Alchemy causes various associations in modern man. Most associate alchemy with the gloomy and narrow streets of Prague and other medieval European cities. Many at the mention of this science begin to talk about the philosopher's stone and the transformation of everything that turns up by the arm into gold. Of course, no one forgets about the elixir of eternal youth.
And almost everyone is convinced that alchemy is not a science, but fraudsters and sincerely mistaken people were engaged in it, moreover, in the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, this is not entirely true.
How and where did alchemy develop?
This science did not originate at all in the damp cellars of medieval European castles and not in the oblique dark alleys of Prague, as many believe. Alchemy is much older, but to establish the exact time period of its origin is almost impossible. It is only known for certain that alchemical experiments were carried out in Ancient Egypt, the Middle East and, probably, in Greece.
In the late ancient period, that is, during the II-VI centuries, Egypt was the center of alchemical studies, or, more precisely, Alexandria. This period of development of science left behind not only the alchemical signs found by archaeologists at the excavation sites and historians in the surviving written sources, but also other evidence.
In the III century, the Roman Empire was in crisis of power. This state of weakness of government ended with the advent of Valery Diocletian, Guy Aurelius, on the Roman throne. It was this man who carried out the reform of the control system, making the emperor the sovereign master of the state, and not the first of the senators, as it was before.
Diocletian entered the history of alchemy as the first persecutor. Although the persecution was due to the actions of the Egyptians and was only a retaliatory move on the part of the emperor of Rome. In the summer of 297, Lucius Domitius Domitian raised Egypt against the Empire. More precisely, the purpose of this rebellion was not to sack the power of Rome, but to seize it. The epicenter of the riot was Alexandria. Of course, the rebellion was tough and, at that time, quickly suppressed, in just a year,. The pretender to the Roman throne himself died for unknown reasons during the siege of Alexandria, and his assistant, who led the city defense, was executed.
The result of the suppression of the rebellion was the order of Diocletian on the destruction of all papyrus, books, scrolls and other sources of knowledge about the transformation of metals and substances into gold or silver. Presumably, the emperor sought to destroy not so much knowledge as the inexhaustible source of wealth of Egypt, thereby knocking down arrogance and reconciling the local nobility and priesthood. Be that as it may, a large amount of knowledge accumulated over the centuries has been lost. Although some books miraculously survived and later became one of the most revered in alchemical circles.
After these sad events, alchemists gradually began to move to the Middle East. Arabs developed this science, having made many significant discoveries. Archaeologists find alchemical signs throughout the Middle East, which suggests a significant spread of this science in the Arab world. The heyday of Arab alchemy is considered to be the VIII-IX centuries. This is due to the fact that it was then that the theory of the original elements that originated in Greece and belonged to Aristotle was improved. At the same time, a distillation apparatus appeared. For the first time, Arabian alchemists introduced the idea of numerology. But besides this, it was just the Arab scientists who first introduced the concept of the philosopher's stone. The centers of scientific activity of the alchemists were Baghdad and Cordoba. The Academy of Sciences functioned in Cordoba, among which the most significant was alchemy.
How and when did alchemy enter Europe?
It is believed that the familiarity of European scientists with alchemy began in the VIII century, as a result of the capture by the Arabs of the territories on the Iberian Peninsula. An important role in the formation of European alchemy was played by Dominican monks - the German Albert the Great, canonized by the Catholic Church, and one of his students, Thomas Aquinas. Alberta wrote several alchemical treatises based on ancient Greek works on the nature of substances.
The first scientist to “officially” use alchemical signs in his writings was the Briton Roger Bacon, a natural scientist, teacher of theology and a doctor, and besides that, he was also a Franciscan monk. It is this man who lived in the XIII century, is considered the first European alchemist.
What did the basic alchemical symbols mean?
The alchemical signs and symbols that developed gradually over the centuries of the existence of this science were used not only by people who studied it. Until the 18th century, symbolism was used simply to denote chemical elements and substances.
At the time of dawn and before the fading began, associated with the persecution begun by the pope John XXII, expressed in the ban on the practice of this science in Italy, the main symbolism developed.
The most important alchemical signs included images:
- four primary elements;
- three main characters;
- seven metals.
Combinations of these substances are the basis of alchemy in general. Of course, in addition to them, alchemists used other substances and elements to which their own designations corresponded.
Four primary elements
The primary four elements were considered alchemists:
- the fire;
- Earth;
- air;
- water.
That is, the elements. Alchemical science in the question of the primary elements of originality did not show. But the graphic designations look quite peculiar.
The alchemical sign of fire is an even triangle, similar to the image of a pyramid, without additional dashes. Scientists depicted the earth in the form of an inverted triangle directed downward and crossed out by a line near it. Air was depicted using a sign, which is a mirror reflection of the symbolism of the earth. The sign looks like an ordinary triangle, directed upwards, crossed out by a line. Water, respectively, was displayed as the antipode of fire. Her sign is a simple but upside down triangle.
Main characters
Often, researchers in alchemical philosophy try to combine the Christian Trinity with the number of main characters. But the three basic elements of alchemy with Christian doctrines have nothing in common.
According to the treatises of Paracelsus, who in his writings relied on the remains of ancient knowledge, the main main substances for alchemists are:
These are the primary substances that embody matter, spirit and vibes.
The alchemical sign of salt, which embodies matter, the basic universal substance, looks like a ball or a sphere crossed out in half. However, not all scientists used this particular option. Some alchemists used the designation without a cross line. There were scientists who designated substance with the image of a ball with two transverse features. This was done so that no one but themselves and their students and followers could make out the formulas.
The alchemical sign of sulfur expresses the spirit, the omnipresent and integral part of life itself. This symbol was depicted in the form of an even triangle with a cross emerging from the base. The triangle was not crossed out, although it is possible that this sign was somehow changed in order to hide the meaning of the formulas discovered as a result of the experiments.
The alchemical sign of mercury simultaneously symbolized both the planet Mercury and the Greek god himself. This is the embodiment of fluid flows connecting the top and bottom of the universe, the heavenly dome with the earth's firmament. That is, the flow of fluids causing an inextricable and endless course of life, the transition of various substances from one state to another. The graphic image of this symbol is one of the most complex, multi-component. The image is based on a sphere or a circle, a ball. The top of the symbol is crowned with an open hemisphere, reminiscent of a schematic depiction of the horns of a bull in ancient Egypt. At the bottom of the sign is a cross growing out of the boundary line of the sphere. In addition, mercury was not only the embodiment of an endless fluid flow, but was also one of the seven main metals.
Designations of main metals
Alchemical signs and their meanings would have been devoid of practical meaning without supplementing with representations of the seven principal metals.
The metals endowed by scientists with special properties are:
- lead;
- mercury;
- tin;
- iron;
- copper;
- silver;
- gold.
Each of them corresponded to a specific celestial body. Accordingly, the graphic designations of metals were also symbols of celestial bodies. This did not add clarity to the records of scientists, since without a general context it was rather difficult to correctly understand the alchemical signs and symbols and their meaning. The symbolism looks as shown in the illustration.
The planets Neptune, Uranus and Pluto were discovered later than there were ideas about the basic metals in alchemy. Many followers of alchemy, who took up it at the end of the century before last and later, believe that it is precisely the lack of knowledge about the three planets and their corresponding metals that accounts for most of the failures in the experiments of medieval scholars.
What celestial bodies correspond to base metals?
Alchemical signs symbolizing metals and their meanings in astrology correspond to this ratio:
- The sun is, of course, gold.
- The moon is the patroness of silver.
- Venus is associated with copper.
- Mars - the planet of war, aggression, of course, corresponds to iron.
- Jupiter is a celestial reflection of tin.
- Mercury - the flying Greek deity in winged sandals; like the cosmic body of the same name, is associated with mercury.
- Saturn is distant and mysterious, expresses itself as lead.
Planets discovered later also received a connection with metals and a graphic display in alchemy. Their metals are consonant in their names with the names of the planets themselves - Neptune, Uranus, Plutonium. Of course, in traditional medieval science these planets, like metals, are not.
Was there anything else?
In addition to the main symbolism, which, as a rule, did not change and was the same in the works of most scientists, there were so-called "floating" designations. Such symbols did not have clear instructions in calligraphy and were depicted in different ways.
The main of the secondary substances, whose alchemical signs do not have a clear classification, are “worldly” or mundane. These elements include:
- arsenic;
- boron;
- phosphorus;
- antimony;
- bismuth;
- magnesium;
- platinum;
- stone - any;
- potassium;
- zinc and others.
These substances were considered the first of the secondary. That is, the basic alchemical processes were carried out, as a rule, with their application.
What were the main processes?
The main alchemical processes aimed at the conversion of any substance are:
- compound;
- decomposition;
- modification;
- fixation;
- separation;
- multiplication.
The main processes in alchemy are exactly 12, in accordance with the zodiac circle. This number is achieved by various combinations of the above processes and the use of unequal paths for reactions. The graphic representation of the processes themselves coincides with the zodiac, but it is necessarily supplemented by signs expressing the path necessary for the reaction.
What were the main paths in alchemical experiments?
The above processes were carried out in the following ways:
- calcination;
- oxidation;
- solidification;
- dissolution;
- warming up;
- distillation;
- filtration;
- softening;
- fermentation;
- putrefaction.
Each path was applied strictly in accordance with the current value of the zodiac calendar.
How were the achieved results recorded?
Alchemical records are not at all what modern scientists use, fixing a chain of experiments with substances. Alchemists often left after their work not a line of strange icons, but real pictures.
In such illustrations, as a rule, reflecting a whole series of experiments and the results obtained, the initial element was placed in the center. From him already in different directions departed, like rays, graphic images of the actions of scientists. Of course, this option of fixing the work done and the results achieved in the experiments was not the only one. However, most often the beginning of the recording was located in the center of the image.