Historian Nevill Drury, in his book "Magic and Witchcraft," notes that, "The word alchemy is thought to derive from an Egyptian word, 'chem' or 'qem,' meaning black — a reference to the black alluvial soils bordering the Nile We know that the Greek word 'chyma,' meaning to fuse or cast metals, established itself in Arabic as 'al kimia' — from which alchemy is derived. Having the ability to turn lead into gold has obvious benefits these days, but ancient alchemists did not seek to change base metals into gold simply out of greed; as Drury notes, "The alchemists did not regard all metals as equally mature or 'perfect.
A 'golden' human being was resplendent with spiritual beauty and had triumphed over the lurking power of evil. The basest metal, lead , represented the sinful and unrepentant individual who was readily overcome by the forces of darkness If lead and gold both consisted of fire, air, water, and earth, then surely by changing the proportions of the constituent elements, lead could be transformed into gold.
Gold was superior to lead because, by its very nature, it contained the perfect balance of all four elements. Alchemy shows up in some odd places. For instance, Isaac Newton , best known for his study of gravity and his laws of motion , also wrote more than a million words of alchemical notes throughout his lifetime, historians have estimated.
In March , the Chemical Heritage Foundation bought a 17th-century alchemy manuscript written by Newton. Buried in a private collection for decades, the manuscript detailed how to make "philosophic" mercury, thought to be a step toward making the philosopher's stone — a magical substance thought to have the ability to turn any metal into gold and give eternal life.
For decades, he pursued alchemic secrets that he felt were perhaps even more fundamental than gravity: He hoped that in teasing out the chemical and mineral makeup of the world, scientists could perhaps find the one true essence of nature, thereby wielding immense power.
With its roots divided between philosophical, religious, mystical and scientific pursuits, alchemy eventually ran into the buzz saw of rational thinking that developed during the Age of Enlightenment. Its secretive tendencies drew suspicions from the government and the church, and its associations with the occult didn't help, either.
As such, alchemy faded into obscurity, leaving behind a reputation colored by charlatanism and quackery. It's no wonder that ancient peoples first gawped at the perceived power of alchemists, and later, as more refined scientific methods took hold, began to mock them.
But with their legitimate chemical experimentations and applications, alchemists had already made their mark , paving the way for modern chemistry. Alchemy is anything but dead. And thanks to the internet, you can instantly join the Alchemy Guild and seriously level up your ancient chemistry street cred. Sign up for our Newsletter!
Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Physical Science. History of Physical Science. How Alchemy Paved the Way for Chemistry. All those experiments trying to make gold from lead helped create the scientific method. In the early days of alchemy, the astronomical signs of the planets were also used as alchemical symbols.
Then in the centuries of medieval persecution and suppression every alchemist invented his own secret symbols. Charlatans, quacks and cheats took over and alchemy became, along with sorcery and witchcraft, infamous for fraud and extortion.
In the 18th century scientists tried to pry loose the real achievements in chemistry, pharmacology and medicine from this confusing cornucopia of science and magic. Explore all alchemical elements.
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