This article will define alchemy, explore its history, and discuss how to do alchemy today.
Transformation has always been something human beings have worked for, and many different people have used many different ways to achieve it. Psychic people seek to learn about energy and change it to suit them through magic, but other people seek to change matter into other things. The relationship objects have to one another and how they interact to create new objects is something not everybody understands, and generations of people have been diligently working to unlock these mysteries. Alchemy is one discipline that deals with these truths, and just knowing that one thing can be added to completely transform something has driven some people to experiment all their lives to discover what can be done. What is alchemy and what is its history? Who are some famous alchemists and what are some of the tools that alchemists use? Is alchemy even possible at all? Read on to find out!
What is Alchemy?
Merriam-Webster online defines alchemy as “ a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life.” So alchemy is finding ways to turn lead and other metals into valuable gold, as well as creating medicines to cure disease and, and some who use alchemy are concerned with spiritual development. Read about spiritual love here: What is the Spiritual Meaning of Love?
Transforming Metals
In ancient Egypt, quicksilver was used to separate silver or gold from other materials. It was believed precious stones became precious by growing or maturing in the ground and that soil transformed into lead, and over time lead would transform into silver. It was further believed that silver aged and refined itself into gold. It was only understandable that people believed this process could be recreated scientifically in laboratories. The danger in this was that there were quacks who pretended to be able to do this, when the truth is, these substances could not change into one another. Paracelsus wrote that there were fourteen ingredients that could be combined to produce gold, and Bolos of Mendes even had a recipe he stated worked to make gold and that recipe included pyrite, brine, yellow alum, and other substances.
Some alchemists were tasked with multiplying gold instead of creating it, and they accomplished this by combining gold with silver, copper, or other metals, and this would make it seem as if there was more gold when in fact the gold was just combined with other things to make the final product larger than what was started with. However, this is still done in jewelry making with different karats indicating how pure the gold was with ten karat gold being less than fifty percent gold, for example. However, there is a very practical reason. Pure gold, or twenty-four karat gold is soft, scratches easily, and is considered by many to have too bright and orange a color to be attractive. Blending metals strengthens gold, softens the color, and reduces the cost of the finished product, making it more affordable to buyers.
One problem with metal alchemy in ancient times was the fact some of the guides to doing alchemy were written in codes many could not understand, and another issue was that fake practitioners were able to convince people that instead of blending metals to make alloys, it was possible to create gold out of things like sand! Perhaps metal alchemy is not as mysterious as it could be, most especially since it is so useful. There used to be a belief that gold could be created out of materials that contained no gold at all, but today, it is understood that is not the goal. The goal is to combine gold with other materials to strengthen it and improve color, plus make it less expensive. Read about the golden Fire Signs here: What are Fire Signs of the Zodiac?
Developing Medicines
Someone who is strong in their medical education and has a powerful voice as a doctor can spend their lives creating positive energy by healing. Creating a better reality by healing one person at a time is what some alchemists have done, and some continue to do. Not all alchemists of history sought to transform metal, and many sought to try their hands at creating reality and counted that as their divine path. Paracelsus, for example, was not only an alchemist and a physician himself, but he was also the son of a physician and he considered the human body a microcosm that he studied. Believing that like attracts like, he sought to find out what healed and how to transform poisonous substances into beneficial substances and used the toxic opium to create laudanum to help ease pain. He was against the accepted practices of purging and bloodletting and believed the body had four distinct humors that needed balanced instead.
Paracelsus was against cure-all remedies that were popular when he was practicing medicine and instead, he established specific treatments for specific ailments in order to improve medical care. Besides creating laudanum and establishing opium as a medical ingredient, he also created liniment called opideldoc that included soap and alcohol as well as wormwood, and he was an early advocate for antiseptics in treatments, not agreeing with a majority of doctors when it came to allowing infection to rage. He used black hellebore to treat hardening of arteries and identified iron as an important treatment for illness. Countless lives have been saved as well as improved for centuries due to the pioneering efforts of alchemist doctors like Paracelsus.
Religious Transformation
Divine alchemy is one way to channel positive energy into yourself from what you believe is your higher power. Feeling energy is one thing but opening yourself to a strong relationship with your creator is quite another, and many alchemists found ways to do just that. Hermeticism is a form of philosophy that is based on the writings of Hermes Trismegistus. Hermeticism teaches that there is a universal sacred set of religious truths given by the creator god to the first human beings, and bits and pieces of this great teaching can be found in various current religious traditions. Hermeticism teaches that all religions have parts of this universal true religious teachings, and that divine truth can be found in some form in every single religion that has ever existed. The term Hermeticism uses to characterize this unified religious truth is “Prisca Theologia”.
They also believe that what happens in higher planes of existence happen in lower ones, and they word this by saying “As above, so below.” They believe in and study astrology and while some do believe in transformation of materials scientifically, their alchemy entails studying spirituality and what is learned from in by birth, life, and death. They furthermore, rather than believe in an afterlife where all souls migrate to after death, believe in reincarnation, and that they are born again as an entirely different person than they had been in their previous life. They believe in the existence of both evil and good, and that the creator made humans as androgynous beings who fell from grace by displeasing the creator and were relegated to suffering in human bodies on earth. With all these beliefs, religious alchemists seek to become enlightened, spiritually perfect, and learn all the days of their lives. Read about spiritual love here: What is the Spiritual Meaning of Love?
The History of Alchemy
While defining alchemy may be fairly simple, the long history if it cannot be listed all in one place. However, from its beginnings with Hermeticism to modern times, alchemy has been used in many different nations by many different people. India, China, and the West including Greece and Europe were some central focus spots for alchemy which dates back as early as four thousand years ago. Some of the very oldest alchemical writings from Egypt and Greece are so old, nobody knows for certain exactly who wrote them, and early publications like The Four Books were written in the first century CE. Early Egyptian alchemy was associated very closely with the temples and priests and concerned with both refinement of metals and religion.
Greek and Egyptian alchemy was so closely connected, the name of a supposed early writer who started it all there was called by a combination of an Egyptian and Greek name, and astrology, philosophy, and religious writings were all part of this as well as magical treatises and astrology. Writings include things like The Corpus Hermeticum, the Asclepius, The Fifteen Stars, Stones, Plants and Images, and LiberHermetis. Those were just in the West.
In China, there was more of an emphasis on writing about medicine in alchemical publications. Some sought to create a Grand Elixir of Immortality which would grant anybody who drank this potion healing from all ailments and eternal life. Some believed this was unattainable and they sought to find foods and drinks that kept the body as healthy as possible and prevent untimely death or disease. Others focused on things like meditation and to have spiritual protection by inviting gods to inhabit the human body. Interestingly, it was alchemists in China who were looking for a way to grant eternal life who created gunpowder!
In the Middle East, some alchemists read the Greek alchemy writings, and had their own forms of alchemy. One group of alchemists in the Middle East wanted to create life in their labs and called this takwin. Some believed this was symbolic, but some believe they tried to create lifeforms, and even attempted to create human beings. Alchemists there debated transmutation of metals, and they sought to refine their practices.
In India, the second and third millennium BCE saw amazing developments in technologies to work with metals and the sacred Veda texts discussed a connection between gold and eternal life. Alchemists in India had expertise in explosives, things found in the earth, salts, sugars, and even making perfumes. Spiritually, alchemy was concerned with creating a divine body and immortality. Expertise in chemicals and drugs, as well as yogic practices were focused on holding off illness and old age.
By the tenth century in Europe, Arabic alchemy books were being translated, and while Europe had its own alchemy, acquisition of knowledge from other lands enriched their knowledge, but until the fourteenth century, mostly only those who spoke and read Latin had access to written alchemical texts. During the Dark Ages, alchemy was at times demonized and looked down on, but by the renaissance, Europe returned to more scholarly pursuits, and alchemy began to thrive again. Royalty and the rich employed and endorsed alchemists, and research into medicine and science continued. By the late fifteenth century, a more scientific approach was taken, and stepping away from an emphasis on spirituality happened.
Perhaps it is fair to say that alchemy encompasses many different disciplines, all focused on positive transformation of medicines, metals, and the human soul. Using this simple definition, alchemy has been practiced for longer than anybody can find written record of, and by people all over the world, they just did not always call it alchemy!
Some Famous Alchemists
There are men and women whose contributions from long ago brought alchemy forward. While some are more famous than others, all the people working on alchemy are to thank for today’s knowledge. Among some very famous alchemists are Hermes Trismegistus, Cleopatra the Alchemist, and Abu Bakr al-Razi.
Hermes Trismegistus
Credited with beginning alchemy, Hermes may or may not have been one individual. His name is a combination of the god Hermes, and then Trismegistus means thrice great Hermes, which so happened to be a title they gave to the Egyptian god Thoth, god of learning and wisdom. Some believe Hermes was a priest and some go so far as to say he was a king who served as a priest as well. It is believed he wrote over thirty six thousand pieces about alchemy, and this leads many to believe Hermes was not one person, but could have been many people who were given the name, and that name was actually more of a title.
Of these thousands of writings, there were two categories, the first being philosophical, and second being called technical writings. The philosophical writings of course were about philosophy, and the technical writings covered materials about potions, magic, medicine, and chemistry. Some of the many books attributed to Hermes Trismegistus include the Corpus Hermeticum, the Hermetica, and TheEmerald Tablet.
Cleopatra The Alchemist
Said to have lived in Alexandria, Egypt in the third or fourth century CE, this alchemist was said to be one of four women who are known to have created the Philosopher’s Stone, which will be discussed later. She is also credited with inventing the alembic, which was used for distillation of liquids. Three known publications exist that are attributed to her. They are On Weights and Measures,Gold Making ofCleopatra, and A Dialogue of the Philosophers and Cleopatra.
Her most famous writing, however, is a sheet filled with symbols titled The Chrysopoeia, which simply means “gold-making”. Some of the things drawn on the page are an ouroboros, or a serpent eating its own tail, which represents both the cosmos and eternity. Also included are symbols for gold and silver. Not much is known about her life, but her contributions speak for themselves. Read about Moon Signs here: What Moon Sign Am I?
Abu Bakr al-Razi
Born in 864 or 865 CE, he was a Persian physician, alchemist, and philosopher. As a young doctor, he studied in and worked in hospitals, later being tasked to build one that would be the largest in the area at the time. He not only practiced medicine, but he also taught and wrote medical encyclopedias, home medical manuals, a twenty-three volume set of textbooks for medical students and practitioners including some surgical knowledge, and even a book about pediatrics. He also wrote about pharmacy, smallpox, medical ethics, transmutation of metals, guides to tools used in alchemy, philosophy publications, and he even wrote about religion. He is considered one of the earliest medical authorities and has been called the father of psychotherapy and psychology. He is so well respected to this day, two medical schools are named in his honor, and he has been called “the greatest physician of Islam and the Middle Ages. “
Tools of Alchemy
The countless tools that alchemists have used over thousands of years cannot all be listed, let alone known by us today. However, there are a few we can discuss, with the most interesting one being The Philosopher’s Stone. The athanor is another worth reading about, but perhaps the most widely used tool for alchemy may surprise you. It’s fire!
The Philosopher’s Stone
Maybe the Philosopher’s Stone isn’t a tool, but it’s more of a goal. Many alchemists worked very hard to create this, and work towards forming The Philosopher’s Stone is known as the Great Work, or Magnus Opus. Alchemist Elias Ashmole said god gave the knowledge of the Philosopher’s Stone to Adam, the first man, and it was believed that Adam passed the knowledge down to patriarchs of the Bible, who used it to extend their lives. The stone itself is a substance that can be refined and created by transmutation of metals, and it turns lower grade metals into gold. Beyond that, and most importantly, it has the power to cure all illnesses, provide rejuvenation, and for some it is believed to grant immortality.
It might not have been a stone but has been characterized as a powder or a tincture. For some alchemists, creating The Philosopher’s Stone was their main goal, and all they worked for. It was an especially popular goal in the Dark Ages in Europe, and a Newton even published a recipe for making it that you can read about here: Newton’s Alchemy Recipe for Philosopher’s Stone Rediscovered (mysteriousuniverse.org)
Athanor
An athanor is a furnace that maintains an even temperature that alchemists have used. It provides constant heat, and whatever is in the athanor remains in there, being heated for a matter of weeks. Therefore, the even temperature is extremely important. The word comes from the Arabic word al-tannoor, which means “bread oven” and it is believed that bread ovens inspired this design. The athanor is convenient to use because once it is filled with coals, it works smoothly on its own with minimal attention, and it keeps that steady temperature for a long time. The process the athanor provides is called “alchemical digestion”, which means gently applying heat to something for a long time. The athanor is also known as the Philosophical Furnace and the Tower Furnace.
Fire
What would alchemy be without fire? While modern alchemists can certainly use electrical heat, alchemists from centuries ago did not have that luxury. While some consider the element of fire to spiritually be extremely important for transformation, physical fire is what heated substances so they could be changed. Without it, metals could not be melted to be combined, and water could not be heated to use for boiling things together to create medicines. Perhaps it is safe to say fire is one of the most important things used in alchemy.
Can You Do Alchemy?
Of course it is possible to do alchemy! The alchemy of years ago is quite different from the alchemy used by modern people, and even if you are not trained and schooled in alchemy, you can do some alchemy at home for yourself. You can work with metals just like alchemists used to, and you can study and practice medicine just as some alchemists have. You can also practice spiritual alchemy, and there are people who can help you to do all of these things.
Metallurgy
If you would like to be one of the people who works with gold, heating it, blending it with other metals, and preparing it to make things, you can learn how. While not every town will have courses and instructors, some will. Thanks to some amazing teachers, you don’t have to simply wish to learn to work with gold and other metals. Check out these courses offered!
One course teaches how to melt down gold, and even lay it over silver, and that can be found here: Working with Gold Course - Kingham Jewellery School (kjschool.co.uk)
Another course offers classes each week to help get people started working with gold, and that can be found here: Working with Gold & Silver | Metalwerx
Still another organization teaches how to use various metals with clay for embellishment, and you can get that information here: Working with Gold metal clay | AMCAW
Medicine
Not everybody is going to be as prolific as Abu Bakr al- Razi, but plenty of scientists and doctors today have developed new, better medicines, and have extended life expectancy for countless people. At one time, smallpox was the deadliest disease in the world, until the amazing Edward Jenner introduced the first smallpox vaccine in 1796, that is. Since then, vaccination improvements and efforts have eradicated it. Antibiotics, introduced in the 1930’s allowed for dramatically increased life expectancy. In 1900, one in every forty adults died annually in America, but in 2013, only one in one hundred and forty died and life expectancy was raised by thirty years. You can be a part of not only helping to dispense these “Philosopher’s Stones” of sorts, which rejuvenate, but you can be part of ongoing research to help improve medicine. See here for how to get started learning: Q&A on how to become a medical laboratory technician | Northwestern Health Sciences University (nwhealth.edu)
Spirituality
Personal spiritual transformation and growth can be learned from any religious tradition, if the Hermeticists are to be believed. Not everybody wants instruction from mainstream religions, and prefers to study with actual alchemical Hermetics instructors. Today, there are many different groups that provide this, some of whom are available online.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn has an online page with resources, including links to temples, and can be contacted directly and their links can be found here: The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn® (hermeticgoldendawn.org)
The Ordo Templi Orientis is another group that works with spiritual transformation and has links to various temples in multiple nations. Their page with a list of links by location that you can select from can be found here:Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (oto.org)
While perhaps the most gifted alchemists of history are responsible for much of the scientific knowledge we enjoy today, the bright blessings of gaining divine insight of the religious mysteries have been pondered and explained by alchemists also. Far from one of the ways to escape reality, alchemy is a way of explaining and understanding reality as well as the psychic light coming at you, meaning coming into your life. Alchemy is just a form of science, and it is as important today as it was hundreds of years ago. Can you do alchemy? Yes, you can, and who knows? Perhaps while pursuing alchemy is something that will make you happy, you may discover new ways of making the world a better place.
Reach out to one of our talented psychics to find out how to include transformation and alchemy in your life: Online Psychic Readings
About the Author: Lady Saoirse has studied magic and lore for most of her life but started walking her own Magical Path after being spiritually reborn in the desert. Today she is a High Priestess for The Temple of the Goddess, she is a psychic advisor and spiritual counselor, she shares her gifts as a Psychic and Content Writer for SpiritualBlossom, has written for Mysticsense, and she writes for PaganPages.Org emag and Green Egg Magazine.
