareness to flood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-david-peat/synchronicities-epiphanies-peak-and-mystical-experiences-are-all/) F. David Peat > [Every computer divides itself into its hardware and its software, the machine host to its algorithm, the human being to his mind. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berlinski/every-computer-divides-itself-into-its-hardware-and-its-software-the/) [David Berlinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berlinski/) > [ “\[T\]here is a universal flux that cannot be defined explicitly but which can be known only implicitly, as indicated by the explicitly definable forms… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/t-here-is-a-universal-flux-that-cannot-be-defined-explicitly-but/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Nothing ever begins. There is no first moment; no single word or place from which this or any other story springs. The threads can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/nothing-ever-begins-there-is-no-first-moment-no-single-word-or-place/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Human life is inherently dualistic. It consists of or is explicable as two fundamental entities, including rivalries between subject and object, mind and matter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/human-life-is-inherently-dualistic-it-consists-of-or-is-explicable-as/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“Historically, holism had been a break from the reductionist methods of science. Holism (...) is a way of viewing the universe as a web…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-zindell/historically-holism-had-been-a-break-from-the-reductionist-methods-of/) [David Zindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-zindell/) > [“Empirically, things are poignant, tragic, beautiful, humorous, settled, disturbed, comfortable, annoying, barren, harsh, consoling, splendid, fearful; are such immediately and in their own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/empirically-things-are-poignant-tragic-beautiful-humorous-settled/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Alchemy quotes > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [As in the instances of alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds, political economy, has a plausible idea at the root of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/as-in-the-instances-of-alchemy-astrology-witchcraft-and-other-such/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“...the world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-is-only-the-visible-aspect-of-god-and-that-what-alchemy/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Art is Alchemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-nicolai/art-is-alchemy/) [ELLE NICOLAI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-nicolai/) > [“You must learn to bend to open windows, my friend. That is why artists and dancers are closest to God. They clench their chests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/you-must-learn-to-bend-to-open-windows-my-friend-that-is-why-artists/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Every human being has gone through a tragedy of sorts. And the idea is that you have two paths you can take, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-michaels/every-human-being-has-gone-through-a-tragedy-of-sorts-and-the-idea-is/) [Jillian Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-michaels/) > [“Introspection does not need to be a still life. It can be an active alchemy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/introspection-does-not-need-to-be-a-still-life-it-can-be-an-active/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [ Everybody can close their eyes, picture a dream house or a perfect place \[where\] they'd like to have a picnic. But actually creating it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/everybody-can-close-their-eyes-picture-a-dream-house-or-a-perfect/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [“She pushed the book towards them, and Harry and Ron read: The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/she-pushed-the-book-towards-them-and-harry-and-ron-read-the-ancient/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [For I am every dead thing In whom love wrought new alchemy For his art did express A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/for-i-am-every-dead-thing-in-whom-love-wrought-new-alchemy-for-his/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Arya Maloney updates the basis and practice of transpersonal psychology by using the spiritual principles of India's masters and the transformational alchemy inherent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/arya-maloney-updates-the-basis-and-practice-of-transpersonal/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [“To follow our bliss and dive deeply into the mysteries of fragrance, color, and taste; blend with the magnificent diversity of mother nature; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prana-gogia/to-follow-our-bliss-and-dive-deeply-into-the-mysteries-of-fragrance/) [Prana Gogia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prana-gogia/) > [ I want to explain the new alchemy \[in the "From Earth, Air, Fire, and Water to a New Vision of Mind and Time"\], which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-alan-wolf/i-want-to-explain-the-new-alchemy-in-the-from-earth-air-fire-and/) [Fred Alan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-alan-wolf/) > [We swung over the hills and over the town and back again, and I saw how a man can be master of a craft,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/we-swung-over-the-hills-and-over-the-town-and-back-again-and-i-saw/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [We find that alchemy has to do with magicians or magic and may even have roots in the Chaldean people who lived in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-alan-wolf/we-find-that-alchemy-has-to-do-with-magicians-or-magic-and-may-even/) [Fred Alan Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-alan-wolf/) [Browse all 349 Alchemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Alchemy is about the generation of a psychic construct, a wholeness, a thing which has many properties, which is paradoxical, which is both mind and matter, which can do anything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psychic-construct-a-wholeness-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alchemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psychic-construct-a-wholeness-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/terence-mckenna-287_alchemy_alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psy_799293.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/terence-mckenna-287_alchemy_alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psy_799293.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/terence-mckenna-287_alchemy_alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psy_799293.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Alchemy is about the generation of a psychic construct, a wholeness, a thing which has many properties…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Alchemy is about the generation of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psychic-construct-a-wholeness-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/alchemy-is-about-the-generation-of-a-psychic-construct-a-wholeness-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```