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The
Australian Skeptics
Guide
to Alchemy
ALCHEMY: A pseudo-science
comprising complex
metaphysical
and philosophical concepts. The precursor of chemistry, it combined
aspects
of religion and science, and it is often difficult to identify where
one
area ended and the other commenced.
The principles of Alchemy had been
known in
ancient
China and appear to have entered Europe sometime around the end of the
Roman Empire. It was extensively developed in Europe after 1000 AD by
the
Arabs, and later by the Europeans themselves.
Like many of the ancient “arts” it
presented
a facade
of a profoundly intellectual endeavour, although in fact, most
alchemists
were swindlers who sought to use their alleged skills to gain wealth
and
power defrauding gullible patrons.
That is not to say however,
that there
were
a few genuine individuals whose objectives were wisdom rather than
monetary
rewards. The true alchemists had a vision of the world that made them
very
humble and set them apart from the rest of mankind. These few spent
their
life studying obscure books, and conducting what was, because of the
chemicals
they used, often dangerous research.
Although the best known aspect of
alchemy of
converting
any ordinary metal like iron or lead into gold, the exact objectives of
alchemy were much more complex and diverse. There were essentially two
categories of Alchemists:
• the Alchemists, whose prime aim was the gathering of knowledge, wisdom, and the completion of the Great Work. The philosophical side of
alchemy identified this physical
objective of converting common metals into gold as merely an analogy of
the conversion of the ordinary man into something finer and much more
precious.
Such beliefs were fuelled by ancient myths such as the Golden Fleece,
which
they believed contained the secret of the Great Work.
They followed many of the
teachings of the
Cabbala.
Their concept of the Hermetic World was of the Divine World, (the upper
part), the material world, (the lower part) and the Central Circle,
being
the Circle of The Great Work, half on high, half below.
The Alchemists were much involved
in
esoteric symbolism.
They adopted the Egyptian concept of the Uroboros, (the unbroken
circle),
as well as many other ancient symbols, describing all their activities
and substances in arcane terms using esoteric names for the most common
substances. Lead became Black Crow, Sal ammoniac was White Eagle, while
Mercury became Celestial Dew.
The Anima Mundi was linked to God
in the
same way
that man is linked to women. They built various strange furnaces in
which
they hoped to achieve their objectives, such as making the Powder of
Projection,
more commonly know as the Philosopher’s Stone, which they believed had
both curative and toxic properties. They represented it as a
fertilizing
agent or the Elixir of Life, which made plants grow and bear fruit in a
short space of time, e.g. a few hours. The Philosopher’s Egg, or Vase,
in which the Great Work took place was filled with raw materials to
produce
the seven metals, and developed into three variations of “a bird more
sublime
than all the others,” the double egg of Crede Mihi, and then a concept
of classical origin of the dragon and serpents. The Primordial Strength
(symbolized by the serpent) had to be massacred before the Great Work
could
come into being.
The theme of the “king” or
“killing of the
king,”
referred to the sublimation of matter, and to the Alchemist it had a
very
precise meaning. The “king” as primordial matter, devoured the son,
before
the power incarnate could be saved it had to be impregnated with that
of
the father. (It was an allegorical variation of the Christian
theme
where the Son of God had to sacrifice himself before becoming one with
the Father).
The idea that this stone could
transform any
metal
into gold was based upon the idea that, because all substances in the
universe
had been involved in the Chaos, then every single substance in the
universe
contained a form of life.
It should be realized that in that
age, they
knew
little about the origins of living organisms. Life was believed to be a
spontaneous act, (it was believed that flies were born out of rotten
meat),
so the idea that every substance was capable of being changed into some
other substance appeared logical.
This explained why they were
certain that
lead could
be changed to gold. By “converting” the inherent nature of the lead,
refining
it into a purer form in the same way that a sinful man could be changed
by the converting power of religion and his own faith, into a
different,
finer person, common lead could be converted into the finest of metals,
royal gold. Each metal carried within itself a Ferment, which they
believed
could be extracted; thus Royal Gold could produce Gold Ferment.
Another aspect of their belief
concerned the
conjunction
of opposites. Like the Chinese idea of Yin and Yang, they believed that
natural opposites could combine to create balance, and form new
substances,
just as male and female that are so different can unite to create new
life.
Unfortunately, the secret to this
uniting
remained
ever elusive, described by their quotation, that it could only become
possible
when, “that which was hidden should become known.” To hide the fact
that
they really did not know what they were talking about, the followers of
this art presented their writings in the most abstruse terminology,
claiming
that only those who were properly enlightened would be able to
understand
what had been written. Yet in fact their writings were nothing more
than
complete nonsense, recorded in such an abstract way that it was
unintelligible.
Consider the following quotation,
taken from
The
Rosarium an ancient alchemical text, which claimed to “explain” how to
create the philosopher’s stone:
Out of man and woman make a round
circle and
extract
a quadrangle and from the quadrangle the triangle. Make a round circle
and you will have the philosopher’s stone.
Alembic, crucible, all were there. In their long history only one
alchemist stands
out,
Paracelsus, who discovered ether about 1540. Although an alchemist he
was
also a brilliant scientist. Rather than blindly accepting ancient ideas
as factual, he introduced empirical testing, and in doing so sounded
the
death knell of alchemy.
Of all the other alchemists, their
efforts
were
a total waste of time and money. They spent lives searching for
something
that was never there. Their theories concerning the concept of matter
and
the origins of life were based upon false religious and philosophical
assumptions,
and once science started to develop their ideas were revealed for what
they were, totally unworkable, superstitious nonsense. Even a scientist
as great as Isaac Newton wasted a fortune and years of his time
attempting
to prove alchemical theories.
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