The Opus Path
You are not born finished.
You are made.
The alchemists mapped every real change in a human life in four colours. Take the free test to find out which stage you are in, and get the Field Guide written for it.
Free · 12 questions · about 3 minutes
Joseph Wright of Derby, The Alchemist, 1771
The Great Work
Every real change passes through four colours
One of these is probably true for you right now. Each is a stage of the same work, and each asks something different of you.
“Something I relied on is ending, and nothing feels solid.”
“The storm has passed. It's quiet now, and a little empty.”
“I know exactly what I should do. I just can't begin.”
“It's finally working. Now I want it to last, and to matter.”
How it works
Three steps, and the work begins
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I
Take the test
Twelve honest questions about the last few months. About three minutes, no sign-up.
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II
Unlock your Field Guide
Create a free account with Google. Your result is saved, and the guide for your stage is ready to download.
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III
Do the work
Seven short days of reading, practice and writing. Come back whenever life changes, and watch your path unfold.
The Field Guides
A short guide for the stage you are in
Four guides, one for each colour. Fifteen printable pages each, written to be read slowly and kept beside a notebook.
- What the alchemists meant, with the art they left behind
- Three original texts for your stage, from Seneca to Newton
- The signs of your stage, and what it asks of you
- A 7-day practice, with pages to write on
- How to tell when you are moving on
Every quotation is checked against its original source, and every guide lists them.
“Constantly then give to thyself this retreat, and renew thyself.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations IV.3, trans. George Long
Your path
Watch your own Great Work unfold
Your free account keeps every result. See where you stand on the circle, how your last answers spread across the four colours, and how you have moved over the months.
Take the test again whenever life changes. The Great Work is a circle, and so is a life.
Completely free. No card, no ads.
Films
Start here
Long, quiet films on the oldest project there is: building yourself.
About
Old methods for a modern life
The Stoics, the alchemists, the cathedral builders and the masters of the Renaissance, read closely and brought to your life today.
Primary sources
Nothing is quoted that we cannot show you on the page. Every film and every guide lists its sources.
Art from the great museums
Paintings, engravings and manuscripts in the public domain, from the world's museums and libraries.
Free, and yours
No ads and no tracking cookies. Your results belong to you, and you can ask us to delete them at any time.
Questions
Before you begin
Is it really free?
Yes. The test, your account and all four Field Guides are free.
What is the Great Work?
The Magnum Opus: the alchemists' name for the long work of turning raw matter into gold, in four colours, black, white, yellow and red. Many of them, and later the psychologist Carl Jung, read it as a map of inner change. We use it that way: as a map, not a doctrine.
Is this religious, or occult?
No. We treat alchemy as history and as metaphor, the way philosophers and psychologists have read it. You don't need to believe anything to take the test.
Why sign in with Google?
It keeps your results safe without another password, and lets you return to your path from any device. We only receive your name, email address and profile picture. See our privacy policy.
Will you email me?
Only if you ask for the weekly letter: one short reading a week on philosophy, alchemy and the slow work of becoming. You can switch it off on your page, or unsubscribe from any email.
Is this therapy?
No. The test and the guides are tools for reflection. If you are struggling, please talk to a doctor or someone you trust. You can find free helplines in your country at findahelpline.com.
The work begins with knowing where you stand.
Free · 12 questions · about 3 minutes