Welcome to Visionary Alchemy
Welcome to Visionary Alchemy, a guide to the ritual and practical magic of the creative process. Artists, writers, musicians, magicians, misfits, and more are all welcome here.
What is “Visionary Alchemy”?
First thing’s first, let’s define these terms because words are like magic wands.
Visionary:
(adj.) imagining the future; seeing visions in a dream or trance; (noun) a person who can envision the future in an imaginative way.
To be visionary (or a visionary) is two-fold. To start, you need to have a vision for your future and the direction of the world around you.
There’s also the mystical aspect of the visionary. For some, it’s entering a trance-like state in meditation, shamanism, or other spiritual practices. Others use their creative abilities to explore visions of other possible worlds.
This word has always felt somewhat intimidating to me. I mean, to be a visionary, you have to have a pretty big vision, right? But anyone can tap into that ability to see new possibilities. It just takes time, energy, and the willingness to let your imagination guide you.
Alchemy:
(noun) the magical process of transformation and creation.
Hundreds of years ago, alchemy was thought of as the process of transmuting common materials into gold or more mythical objects like the philosopher’s stone and elixirs promising eternal life. Of course, we haven’t discovered the latter two, and the former process isn’t physically possible.
Yet we still often speak of turning things to gold, figuratively and literally. Our ideas, talents, and curiosity can all lead us to “strike gold” if we’re willing to explore their depths.
Put together, Visionary Alchemy is taking your ideas and making them reality. Whether that’s bringing a story to life, putting paint brush to canvas, or creating anything else you love to make, the act of Visionary Alchemy is about creative transformation. It’s not enough to have the vision — you have to act on making it tangible, by whatever means work best for you.
Then what is “Visionary Alchemy” (the Substack)?
Visionary Alchemy is dedicated to exploring the creative process and the magic we as creators use to make our visions a reality. I’m using this blog to show how creative transformation is possible just as much as I’m documenting my own.
What will you see here? This is what you can look forward to:
Creative process: Writing, making art, and living creatively, with behind-the-scenes looks at my own practices.
Practical “magic”: The common sense tactics around goal-setting, habit-forming, and productivity that are required for sustaining your creativity.
Magic-magic: Spells, tarot, and all the other stuff you need for some art witchery.
Miscellanea: Anything else that doesn’t fit into the above categories. One thing I have planned is around business and marketing for creatives, brought to you by my decade of experience as a content writer, editor, and strategist.
Who am I?
(I ask myself this question all the time.)
I’m Dorian— a writer and artist on a mission to encourage others to find their creative magic. I write a lot about igniting and sustaining your creative process. I also believe in merging practical creative guidance with the metaphysical — things like spell work, tarot, manifestation, and the phases of the moon.
Last year, I published a tarot-inspired spell book called The Creative Arcana. I’m also the creator of The Muse Manifesto, a digital magazine for creatives. By day, I work in content creation and marketing, so writing, editing, strategizing, and meeting deadlines are part of my livelihood, too.
What else do I create? I’m an avid horror fan and my big dream is to publish a horror novel. (Working on it!) I’ve long loved making (analog) art and set a goal this year to complete at least one painting per month. Other mediums I enjoy working with are collage, photography, screenwriting, and a bit of dabbling in home decor.
Want more? You can find me at liminalmagick.com.
So why did I start yet another thing?
At the start of 2023, I vowed that I would take a break from producing zines, books, or blogs about practicing creativity. It was time to go full Hermit-mode and focus on my own projects: fiction writing, painting, and anything else that the Muses inspired.
But four months into the year, I realized I missed sharing those shorter-term projects and regular updates. My book The Creative Arcana started out as a weekly blog series on Patreon in 2020, a time when we felt lost and needed the reminder that creativity is always there for us. And The Muse Manifesto, my pet project for 2022, had been a regular outlet to share all the artistic tools I’ve gathered throughout the years.
I’m also keen on having a space to share the inner workings of my creative practice — what I’m reading, learning, listening to, working on, and working through. Instagram stories are fine in the moment, but they don’t serve as an effective long-term compendium for creative inspiration. I need a place to link back to for those times I get asked “So what books do you recommend?” or “How did you make that?”
What else is there to know?
Is this blog for you?
Well, if you consider yourself a creative person, then yes. And if you don’t consider yourself a creative person, doubly so. Because as you read Visionary Alchemy, my aim is to show you that you absolutely are.
It helps if you’re into the esoteric a little bit, but you can take it or leave it. If you are, you don’t need to adhere to any specific path. But do know that I like science, too.
And if you like both of those things — creativity and magic — then you’ve stumbled onto the right Substack.
How much does it cost?
At this moment, as I’m just getting acquainted with Substack, it’s free to subscribe. There will always be free content. As the library grows, there may be a few things behind a paywall, but by no means the majority.
Any words of wisdom?
I think this quote from visionary artist Alex Grey sums up the raison d’etre of this Substack:
“To live a life you love, love the life you have and imagine a future worth drawing you forward.”
It’s possible to transform your creativity. I know because I’ve done it for myself, and it would be my honor to help you do the same.
See you again soon.
Excited to follow along!