Principles Of Alchemy

    Welcome everyone to our very first 'Principles of Alchemy' lesson.  This month we'll be covering some of the basics of alchemy - important questions such as  "what is alchemy" and "what are those weird symbols"!  So let's get started shall we....

     A laboratory filled with odd-looking instruments, vials of various ingredients and papers strewn all over, is that was alchemy is?  Well, considering that the most common image associated with alchemy or alchemists is often something similar to the following, that’s what most people believe!       

                                                                                                                                          When we hear the word “alchemist” or “alchemy”, we also tend to think of strange and eccentric individuals who toil away in dark laboratories, trying to concoct fanciful potions. In many ways, you could say that Professor Snape characterizes a typical alchemist.  But alchemy is much more than just potions or trying to turn metals into gold (a very common alchemy misconception which we’ll study in further lessons). 

     The word “alchemy” is derived from the Arab phrase al kimia, which roughly translates to “the black fertile land”.  This refers to the life force, or first matter, which is fundamental to the study of alchemy. 

     At its core, alchemy is a field where one tries to isolate the essence of something in order to make it better.  Jean Dubuis, a modern French alchemist, has compared alchemy to evolution.  He has said that “alchemy is the art of manipulating life and consciousness in matter, to help it evolve or to solve problems of inner disharmony”.  What does this mean?  Well, nature is always evolving in such a way that organisms become better and more complex.  If you look around you, all living organisms have evolved to their current forms from much more primitive forms.  This process can take a very long time (think in terms of millennia... not just months or years).  The goal of alchemy is to find ways to speed up this natural process of perfection.  An alchemist believes that everything possesses the blueprint for its own perfection, and that it’s the alchemist’s job to find these essences of perfection trapped inside matter and to bring them to light, thus guiding various materials towards absolute perfection. 

     One of the most well known examples of alchemy is that of turning lead into gold.  In the Middle Ages, many so-called alchemists tried to transform lead, a common and inexpensive base metal, into gold, which was considered to be a purer and more valuable metal because it doesn’t react with other compounds.  Alchemists believed that they were simply speeding up nature’s job and some of them used this opportunity to get rich and gain favours from the Nobles and their courts.  Of course this wasn’t necessarily alchemy per se, but we’ll talk more about the actual process in next month’s lesson... so stay tuned for more!
 

     Alchemy has always been shrouded in a certain amount of secrecy.  At times, it was because alchemists were thought of as heretics by most people and by the Church in particular, while at other times, it was because the alchemists themselves did not want to divulge their secrets.  Whatever the reason, a complex system of symbols was developed to convey their ideas and the various basic principles of the discipline.  The following chart illustrates some of the symbols and their meanings.  It’s important for us to learn these symbols because just as you wouldn’t learn to read and write without first learning the alphabet, you can’t REALLY learn the foundations of alchemy without a certain appreciation for its symbology.

     If you paid close attention to the various symbols, you may have noticed that some of them were familiar chemical elements.  In fact, alchemy is often called the precursor to modern chemistry, and many important and famous chemists were also students of alchemy.  This is why elements such as mercury, tin, iron and sulphur (just to name a few) have their own alchemical symbols. Because they were important ingredients in many alchemical processes, they were studied in depth, which led to the discovery of many of their known chemical and physical properties. 

     The Emerald Tablet is the very foundation of alchemy and is the oldest surviving alchemical text.  It is said to be inscribed with the essence of alchemical philosophy, including the magical secrets of the world and a formula for the perfection of anything.  Nearly every self-respecting alchemist has a copy of the Emerald Tablet hanging on his wall and will refer to it constantly.  The most common version of the tablet is written in Latin, and many noted alchemists have made their own translations of the text in an effort to discover the secrets it hides.

    The text itself consists of 7 rubrics (or paragraphs), which describe the steps to follow in order to achieve perfection.  The following image (the Tabula Smaragdina) illustrates the principles of the Emerald Tablet and is said to contain all the symbols of Alchemy.

     Roger Bacon (1214-1292) is probably the earliest known English alchemist.  Also known as Doctor Mirabilis, he was a philosopher, a genius and a scientist far ahead of his time.  His work included the study of the 4 known elements of the time (fire, water, earth and air) as well as the development of gunpowder.  He also had a great interest in medicine and astrology.  Bacon is credited with developing the ‘scientific method’ still used today.