The Alchemy of Burnout
Mediating the fires of creation
Welcome to “The Alchemy Of…”, a series that explores patterns of life and dynamics of the psyche through an alchemical lens. Each installment draws on the symbols, processes, and psychological insights of alchemy’s core principles to bring imaginal richness to your inner work and illuminate the subtle transformations at play.
“If one worships God, sun, or fire, one is worshipping intensity and power, in other words the phenomenon of psychic energy as such, the libido.”
— C.G. Jung, Symbols of Transformation
Burnout. A curious, fiery word to describe the experience of collapse, overwhelming exhaustion, resources run dry, and so we go up in flames. Burnout finds us in all sorts of ways: long hours at work without proper rest or a sense of soul-led passion, a vampiric romantic partner who saps all our emotional blood, a debilitating illness while managing the demands of life, a perfectionist attitude that gives no quarter. We operate under the illusion that there is always something left to draw upon, resilience to bear the stress and pressure just a while longer.
We worship, whether consciously or unconsciously, this God of Fire. They are a hungry being, feeding on our intensity, focus, willpower, and at the core, the creative energy of life. The more we give, the more it demands; insatiable, it will never be filled. We don’t realize what we’ve done until it is too late, the heat becomes unsustainable, the fire has taken too much.
Do we know what it means to play with fire? How to mediate it? How to choose the right kind of heat, in the right application? Where can we learn such an approach?
In Alchemical Psychology, James Hillman shares,
If alchemy is the art of fire, and alchemists, “artists of fire,” as many texts repeat, then the alchemist must be able to “know” all the kinds of fire, degrees of fire, sources of fire, fuels of fire.
Let us then approach burnout through the lucid eyes of the alchemist, knowing that the magnum opus (the great work of life) requires an intimate knowing and careful tending of fire. It fuels their efforts, both outwardly in the flames of the furnace, and inwardly, through the careful application of their devotion, attention, effort. Their fluency ensures they are not careless, for it has dire consequences — the prima materia destroyed prematurely, the process rushed beyond its natural progression, stalling out because you haven’t raised the heat enough.
Alchemical fire is always in service of transformation, latent creative potential that needs incendiary passions and a vessel set ablaze to come to life. This could be an incinerating fire, used to break down the original condition of the material, freeing its trapped essence. Or, a gentle fire, the heat of a “brooding hen” or smoldering embers that gestated the material over time.
Is the typical experience of burnout born from an overabundance of the intense application of fire, without tapping into its variants and myriad other qualities? Does this issue derive from modernity’s hyper-focus on being productive, scaling ever higher, sacrificing ourselves for success and accolades? Is it the human condition, so easily lured into the firestorm of excitement that comes when libido unleashes and rushes forward to fuel our actions, interests, relationships? Perhaps it arises when we’ve lost touch with our needs, when we never learned to tend them in the first place.
No matter the cause, we can see that burnout has become disconnected from its transformational roots. It is the use or immersion in fire without nuance, without linking it to creative cycles, and so, it is felt as purely destructive. Rather than seeing the incineration as a call to action or part of a larger thread of change, it only consumes and overwhelms.
When burnout reigns, when we feel that the sparks of life have been snuffed out, we are being tasked to profound introspection, to see what old aspect is dying, where our life needs adjustment, and what new aspects of self are rising.
Maybe the answer is gentler heats, slowing down, moderating. Other times, things need to burn up, so that rigid attachments are stripped away and we are left with the truest, most honest pieces of ourselves — the parts that endure, that guide the changes we must make, that allow transformation to unfold.
Mediating Alchemical Fire
As burnout is often the result of unrestricted intensity, the heat of life burning with abandon, let us consider alchemy’s main fire operation, calcinatio, and the guidance we can draw from its laboratory process, typical symbol and psychological applications1.
Calcinatio
Laboratory Process: Calcinatio is often employed early in the alchemist’s work, for in its original state, the prima materia is trapped in an old structure, unrefined and resistant to change. Powerful, hot fires are built up in the furnace, the material is subjected to a lengthy period of burning until finally it breaks down, till there is nothing left but ashes. Burning wood into charcoal, heating limestone till it changes into quicklime, or smelting metal ore to drive off impurities provides the alchemist with a purified substance to further the work.
Typical Symbol — Fire: Roaring flames, hellscapes, burning wolves and kings, anywhere we find intense depictions of fire in alchemical manuscripts, we are in the realm of calcinatio. Fire, as Jung says, represents libido, intensity, the energy of psyche that animates and excites. Fire is a destructive form of purification, releasing the sparks of true spirit, so the phoenix can rise from the ashes, reborn anew. As the flames destroy, they also illuminate the path towards what is right, true, and pure.
Psychological & Practical Applications
Welcome the fires of confrontation: Burnout arrives in life to signal that we’ve gone too far, that overwhelm and depletion have outpaced our resources. This is the confrontation that heralds change, not an ending or a failure, but a natural response to the misuse of fire. By facing this confrontation fully, we step into the heat of change, take responsibility for necessary adjustments, and allow transformation to emerge through the fire.
Burn through rigidity, excess and defenses: There’s never one simple reason or factor that’s led to profound burnout. Excuses, justifications, concessions, rigid attitudes, unconscious defenses, and relentless expectations accumulate over time, forming a seemingly insurmountable fortress that resists change. Calcinatio tasks us to harness the intensity of focus and the fullness of emotional heat to break down these structures and build anew. Look for what feels excessively inflexible, where you buckle down and dig in your feet — this is where to begin.
Reclaim core vitality: Siphoned away for too long, the creative sparks of life are difficult to find when burnout is present. Calcinatio reminds us that a bit of heat remains amongst the ashes. Though the process has been painful, a purification has taken place, and now it is the time to reclaim what is essential. As you step back from what has drained you, consider where you can redirect this energy. What would get the fires of psyche burning again? Perhaps time for art, to be in nature, to get the body sweating in dance and movement, anything that animates and feels nourishing. It is time to build up the fire within, to see where that emergent force wants to go.
Join the conversation
How do you navigate periods of burnout? Does the operation of calcinatio speak to you, if so, how might you work with it? Which topic should I explore next in the series?
Listen to the Golden Shadow Podcast episode on burnout
and I’s most recent episode on the Golden Shadow Podcast explores the psychological and philosophical underpinnings of burnout. Give the episode a listen above!
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For more on this approach, see the Alchemical Inner Work Guidebook, a technique I designed that re-imagines inner dynamics using the metaphorical language and concrete practices of alchemy.
I navigate the burn-out described by gentle blowing on the embers. Through long contemplation and introspection I work each day till I find the diamonds amongst the ashes. I use the emotion as fuel and don’t stop until I feel I’ve understood the lesson for the day. I stay grounded with gentle movements and practical activities. I write poetry and paint. Then the fire slowly starts burning again. Once I went too fast and ended up drifting in the seaweed at the bottom of the ocean. It took 35 years to recover.
This was really an inspiring and thoughtful essay. I am almost always on fire to make my art. But lately have been feeling burn out. Still the art calls to me! So hard to stop the bon fire! It's challenging when one's passion is ones 9-5. I, too, love the broody hen image. Needing to honor the slow nurturing burn of an egg developing - the alchemy of life-its hidden chick. Thank you