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* The rose is the symbol of alchemy,
and represents perfection, the mysteries of life, the point where life and cosmos unite. Its five-petal structure is
associated with the pentagram, a symbol of the human microcosm... The word ’alchemy’ originates from the
Arabic word ‘alkimia’. ‘Al’ = The. ‘Chemy’ = ‘Kmt’ or ‘Chem’,
and was used by Ancient Egyptians as the name for their land or ‘the black land: black and fertile in contrast
to the desert.’ In this case the Arabic name would mean ‘the Egyptian Art.’
Another derivation is from the Greek word ‘chyma’, i.e. ‘to fuse or cast metal.’ Alchemy is
still taught in India (Ayurveda), and in China (Taoism).
* When the Greeks
invaded Egypt, their empire stretched as far east as India. Indian mysticism then, as well as Egyptian,
Zoroastrian & Babylonian, entered the Greek World. Alexandria, the capital of Greek Egypt (III
BC) was the centre for mystical religious cults. Egypt continued to maintain its own ancient & esoteric teaching (e.g.
The Book of the Dead, the Pyramid Texts), and out of this, came alchemy... The earliest alchemical manuscripts are Egyptian papyri from Alexandria (IV BC). These are texts on metallurgy (e.g.
small amounts of gold added to other metals to make gold).
*Alchemy appears in the work of Bolus from
Mendes, who died around 250 BC. He studied the mystery tradition of Egypt as well as Pythagorean thought
and healing principles. He stated that matter could be malleabled, that lead, for example, could be turned into gold. He was
a relevant figure for the transmission of Pythagorean teachings and the development of alchemy which, in years to come, was
to merge with the Hermetic writings which themselves combined Egyptian and Pythagorean teachings.
* According to Zosimus the alchemist
(III AD), the alchemical tradition had been secretly practiced in the Egyptian temples. He wrote a great encyclopedia of alchemy,
plus 28 books on the subject. He lived under the reign of the Roman Emperors Dioclestian & Constantine. The former ordered
all alchemy texts to be burned, and the latter condemned alchemy as an art. Zosimus emphasised the important role of the Egyptian
priest in maintaining the tradition in secrecy. All workers in alchemy served the pharaoh and were forbidden by royal decree
to publish any of the alchemical secrets... The priests of Memphis were known for their alchemy and skill in magic
& taught in underground shrines... The alchemical secrets were inscribed in temples using code, cipher or arcane symbolism...
To the early alchemists colour was the most important characteristic of metal. They would look for colour changes to
mark the stages of their work. Zosimus named the catalyst that was necessary for the transformation as the powder ’xerion’,
which later became known as the Philosopher’s Stone.
Visit-->The Alchemy Web Site
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| Jabir ibn-Hayyan & Al-Razi |
* The Arabian army conquered Egypt
in VII AD. There they were brought into contact with a large group of alchemists. In the VIII & IX AD the Islamic Empire
spread eats to the Indus river where they shared influences with the Indian Alchemists. The greatest alchemists from that
period are Arabic... Jabir Ibn Hayyan was a member of the mystical
Islamic movement known as Sufism. He developed a theory which
became common to all subsequent alchemical texts: ‘All metals seem to contain a balance of the four qualities: Cold,
dry (externally), and hot and moist (internally). Jabir also brought a number symbolism into alchemy (e.g. 1+3+5+8=17;
metals have 17 powers, etc.)... Al-Razi (IX AD) introduced the
concept of accurate weighs and measures, and recorded in detail much of which is still used by modern alchemist...
* Alchemy was not known in mainstream Europe until the XII
century. The Knights Templar were among the first westerners to
be acquainted with alchemy. The Templars adopted the teachings of the Druses, a sect within the Islamic World... European
alchemist traced the origin of their craft to the Egyptian Hermes Trismegistus.
The alchemical process came to be called the magnum opus or the ’great work’. The opus was the search for the
elusive transformative substance contained in all matter, i.e. Anima Mundi, quinta essentia, Unus Mundus, or Philosopher’s
Stone. To find it, alchemists had to use the correct chemical procedure. The Stone was believed to the power to transform
base metal into gold. Some even believed it to be an elixir of life that could offer immortality. When the stone was found,
the alchemist achieved spiritual; perfection... Alchemists developed their own equipment, most of it remain useful today.
They invented distillation, which led to the commercial perfume industry; and discovered that distilling wine gave rise to
a medicine which induced conviviality: alcohol... The alchemists would heat, distil & re-distil the same product over
and over again, for months or years, in search of stone. The arab alch. Geber described processes involving some 700
distillations before the required change would occur. Most alchemist texts mention a series of 7 stages beginning with Hg
& sulphur. Each stage is described as taken up to 1 year during which the mix must be kept at a constant heat... (Visit-->
A History of the Kights Tamplar: http://www.templarhistory.com )
| Boyle, Newton & Locke |
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* The French alch. Flamel
(XIV AD) is cited as having created the Philosopher's Stone. He also turned half a pound og Hg into 1/2 a pound of pure Ag,
and Hg into Au... By the XVII century, alchemy reached its peak and
a large quantity of alchemical books were published, including the works of Maier, Bohme, and even a book with just pictures
(the Mutus Liber). At this time, Robert Boyle conducted his own secret experiments
into transmutation. He believed that the transmutation powder existed, the "red powder" from the Ph.'s Stone, & that it
could be used to make in medicines, transmute base metals into Au & Ag, and also to contact supernatural spirits. He also
secretely made, or received, some alchemical powder which he called "red earth" and donated it, at his death, to John Locke, who passed to Newton ("the ancients
knew all the secrets at once....")
* In the XIX century, spiritual alchemy (i.e. the spiritual
quest as the primary objective) was revived, leading to the formation of such groups as the Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn, or the Order of the Templars of the East...
According to an anonymous soviet physicist (June 1994, International Defence Review), with the use of red
mercury a nuclear bomb weighing only 4 to 6 pounds could be constructed. In addition to Hg, antimony
is needed (in XII AD, the alchemist Artephius wrote a special tincture which containe both Antimony and sublimated
Hg for which many dramatic uses were "hypothesised".)
| VISIT THE HERMETIC ORDER... |
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(c) Daniel Yanez-Gonzalez, 2005
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