a
a l
l c
c h
e m y
e m y
as above
so below
ETYMOLOGY
english
old french
m e d i e va l l at i n
arabic
ancient greek
ALCHEMY
AL·CHE·MY noun the medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerned with the transmutation of matter, in particular with attempts to convert base metals into gold or find a universal elixir.1 timeline Not to scale
c.3000 bc Egyptians formulate the theory of the ‘Ogdoad’, or eight primordial forces
We have all been presented with the rather romanticised view of the venerable old alchemical philosopher huddling over his flasks of bubbling liquid, immersed in his quest for the elusive philosopher’s stone, a mere grain of which will change a mass of molten lead into the purest form of gold.2
c.450 bc
c.380 bc
Empedocles establishes four base elements: earth, air, fire, water
Polybus argues that the human body is made of four humours
The science of alchymy I like very well, and indeed, ‘tis the philosophy of the ancients. I like it not only for the profits it brings in melting metals, in decocting, preparing, extracting, and distilling herbs, roots; I like it also for the sake of allegory and secret signification, which is exceedingly fine, touching the resurrection of the dead at the last day.3 MARTIN
LUTHER
c.360 bc
c.300
Plato coins the term ‘elements’ (stoicheia, στοιχεῖα)
Zosimos of Panopolis writes some of the oldest books on alchemy
ALCHEMY
Among other aims, alchemists tried to change metals such as lead or copper into silver or gold, and to discover a way to extend life.4 Alchemy is quite an ambiguous subject which different sources interpret in different ways. Some will disregard it as nonsensical, pseudoscientific, and archaic; while others will say it should be highly regarded as the precursor of modern chemistry.5
1144
1150
Robert of Chester publishes De Compositionae Alchemiae
Turba Philosophorum is translated from Arabic
THE
PHILOS
PHER’S STONE
1267
c. 1310
Roger Bacon publishes Opus Maius
A Spanish alchemist, pseudonym ‘Geber’, published books establishing the theory that all metals were made from sulphur and mercury
THE
PHILOSOPHER’S
STONE
The philosopher’s stone is the term used to refer to a substance which has the power to turn base metals into silver or gold. Before the term alchemist emerged in the fifth and sixth centuries, philosopher was used, meaning “a seeker of wisdom and truth”.6 The stone was first mentioned by Zosimos (c. 250-300), who described it as “a stone that is not a stone”.5 As alchemy was partially concerned with perfecting the human soul, it was thought that the stone could also cure illnesses and prolong life.7
1323
1380
Dominicans in France prohibit teaching of alchemy at the University of Paris and demand the burning of alchemical writings
King Charles V the Wise forbids alchemical experiments
NICOLAS FLAMEL
1450 Invention of Gutenberg’s printing press allows for information to be more easily shared across the globe
NICOLAS
FLAMEL
Nicolas Flamel lived in Paris in the 14th and 15th centuries, working as a scrivener and manuscript-seller.6 One of the houses he lived in is currently the oldest stone house in Paris, and is located at 52 rue de Montmorency.8
Nicolas Flamel’s life is one of the most documented in medieval alchemy. Flamel is perhaps the most legendary alchemist of all time, and is certainly the most often portrayed one in works of fiction. This is perhaps due to claims made that he succeeded at both creating the philosopher’s stone, and achieving immortality with the elixir of life along with his wife, Perenelle.6 1484
c.1530
The Garden of Earthly Delights painted by Hieronymous Bosch
Paracelcus develops subdiscipline of alchemy dedicated to extending life
SYMBOLOGY
1531
1550
Agrippa’s three books of occult philosophy are published
Alchemical treatise Rosarium Philosophorum published
SYMBOLOGY
The Four Elements
AIR
FIRE
EARTH
WAT E R
spring
summer
autumn
winter
sanguine
choleric
melancholic
phlegmatic
masculine
masculine
feminine
feminine
jupiter
sun/mars
saturn
moon/venus
wet/hot
hot/dry
dry/cold
cold/wet
heart chakra
navel chakra
root chakra
sacral chakra
blood
yellow bile
black bile
phlegm
1597
1605
Andreas Libavius publishes Alchemia
A New Light of Alchemy by Michal Sedziw贸j published
SYMBOLOGY
The Three Principles In addition to the four classical elements; earth, water, air, and fire, alchemists often spoke of three more base alchemical elements, sulphur, salt, and mercury.9
SULPHUR
SALT
MERCURY
male
physicality
female
soul
body
spirit
hot
cold
dry
wet
fire
water
1610
1612
The play The Alchemist by Ben Jonson is first performed
Figures Hieroglyphiques by Nicolas Flamel first published
SYMBOLOGY
Planets and Metals SUN
MOON
w e e k d ay s u n d ay greek god helios signifies beauty
w e e k d ay m o n d ay greek god selene signifies instinct
MARS
MERCURY
w e e k d ay t u e s d ay greek god ares signifies energy
w e e k d ay w e d n e s d ay greek god hermes signifies intelligence
JUPITER
VENUS
w e e k d ay t h u r s d ay greek god zeus signifies wisdom
w e e k d ay f r i d ay greek god aphrodite signifies emotion
silver
gold
mercury
iron
copper
tin
S AT U R N
lead
w e e k d ay s at u r d ay greek god kronos signifies time
1661
1702
Robert Boyle publishes The Sceptical Chymist
Jean-Jacques Manget’s alchemical compendium Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa is published
SYMBOLOGY
The Zodiac & Alchemical Processes 18th century French writer Antoine-Joseph Pernety published an alchemical dictionary, Dictionnaire Mytho-HermĂŠtique,10 in which he links the twelve alchemical processes with the twelve signs of the zodiac. FIRE
EARTH
AIR
WAT E R
a r i e s
calcination fire
ta u r u s
congelation earth
g e m i n i
fixation air
c a n c e r
dissolution water
l e o
v i r g o
l i b r a
s c o r p i o
p i s c e s
digestion fire
distillation earth
sublimation air
s a g i t ta r i u s
c a p r i c o r n
a q u a r i u s
incineration fire
fermentation earth
multiplication air
separation water
projection water
c.1750
1785
The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross is established
Gehieme Figuren’s Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians is published
SYMBOLOGY
The Caduceus
The caduceus is a staff with two snakes twined around it, topped by a pair of wings. The symbol stems from the magic staff of Hermes in Greek mythology. According to legend, Apollo—god of the sun—gave Hermes the caduceus in exchange for a lyre. The caduceus was said to bestow wealth and prosperity, turning what it touched into gold.11 In the seventh century, the caduceus came to be associated with early medicine, alchemy, and astrology. It is sometimes associated with the planet, and its corresponding metal, mercury. Symbols used to represent the element mercury in alchemical texts often resembled the caduceus.12 1888 Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn is established
ALCHEMY IN
FICTION
1913
1915
Rosa Alchemica by W. B. Yeats is released
Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC) is established
ALCHEMY
IN
FICTION
Paulo Coelho THE
ALCHEMIST
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is the story of a journey embarked upon by a shepherd boy named Santiago, after he dreams of a child telling him to look for treasure near the Egyptian pyramids. In The Alchemist, alchemy—defined as when a base metal is transmuted into gold—is the primary symbol used to represent Santiago’s journey to achieve his Personal Legend. In alchemy, a metal must have its impurities removed to achieve a higher state, and similarly, Santiago must do the same in order to realise his Personal Legend and achieve it.14 Alchemy—at least as Coelho has interpreted it—seems to be about simplifying things in order to uncover true purpose.
1988
1993
O Alquimista by Paulo Coelho first published in Portuguese
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho published in English
ALCHEMY
IN
FICTION
J. K. Rowling HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
“She pushed the book towards them, and Harry and Ron read: The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Philosopher’s Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera-lover. Mr Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight). ‘See?’ said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished. ‘The dog must be guarding Flamel’s Philosopher’s Stone!’” 1997 J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone published
ALCHEMY
IN
FICTION
Michael Scott THE ALCHEMYST
“My real name is Nicholas Flamel. I was born in France in the year 1330. Perry’s real name is Perenelle: she is ten years older than me. But don’t ever tell her I said that,” he added hastily.” “I discovered the secret of the philosopher’s stone hidden deep in that book of ancient magic: I learned how to turn ordinary metal into gold, how to change common stones into precious jewels. But more than this, much more, I found the recipe for a formulation of herbs and spells that keeps disease and death at bay. Perenelle and I became virtually immortal.”
2007 The Alchemyst, first book in Michael Scott’s series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is released
As I thought of these things, I drew aside the curtains and looked out into the darkness, and it seemed to my troubled fancy that all those little points of light filling the sky were the furnaces of innumerable divine alchemists, who labour continually, turning lead into gold, weariness into ecstasy, bodies into souls, the darkness into God. W.B.
YEATS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1
Oxford Dictionaries, s. v. “alchemy”. Accessed June 17, 2014, http://www.oxforddictionaries. com/definition/english/alchemy/
2
Alchemy Website, The. Accessed June 17, 2014. http://www.alchemywebsite.com/
3
Luther, M. Table Talk. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 2009. Accessed June 17, 2014, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/tabletalk.pdf
4
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. “alchemy”, accessed June 17, 2014, http://www. britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/13282/alchemy/
5
Guiley, R. E. The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy. New York: Infobase, 2006.
6 Decoding the Past: The Real Sorcerer’s Stone. Directed by Geoffrey Madega. New York: History Channel, 2006. 7 Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. “philosopher’s stone”, accessed June 17, 2014, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/456733/philosophers-stone/ 8 McAuliffe, M. Paris Discovered: Explorations in the City of Light. Hightstown: Princeton Book Company, 2006. 9 Beyer, C. “Alchemical Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt,” accessed June 19, 2014, http://altreligion. about.com/od/westernocculttraditio1/p/salt-sulfer-mercury.htm 10 Pernety, Antoine-Joseph. Dictionnaire mytho-hermétique : dans lequel on trouve les allégories fabuleuses des poetes, les métaphores, les énigmes et les termes barbares des philosophes hermétiques expliqués. Paris: Chez Bauche, 1758. Accessed June 19, 2014, https://archive.org/details/ dictionnairemyth00pern 11 “Mythology,” The Caduceus Brass Quartet. Accessed June 19, 2014, http://www.caduceusbrass. co.uk/mythology.htm 12 “Caduceus – Rod of Hermes,” Crystalinks. Accessed June 19, 2014, http://www.crystalinks. com/caduceus.html 13 Coelho, P. The Alchemist. New York: HarperCollins, 1998. 14 SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Alchemist.” SparkNotes LLC. 2010. Accessed June 17, 2014, http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-alchemist/ 15 Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997. 16 Scott, M. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. New York: Random House, 2007. 17 Yeats, W. B. Rosa Alchemica. Salt Lake City: Project Gutenberg, 2004. Accessed June 18, 2014, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5794/5794-h/5794-h.htm
FURTHER
READING
The Philosopher’s Stone: A Quest for the Secrets of Alchemy Peter Marshall
Alchemy: The Medieval Alchemists and their Royal Art Johannes Fabricius
Alchemy: The Secret Art Stanislas Klossowski de Rola
Real Alchemy: A Primer of Practical Alchemy Robert Allen Bartlett
Alchemy & Mysticism Alexander Roob
MADELEINE
DUTHIE