Alchemy (
Arabic:
al-kimia) (
Hebrew:אלכימיה
al-khimia) is both a
philosophy and a practice with an aim of
achieving ultimate
wisdom as well as
immortality, involving the improvement of the
alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as
possessing unusual properties. The practical aspect of alchemy
generated the basics of modern
inorganic chemistry, namely concerning
procedures, equipment and the identification and use of many
current substances.
The fundamental ideas of alchemy are said to have arisen in the
ancient
Persian Empire.
Alchemy has been
practiced in Mesopotamia (comprising
much of today's Iraq
), Egypt, Persia
(today's
Iran
), India
, China, Japan
, Korea
and in
Classical Greece and Rome,
in the Muslim civilizations, and
then in Europe up to the 20th century, in a
complex network of schools and
philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.
Etymology
Alchemy, in general, derives from the
Old
French alkemie; from the
Arabic الخيمياء al-kimia: "the art
of transformation." Some scholars believe the Arabs borrowed the
word
kemia from
Kemitian for the
study of blackness. Others, such as Mahdihassan, argue that its
origins are
Chinese.
During the seventeenth century the change of name from Alchemy to
chemistry took place, with the work of
Robert Boyle, sometimes known as "The father of
Chemistry", who in his book "The Skeptical Chymist" attacked
Paracelsus and the old
Aristotelian concepts
of the elements and laid down the foundations of modern
chemistry.
Alchemy as a philosophical and spiritual discipline
"Renel the Alchemist", by Sir William
Douglas, 1853
Alchemy became known as the
spagyric art after Greek words
meaning
to separate and
to join together in the
16th century, the word probably being coined by Paracelsus. Compare
this with one of the
dictums of Alchemy in
Latin:
Solve et Coagula —
Separate, and Join Together (or
"dissolve and
coagulate").
The best-known goals of the
alchemist were the
transmutation of common metals into
gold (called
chrysopoeia) or
silver
(less well known is plant alchemy, or "
spagyric"); the creation of a "
panacea", or the
elixir of life, a remedy that, it was
supposed, would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely;
and the discovery of a
universal solvent.
Although these were not the only uses for the discipline, they were
the ones most documented and well-known. Certain Hermetic schools
argue that the transmutation of lead into gold is analogical for
the transmutation of the physical body (Saturn or lead) into Solar
energy (gold) with the goal of attaining immortality. This is
described as Internal Alchemy. Starting with the
Middle Ages,
Arabic and European
alchemists invested much effort in the search for the "
philosopher's stone", a legendary
substance that was believed to be an essential ingredient for
either or both of those goals. Alchemists were alternately
persecuted or supported through the centuries. For example in 1317
Pope John XXII issued a Bull against alchemical counterfeiting, and
the Cistercians banned the practice amongst their members. In 1403,
Henry IV of England banned the practice of Alchemy. In the late
14th century, Piers the Ploughman and
Chaucer both painted unflattering pictures of
Alchemists as thieves and liars. By contrast,
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor,
in the late 16th century, sponsored various alchemists in their
work at his court in Prague.
It is a popular belief that Alchemists made mundane contributions
to the "chemical" industries of the day—ore testing and refining,
metalworking, production of gunpowder, ink, dyes, paints,
cosmetics,
leather tanning, ceramics, glass
manufacture, preparation of extracts, liquors, and so on (it seems
that the preparation of
aqua
vitae, the "water of life", was a fairly popular
"experiment" among European alchemists). In reality, although
Alchemists contributed
distillation to
Western Europe, they did little for any known industry. Long before
Alchemists appeared, goldsmiths knew how to tell what was good gold
or fake, and industrial technology grew by the work of the artisans
themselves, rather than any Alchemical helpers.
The double origin of Alchemy in Greek philosophy as well as in
Egyptian and Mesopotamian technology set, from the start, a double
approach: the technological, operative one, which
Marie-Louise von Franz call
extravert, and the mystic, contemplative,
psychological one, which von Franz names as
introvert. These are not mutually exclusive, but
complementary instead, as meditation requires practice in the real
world, and conversely.
Several early alchemists, such as
Zosimos of Panopolis, are recorded as
viewing alchemy as a spiritual discipline, and, in the Middle Ages,
metaphysical aspects increasingly came to be viewed as the true
foundation of the art. Organic and inorganic chemical substances,
physical states, and molecular material processes as mere metaphors
for spiritual entities, spiritual states, and, ultimately,
transformations. In this sense, the literal meanings of 'Alchemical
Formulas' were a blind, hiding their true
spiritual philosophy, which being at
odds with the Medieval Christian Church was a necessity that could
have otherwise led them to the "stake and rack" of the Inquisition
under charges of heresy. Thus, both the transmutation of common
metals into gold and the universal panacea symbolized evolution
from an imperfect, diseased, corruptible, and ephemeral state
towards a perfect, healthy, incorruptible, and everlasting state;
and the philosopher's stone then represented a mystic key that
would make this evolution possible. Applied to the alchemist
himself, the twin goal symbolized his evolution from ignorance to
enlightenment, and the stone represented a hidden spiritual truth
or power that would lead to that goal. In texts that are written
according to this view, the cryptic
alchemical symbols, diagrams, and textual
imagery of late alchemical works typically contain multiple layers
of meanings, allegories, and references to other equally cryptic
works; and must be laboriously "decoded" in order to discover their
true meaning.
In his
Alchemical Catechism,
Paracelsus clearly denotes that his usage of the
metals was a symbol:
Q.
When the Philosophers speak of gold and silver, from
which they extract their matter, are we to suppose that they refer
to the vulgar gold and silver?
A. By no means; vulgar silver and gold are dead, while those of the
Philosophers are full of life.
Psychology
Alchemical symbolism has been occasionally used by
psychologists and philosophers.
Carl Jung reexamined alchemical symbolism and
theory and began to show the inner meaning of alchemical work as a
spiritual path. Alchemical philosophy,
symbols and methods have enjoyed something of a renaissance in
post-modern contexts.
Jung saw alchemy as a Western proto-psychology dedicated to the
achievement of
individuation. In his
interpretation, alchemy was the vessel by which
Gnosticism survived its various purges into the
Renaissance,, a concept also followed by
others such as
Stephan A.
Hoeller. In this sense, Jung
viewed alchemy as comparable to a
Yoga of the
East, and more adequate to the Western mind than Eastern religions
and philosophies. The practice of Alchemy seemed to change the mind
and spirit of the Alchemist. Conversely, spontaneous changes on the
mind of Western people undergoing any important stage in
individuation seems to produce, on occasion,
imagery known to Alchemy and relevant to the person's
situation.
His interpretation of
Chinese alchemical
texts in terms of his
analytical psychology also served the
function of comparing Eastern and Western alchemical imagery and
core concepts and hence its possible inner sources (
archetypes).
Marie-Louise von Franz, a
disciple of Jung, continued Jung's studies on Alchemy and its
psychological meaning.
Magnum opus
The Great Work; mystic interpretation of its four stages:
- nigredo (-putrefactio),
blackening (-putrefaction): corruption, dissolution, individuation, see also Suns in alchemy - Sol
Niger
- albedo, whitening:
purification, burnout of impurity; the moon, female
- citrinitas, yellowing:
spiritualisation, enlightenment; the sun, male;
- rubedo, reddening: unification
of man with god, unification of the limited with the
unlimited.
After the 15th century, many writers tended to compress
citrinitas into
rubedo and consider only three stages.
However, it is in citrinitas that the Chemical Wedding takes place,
generating the Philosophical Mercury without which the
Philosopher's Stone, triumph of the Work, could never be
accomplished.
Within the Magnum Opus was the creation of the
Sanctum Moleculae, that is the 'Sacred
Masses' that were derived from the
Sacrum Particulae, that is the 'Sacred
Particles', needed to complete the process of achieving the Magnum
Opus.
Alchemy as a subject of historical research
The history of alchemy has become a vigorous academic field. As the
obscure hermetic language of the alchemists is gradually being
"deciphered", historians are becoming more aware of the
intellectual connections between that discipline and other facets
of Western cultural history, such as the sociology and psychology
of the intellectual communities,
kabbalism,
spiritualism,
Rosicrucianism, and other mystic movements,
cryptography,
witchcraft, and the evolution of
science and
philosophy.
History
In a historical sense, Alchemy is the pursuit of
transforming common metals into valuable
gold.
According to
Marie-Louise von
Franz, the initial basis for alchemy are the pre-socratic Greek
philosophers, such as
Empedocles,
Thales of Miletus and
Heraclitus, Egyptian
mummification and metal technology, and
Mesopotamian technology and
astrology.
The origins of Western alchemy are traceable back to
ancient Egypt. The
Leyden papyrus X and the
Stockholm papyrus along with the
Greek magical papyri comprise the first
"book" on alchemy still existent.
Greek and
Indian philosophers theorized that there
were only four
classical elements
(rather than today's 117
chemical
elements, a useful analogy is with the highly similar
states of matter); Earth, Fire, Water, and
Air. The Greek philosophers, in order to prove their point, burned
a log: The log was the earth, the flames burning it was fire, the
smoke being released was air, and the smoldering soot at the bottom
was bubbling water. Because of this, the belief that these four
"elements" were at the heart of everything soon spread, only later
being replaced in the
Middle Ages by
Geber's theory of seven elements, which was
then replaced by the modern theory of chemical elements during the
early modern period.
Alchemy encompasses several philosophical traditions spanning four
millennia and three continents. These traditions' general penchant
for cryptic and symbolic language makes it hard to trace their
mutual influences and "genetic" relationships. Alchemy starts
becoming much clearer in the 8th century with the works of the
Islamic alchemist,
Jabir ibn Hayyan (known as "
Geber" in Europe), who introduced a
methodical and
experimental approach to scientific research
based in the
laboratory, in contrast to
the ancient Greek and Egyptian alchemists whose works were mainly
allegorical.
Other famous alchemists include
Wei
Boyang in
Chinese alchemy;
Calid and
Rhazes in
Islamic alchemy;
Nagarjuna in
Indian
alchemy; and
Albertus Magnus and
pseudo-Geber in European alchemy; as
well as the anonymous author of the
Mutus Liber, published in France in the
late 17th century, which was a 'wordless book' that claimed to be a
guide to making the
philosopher's
stone, using a series of 15 symbols and illustrations. The
philosopher's stone was an object that was thought to be able to
amplify one's power in alchemy and, if possible, grant the user
ageless immortality, unless he fell victim to burnings or drowning;
the common belief was that fire and water were the two greater
elements that were implemented into the creation of the
stone.
In the case of the Chinese and European alchemists, there was a
difference between the two. The European alchemists tried to
transmute lead into gold, and, no matter how futile or toxic the
element, would continue trying until it was royally outlawed later
into the century. The Chinese, however, paid no heed to the
philosopher's stone or transmutation of lead to gold; they focused
more on medicine for the greater good. During Enlightenment, these
"elixirs" were a strong cure for sicknesses, unless it was a test
medicine. In general, most tests were fatal, but stabilized elixirs
served great purposes. On the other hand, the Islamic alchemists
were interested in alchemy for a variety of reasons, whether it was
for the transmutation of metals or
artificial
creation of life, or for practical uses such as
Islamic medicine or the
chemical industries.
A tentative outline is as follows:
- Egyptian alchemy [5000 BC – 400 BC], beginning of
alchemy
- Indian alchemy [1200 BC –
Present], related to Indian
metallurgy; Nagarjuna
was an important alchemist
- Greek
alchemy [332 BC – 642 AD], studied at the Library of
Alexandria
Stockholm
papyrus
- Chinese alchemy [142 AD],
Wei Boyang writes The Kinship of the Three
- Islamic alchemy
[700 – 1400], Muslims were at the
forefront of Alchemy and Chemistry in the period of the Islamic Golden Age or Islamic
Renaissance.
- Islamic chemistry
[800 – Present], Alkindus and Avicenna refute transmutation, Rhazes refutes four classical elements, and Tusi discovers
conservation of mass
- European alchemy [1300 – Present], Saint Albertus Magnus builds on Arabic
alchemy
- European chemistry [1661 – Present], Boyle writes The Sceptical Chymist,
Lavoisier writes Traité Élémentaire
de Chimie (Elements of Chemistry), and Dalton publishes his Atomic Theory
Modern connections to alchemy
Islamic alchemy was a forerunner of
modern scientific
chemistry. Alchemists
used many of the same laboratory tools that are used today. These
tools were not usually sturdy or in good condition, especially
during the medieval period of Europe. Many transmutation attempts
failed when alchemists unwittingly made unstable chemicals. This
was made worse by the unsafe conditions in which the alchemists
worked.
Up to the 16th century, alchemy was considered serious science in
Europe; for instance,
Isaac Newton
devoted considerably more of his writing to the study of alchemy
(see
Isaac Newton's occult
studies) than he did to either optics or physics, for which he
is famous. Other eminent alchemists of the
Western world are
Roger
Bacon, Saint
Thomas Aquinas,
Tycho Brahe,
Thomas Browne, and
Parmigianino. The decline of alchemy began in
the 18th century with the birth of modern chemistry, which provided
a more precise and reliable framework for matter transmutations and
medicine, within a new grand design of the universe based on
rational
materialism.
Alchemy in traditional medicine
Traditional medicines involve transmutation by alchemy, using
pharmacological or a combination of pharmacological and spiritual
techniques. In
Chinese medicine the
alchemical traditions of
pao zhi will
transform the nature of the temperature, taste, body part accessed
or toxicity. In
Ayurveda the
samskaras are used to transform
heavy metals and toxic herbs in a way
that removes their toxicity. These processes are actively used to
the present day.
Nuclear transmutation
In 1919,
Ernest Rutherford used
artificial disintegration
to convert
nitrogen into
oxygen. From then on, this sort of
scientific
transmutation has been routinely performed in many
nuclear physics-related laboratories and
facilities, like
particle
accelerators,
nuclear power
stations and
nuclear weapons as
a by-product of
fission and other physical
processes.
In literature
A play by
Ben Jonson,
The Alchemist, is a satirical and
skeptical take on the subject.
Part 2 of
Goethe's
Faust, is full of alchemical symbolism.
According
to Hermetic Fictions: Alchemy and Irony in the Novel
(Keele
University
Press,
1995), by David Meakin, alchemy is also featured in such novels as
those by William Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Emile Zola, Jules
Verne, Marcel Proust, Thomas Mann, Hermann
Hesse, James Joyce, Gustav Meyrink, Lindsay Clarke, Marguerite Yourcenar, Umberto Eco, Michel
Butor, Paulo Coelho, Amanda Quick, Gabriel García Marquez and Maria
Szepes.
Hilary Mantel, in her novel
Fludd (1989, Penguin), mentions the spagyric
art. 'After separation, drying out, moistening, dissolving,
coagulating, fermenting, comes purification, recombination: the
creation of substances the world until now has never beheld. This
is the opus contra naturem, this is the spagyric art, this is the
Alchymical Wedding'. (page 79)
In popular culture
The subject of alchemy is extensively used in many animations,
graphic novels, and video games, often in the form of special
abilities.
- In Fullmetal
Alchemist, alchemy and transmutation are treated as
sciences, mixed with magic but fully understandable and utilizable
with proper knowledge. Fullmetal Alchemist also refers to
equivalency or
equivalent exchange for alchemy to work.
- In Buso Renkin, Alchemy is
used primarily as a means for superpowers and creation of homunculi, however it holds little resemblance to
"actual" alchemy.
Alchemy is also used in many video games:
- In Castlevania ,
Alchemy is depicicted as a field that experiments with the
principles of God's creation of the world. The hero of each game
(usually part of the Belmont family) uses a whip created with
alchemy (the Vampire Killer) to fight their way through a castle
infested with classic monsters to eventually reach the final boss,
Dracula, who is granted eternal life by the Crimson Stone. The
stone is said to be one of two stones accidentally created when a
failed attempt at creating the Philosopher's Stone occurred. The
stone is said to grant eternal life but also carry the curse of the
vampire. In addition, Death offers his allegiance to whoever
possesses the Crimson Stone. The second stone created by this
failure is the Ebony Stone. The Ebony Stone is a stone that
envelopes all of its surroundings in an eternal darkness.
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence for the Playstation 2 (the
beginning of Castlevania's chronology) makes more reference to
alchemy than any other Castlevania game.
- In Might and Magic VII:
For Blood and Honor, Alchemy is a skill that characters
can learn, which provides access to potion making, using
ingredients with varying potency, using the skill level as a bonus;
higher ranking allows access to more complex potions, up to "black"
potions, which give characters a permanent boost in statistics, as
opposed to a set period of time
- In Secret of
Evermore, the only video game from Square's North American
division, alchemy takes the place of the normal magic system. The
main character receives alchemic formulas instead of spells and by
combining a wide variety of ingredients (such as wax, oil,
limestone, and dry ice) a reaction will take place such as
fireballs, healing, or shields.
- The Atelier and
Mana Khemia series from GUST
also heavily emphasize on alchemy. The games feature hundreds of
ingredient and recipes that players need to find or derive
themselves. Additionally, all weapons and certain items must be
made, or synthesized, and they are not sold in shops, which
therefore makes alchemy essential in character growth.
- Zork Nemesis features a
slightly stylised (to fit the fictional world of Zork) vision of alchemy, and uses knowledge of the
processes as clues to solving puzzles.
- In the Eternal
Champions video game series, there is a character named
Xavier Pendragon, who accidentally gives himself seemingly
supernatural powers through a failed alchemy experiment.
Alchemy is referenced in print (fiction):
- Harry
Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as the name would
suggest, has as a central theme a magical stone (called the
Philosopher's Stone) that is supposed to grant ever-lasting life
and be able to turn anything to gold. For the American publication,
the name was changed to "Sorcerer's Stone," but the parallels
between the book's magical stone and the alchemists' philosophers
stone are still unmistakable.
- The Alchemist, by
Paulo Coelho, discusses one boy's quest
to fulfill his destiny, and on the way he is aided by an
alchemist.
- Another novel called The Alchemist by Donna Boyd explains the life of an immortal
Egyptian going about life from Ancient Egypt to modern
civilization.
- In Star Wars, the Sith have their own
variation called Sith
alchemy, which calls upon the use of chemical science
combined with their magic to create hideous, unnatural beasts of the dark side,
summon forth monsters called Sithspawn, strengthen their weapons and armor, brew an
anger inducing poison, create an appearance altering mask and
commit various acts of corporeal resurrection. Darth Plagueis used this
science to discover a technique similar to the real-world Elixir of life.
- John Crowley's %C3%86gypt sequence of critically acclaimed
novels which speculate on the alchemies that have the power to
transform ordinary life.
Alchemy is also referenced in Music:
- California band Thrice created a four-EP
set named the Alchemy Index, which
centers around each of the four elements involved in the alchemical
process.
In contemporary art
In the twentieth century alchemy was a profoundly important source
of inspiration for the Surrealist artist
Max
Ernst, who used the symbolism of alchemy to inform and guide
his work. M.E. Warlick wrote his
Max Ernst and Alchemy
describing this relationship in detail.
Contemporary artists use alchemy as inspiring subject matter, like
Odd Nerdrum, whose interest has been
noted by
Richard Vine, and the painter
Michael Pearce , whose interest in
alchemy dominates his work. His works
Fama and
The
Aviator's Dream particularly express alchemical ideas in a
painted allegory.
See also
Other alchemical pages
Alchemy and psychoanalysis
Other resources
Related and alternative philosophies
Substances of the alchemists
Scientific connections
Notes
- E. J. Holmyard, Alchemical Equipment in "A History of
Technologyy ed. E. Singer et al." vol. II (Oxford, 1957), p.
731.
- Mahdihassan S. "Alchemy, Chinese versus Greek, an
etymological approach: a rejoinder"
- Alchemy at Dictionary.com
- The True Nature of Hermetic Alchemy
- von Franz, M-L. Alchemical Active Imagination. Shambala.
Boston. 1997. ISBN 0-87773-589-1
- Jung, C. G. (1944). Psychology and Alchemy (2nd ed. 1968
Collected Works Vol. 12 ISBN 0-691-01831-6). London:
Routledge.
- Jung, C. G., & Hinkle, B. M. (1912). Psychology of the
Unconscious : a study of the transformations and symbolisms of the
libido, a contribution to the history of the evolution of thought.
London: Kegan Paul Trench Trubner. (revised in 1952 as Symbols of
Transformation, Collected Works Vol.5 ISBN 0-691-01815-4)
- Jung, C. G., & Jaffe A. (1962). Memories, Dreams,
Reflections. London: Collins. This is Jung's autobiography,
recorded and edited by Aniela Jaffe, ISBN 0-679-72395-1
- Jung, C. G. - Psychology and Alchemy; Symbols of
Transformation
- C.-G. Jung Preface to Richard Wilhelm's translation of the
I Ching
- C.-G. Jung Preface to the translation of The Secret of The Golden
Flower
- The-Four-Stages-of-Alchemical-Work
- Meyrink und das theomorphische
Menschenbild
- The order for the Opus phases is seldom given as constant.
Dorn, for instance, in the Theatrum Chemicum, places the
citrinitas, the golden color, as the final stage, after
the rubedo.
- Neumann, Erich. The origins
and history of consciousness, with a foreword by C.G. Jung.
Translated from the German by R.F.C. Hull. New York : Pantheon
Books, 1954. Confer p.255, footnote 76: "Since Alchemy actually
originated in Egypt, it is not improbable that esoteric
interpretations of the Osiris myth are among the foundations of the
art ..."
- Kraus, Paul, Jâbir ibn Hayyân, Contribution à l'histoire
des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam. I. Le corpus des écrits
jâbiriens. II. Jâbir et la science grecque,. Cairo
(1942-1943). Repr. By Fuat Sezgin, (Natural Sciences in Islam.
67-68), Frankfurt. 2002: (cf.
)
- "The oldest Indian writings, the Vedas (Hindu
sacred scriptures), contain the same hints of alchemy" - Multhauf,
Robert P. & Gilbert, Robert Andrew (2008). Alchemy.
Encyclopædia Britannica (2008).
- Junius, Manfred M; The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy:
An Herbalist's Guide to Preparing Medicinal Essences, Tinctures,
and Elixirs; Healing Arts Press 1985
- see Alice Raphael: Goethe and the Philosopher's Stone,
symbolical patterns in 'The Parable' and the second part of
'Faust', London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1965
- Cal Lutheran | Department of Art - Faculty
- The Gilded Raven Blog + » fama
- The Gilded Raven Blog + » Storm / The Aviator’s
Dream
References
- Cavendish, Richard, The Black Arts, Perigee Books
- Trans. Richard Dales.
- Halleux, R., Les textes alchimiques, Brepols
Publishers, 1979, ISBN 978-2-503-36032-4
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