MYH Saga as an Alchemical Allegory
This is now part 3 in my series exploring the MYH Saga through the lens of mythology and esoteric traditions, largely focused on Hermeticism. If this is a topic that interests you then I encourage you to check out my earlier posts if you haven't already (linked at the end). This post will delve into the world of alchemy and attempt to explain how the MYH saga can be viewed as an alchemical allegory.
What is Alchemy
Alchemy is an ancient practice that blends elements of chemistry, philosophy, mysticism, and spirituality. It originated in the Hellenistic period and was practiced in various cultures, including Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Indian, and Islamic traditions. Alchemists sought to discover the philosopher's stone, a mythical substance believed to have the power to grant immortality and turn metals into gold.
Alchemy also had a deeper philosophical and spiritual dimension often seen as a process of personal transformation and enlightenment. The alchemical "Great Work", or Magnum Opus, was thought to represent the journey toward self-realization and inner perfection, often symbolized by the transformation of lead into gold. This process was directly mentioned in Dots & Lines:
>To make gold from garbage is not the alchemical point of this map/math
But truth be told its the pursuit of gold
That turns the goal of men into trash
The souls gold and they turning gold into cash
Lupe is talking directly to musicians/entertainers here but the same message can be applied to anyone in today's society, especially the working class. We are being urged to learn the process of alchemical transmutation for spiritual enlightenment and personal growth, not to use this knowledge for acquiring material wealth.
When people hear the word magnum opus they likely think of it in its modern use meaning an artist's best work or their greatest achievement. This can be a rather subjective discussion with Lupe fans showing an affinity towards The Cool and Tetsuo & Youth. The aim of this post is to explore Lupe's work through the lens of alchemy and make the argument that his mangum opus is actually four albums: starting with The Cool, Drogas Waves, Drill Music in Zion and ending with Tetsuo & Youth.
Mapping Alchemy to the MYH Saga
Our alchemical journey will begin in the album The Cool but traces of alchemical philosophy and symbolism can be found in earlier works like Food & Liquor and the Fahrenheit mixtapes. Ya dig? I may circle back to these in the future.
As mentioned in my earlier post, Deep Diving The Cool Trinity, the concept for The Cool was inspired from a talk by Cornel West and Tavis Smiley. They discussed making the cool things (drugs, sex, violence, materialism) uncool and the uncool things (health, knowledge, love, righteousness) cool as a way to influence positive change in the world. The concept uses "three evil angels", or a triad, to represent different aspects of the negative influences found in urban communities and society at large. This album came after Food & Liquor which opened with Lupe mentioning his dualistic philosophy for the world where everything is made from a mix of two things, good and bad, food and liquor.
Interestingly, alchemy also has a dualistic philosophy for the world (shared by hermeticism) and then in the 16th century a triad concept was developed called the Three Primes, or Tria Prima, which are Salt (body), Mercury (spirit) and Sulphur (soul). These three principles were believed to be the fundamental components of all matter and needed to be separated, purified and then reunited in a specific sequence to create the philosopher's stone and complete the magnum opus. This is represented by the triangle inside the symbol for the philosopher's stone with the left point representing Salt, the right point representing Mercury and the apex representing Sulphur. I think you can map this directly to The Cool album cover but arguments can be made that Lupe's characters represent a mixture of these principles. Another interesting correlation can be found by looking at the inner circle inside of the triangle which is said to represent the primordial first matter, the unconscious self, or the unrefined state of the alchemist's soul which must be refined and perfected into gold. Notice how the inner circle has Lupe's name written in gold. If there is interest, I could expand on these ideas in further detail as this is a simple overview. For now let's move on to the four stages of the magnum opus.
Alchemical symbol for the Philosopher's Stone (left) compared with The Cool album cover (right)
The Four Stages of The Magnum Opus
It is important to preface this section by saying Lupe's work, especially his later work, is intentionally abstract, and ambiguously scrambled. In Cake he seems to be inviting us to dissect it and rearrange the pieces to understand his chemistry. Depending on which lens, or frame of reference, we are using I believe his albums and songs can be rearranged to paint many different pictures/narratives. I will be using the album covers as my main frame of reference to articulate the four stages of the magnum opus. I think each album is exploring more than just one stage of alchemy but an emphasis is given to a particular stage represented by the colors and themes.
The Cool (Nigredo / Blackening)
The initial stage of the great work is Nigredo, or the blackening. This stage represents the process of confronting the chaos, or Jungian shadow, within oneself. It is the breakdown of the ego, the destruction of false identities, and the purging of negative qualities resulting in a painful spiritual death for the alchemist. This stage is often symbolically represented with symbols of death like a raven/crow or skull.
The Cool explores themes of personal and societal decay with our main character MYH engaging with these negative influences like lust, materialism and pride. The album ends with MYH experiencing death which is a key symbol for this stage of alchemy. In Jungian terms our character MYH confronted his own shadow, the repressed or unacknowledged parts of his psyche, and begins letting go of old, limiting beliefs so a new, truer self can be reborn.
Drogas Wave (Albedo / Whitening)
The second stage of the great work is Albedo, or the whitening. This stage symbolizes internal reflection, washing away of impurities, and the awakening of a softer, lunar consciousness and self-awareness. After the chaos of facing your shadow in Nigredo, Albedo is a time of insight, integration, and the releasing of past traumas. This stage is often symbolically represented with the moon, water and cleansing rituals like baptism.
Drogas Wave has a heavy use of water and themes of baptism, cleansing one's body/spirit/soul. A key aspect of this album is about attempting to reconcile the misunderstandings in the myths we have been told and to release past traumas/sins to arrive at a new, more enlightened understanding. Lupe discusses some of this in an IG live where he shows his most prized possessions, gold manillas, and how they represent the future and a refined perspective.
Drill Music In Zion (Citrinitas / Yellowing)
The third stage of the great work is Citrinitas, or the yellowing. This stage symbolizes the dawning of an active, solar consciousness and wisdom. After the softer reflection and cleansing of Albedo, the alchemist shifts from knowing oneself to becoming oneself. This stage involves a refining, creative fire that turns the purified matter (alchemist's soul) into gold often symbolized with the sun and the burning of the phoenix.
Drill Music In Zion can be tied to this stage of alchemy by its release date of 6/24/22 which is 3 days after the summer solstice - the height of the Sun's power. This date is also associated with John the Baptist who is a wild, less refined prophet with a bold, direct message that served as a precursor to Jesus (Tetsuo & Youth). This album's center piece (quite literally) is MS. MURAL which ends with a burning death (phoenix) which represents the artist freeing themselves from previous limitations like a record label or fan expectations. A similar image closes out SEATTLE as Lupe absorbs negativity and then burns out. He has said he wants to die in a blaze of glory and be in pieces (Osiris myth?).
Tetsuo & Youth (Rubedo / Reddening)
The fourth and final stage of the great work is Rubedo, or the reddening. This stage symbolizes the perfect union of opposites (the alchemical wedding) and the resolution of inner conflicts. The alchemist's soul has transcended duality and is fully aligned with the divine, achieving a state of perfection and harmony. Carl Jung explains this stage as a completion of individuation and the attainment of the Self - a state of wholeness. Rubedo is often symbolically represented with blood, red flowers and the rising of a phoenix from its ashes - a symbol of resurrection, regeneration, and the attainment of immortality.
Tetsuo & Youth is a masterpiece and contains the entire alchemical process within it but the cover suggests a focus on the final stage of rubedo. A key aspect of this stage is the perfect union of opposites and Natureaspraxis did a fantastic write up which explores the dialectic tension found throughout this album with Mural serving as the climatic resolution - the philosopher's stone. When listening to the album in reverse (rising up towards the sun/summer), Mural is preceded by Blur My Hands which contains a clever reference to the different stages of alchemy within the chorus.
>From the floating death
To the fire of death
To a flower outside my grave
From an alchemical lens the "floating death" represents the process of dissolution, or a drowning, like MYH in his casket of liquor or the Long Chains in the ocean. The "fire of death" would represent the process of calcination, or a phoenix burning, like Joan of Arc or the Wicker Man referenced in the second verse of Blur My Hands. Finally the "flower outside my grave" represents the process of coagulation, or a rebirth, like in The Cool where he uses flowers outside his grave to clean himself. Finally the instrumental outro of Blur My Hands gives me images of rising from the ashes into the heaven's sphere right before we enter into Mural - a song that has all but guaranteed Lupe's immortality.
Lupe Fiasco's Mangum Opus - blackening, whitening, yellowing, and reddening
The Next Level
I know, that was a lot... but there is more for those who are interested in continuing to dig deeper. This was an overview of alchemy but each step, each album and each symbol deserves continued exploration. Now that we have established a framework of alchemy, I want to explore Tetsuo & Youth further and see if we can extract even more gold by looking at the seasonal interludes and the structure of the album. I'll catch you on the next one. Peace!
Index of related posts:
