Class VI: Alchemy (Red)
This art must ever secret be, The cause wherof is this, as ye may see:
If one evil man had thereof all his will, All Christian peace he might easily spill,
And with his pride he might pull down Rightful kings and princes of renown.
— “Ordinal of Alchemy,” by Thomas Norton of Bristol (15th century)the Hermetic Art. Mary the Jewess (4th century CE),
one of the most influential early practitioners of this
art, taught that alchemy is indeed donum dei (a gift of
God); but this gift was not for alchemists in general,
but only for Jews. A true understanding of alchemy
required years of study and prayers to God for guid-
ance, followed by more years of practical experiments.Lesson 2. Goals & Practices
of AlchemyThis, therefore, was the general aim of the Alche-
mists—to carry out in the laboratory, as far as
possible, the processes which Nature carried out
in the interior of the Earth.
—James C. Brown (History of Chemistry)The main objectives of medieval alchemists were
the transmutation of “base metals” (particularly lead)
into gold and silver, and the discovery of the Elixer of
Life that would heal all ills and bestow immortality.
The key to both the transmutation and the Elixer
lay in the discovery of the Philosopher’s Stone, a mys-
terious substance variously said to be either a stone,
powder, or liquid that was recognizable only by the
initiated. The Philosopher’s Stone was believed to be a
universal catalyst that could effect such transmutations.
A third goal was the creation of the homunculus,
a miniature artificial man. In essence, this meant the
creation of life itself—a goal still pursued by modern
biologists without success. Several prominent alche-
mists left written instructions on how to create a ho-
munculus, but I don’t believe them!
Lesser goals of alchemy were the discovery of
the Alcahest, or Universal Solvent; palingenesis, or
the restoration of a plant from its ashes; the prepara-
tion of spiritus mundi, a mystic substance that could
dissolve gold; the extraction of the Quintessence, or
active principle, of all substances; and the prepara-
tion of aurum potable, or liquid gold, which could be
drunk as a universal remedy.Principles of Alchemy
As above so below,
and as below so above,
for the accomplishment of
the Miracle of The One Thing.
—The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus- Introduction and History
LCHEMY IS THE MAGICKAL ART AND
SCIence of transformation and
transmutation. The name comes
from Arabic al-kimia. Alchemy
was the forerunner of modern
chemistry, originating in Alexan-
dria, Egypt, during the 1st century
CE, when Egyptian metallurgy was
fused with Greek philosophy and Middle Eastern mys-
ticism. Some of the essential doctrines, however, were
formulated before 400 BCE. A Greek papyrus from c.300
CE describes a method of changing the color of a metal
to look like gold or silver, saying that the new metal
would fool expert goldsmiths.
Alchemy has always been surrounded by a cloud
of mystery, its origins ascribed to supernatural inter-
vention. Legend has it that Hermes Trismegistus, later
identified with the Egyptian god Thoth, was the
founder of alchemy. This is why alchemy is known asHermes Trismegistus, by Jean Jacques Boissard
(De Divinatione et Magicis, 1597)Corrected pages 3rd printing.2.p65 34 6/10/2004, 4:02 PM