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Alchemy: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Alchemy
Alchemy began not in a laboratory, but in the fertile soil of the Nile valley, where ancient Egyptians called their land the Black Land to distinguish it from the surrounding Red Land of the desert. The word itself, alchemy, derives from the Arabic term for the Egyptian science, which traces back to the Coptic word for Egypt and the ancient Egyptian word for black. This linguistic root suggests that the earliest practitioners were deeply connected to the earth itself, viewing their craft as a way to reunite with the divine or original form. The earliest historical evidence of this practice comes from the city of Alexandria, a melting pot of Greek and Egyptian traditions, where the art was often characterized as mystic, sacred, and divine. Zosimos of Panopolis, writing in the third or fourth century, traced the alchemical arts back to Egyptian metallurgical and ceremonial practices, suggesting that the ancient practice of tinctures had been taken over by certain demons who taught the art only to those who offered them sacrifices. While Zosimos was critical of the kind of alchemy he associated with the Egyptian priests and their followers, he nonetheless saw the tradition's recent past as rooted in the rites of the Egyptian temples. The earliest alchemical texts, such as the Stockholm papyrus and the Leyden papyrus X, dating from AD 250 to 300, contained recipes for dyeing, making artificial gemstones, cleaning and fabricating pearls, and manufacturing imitation gold and silver. These writings lacked the mystical, philosophical elements of later alchemy but did contain the works of Bolus of Mendes, which aligned these recipes with theoretical knowledge of astrology and the classical elements. The transition from this practical metallurgy to a Hermetic art was a slow process, one that would eventually transform the understanding of matter and the soul.
The Great Work of Hermes
At the heart of alchemical mythology stood Hermes Trismegistus, a figure derived from the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek god Hermes, whose caduceus or serpent-staff became one of the principal symbols of the craft. The Hermetica, a compendium of texts attributed to him, included the famous Emerald Tablet, a compact and cryptic text that served as a foundational document for alchemical instructions. The earliest known versions of the Emerald Tablet were four Arabic recensions preserved in mystical and alchemical treatises between the eighth and tenth centuries AD, chief among them the Secret of Creation and the Secret of Secrets. From the twelfth century onward, Latin translations, most notably the widespread so-called Vulgate, introduced the Emerald Tablet to Europe, where it attracted great scholarly interest. Medieval commentators such as Ortolanus interpreted it as a foundational text of alchemical instructions for producing the philosopher's stone and making gold. The central figure in the mythology of alchemy, Hermes Trismegistus, was believed to have written forty-two books covering all fields of knowledge, including alchemy, astrology, medicine, pharmacology, and magic. The Hermetica were widely copied throughout the Middle Ages, and their influence extended far beyond the laboratory, shaping the philosophical and religious contexts in which alchemy operated. The concept of the philosopher's stone was variously connected with all of these projects, serving as a symbol of the Great Work, the process of purifying, maturing, and perfecting certain materials. The Great Work was thought to result in the perfection of the human body and soul, a process that involved the transmutation of base metals into noble metals, particularly gold, and the creation of an elixir of immortality. The alchemists believed that the human soul was divided within itself after the fall of Adam, and by purifying the two parts of humankind's soul, humans could be reunited with God. This belief system was deeply rooted in the four elements of earth, air, water, and fire, which were thought to be the building blocks of all matter. The alchemists developed a basic set of laboratory techniques, theories, and terms, some of which are still in use today, and they tended to guard their work in secrecy, often making use of cyphers and cryptic symbolism. The search for the philosopher's stone was introduced to Western alchemy by the Islamic philosopher Jabir ibn Hayyan, who theorized that by rearranging the qualities of one metal, a different metal would result. The atomic theory of corpuscularianism, where all physical bodies possess an inner and outer layer of minute particles or corpuscles, also has its origins in the work of ibn Hayyan. The alchemists' entire philosophy revolved around their belief that the human soul was divided within itself after the fall of Adam, and by purifying the two parts of humankind's soul, humans could be reunited with God.
Where did alchemy begin and what is the origin of the word alchemy?
Alchemy began in the Nile valley where ancient Egyptians called their land the Black Land. The word alchemy derives from the Arabic term for the Egyptian science, which traces back to the Coptic word for Egypt and the ancient Egyptian word for black.
Who is Hermes Trismegistus and what is the significance of the Emerald Tablet in alchemy?
Hermes Trismegistus is a figure derived from the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek god Hermes who is the central figure in alchemical mythology. The Emerald Tablet is a foundational document for alchemical instructions that was preserved in four Arabic recensions between the eighth and tenth centuries AD.
When was alchemy introduced to Latin Europe and who translated the first major texts?
The introduction of alchemy to Latin Europe may be dated to the 11th of February 1144 with the completion of Robert of Chester's translation of the Book on the Composition of Alchemy. Gerard of Cremona and Adelard of Bath also contributed to the flourishing translation of Arabic texts in twelfth-century Toledo, Spain.
What were the contributions of Mary the Jewess to early alchemical equipment and techniques?
Mary the Jewess is the first alchemist whose name is known and she devised improvements to alchemical equipment and tools including the laboratory water-bath known as the bain-marie. She also developed the tribikos and the kerotakis which are modified distillation apparatuses used for sublimations.
How did Carl Gustav Jung interpret alchemy and what is the Great Work of Alchemy?
Carl Gustav Jung interpreted alchemy as a symbolic process of coming into wholeness where the transmutation of metals represents the transmutation of the soul. The Great Work of Alchemy is described as a series of four stages represented by colours: nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, and rubedo.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the focus of alchemical development moved to the Islamic world, where much more is known about the practice because it was better documented. The early Islamic world was a melting pot for alchemy, with Platonic and Aristotelian thought continuing to be assimilated during the late seventh and early eighth centuries through Syriac translations and scholarship. In the late ninth and early tenth centuries, the Arabic works attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan, Latinized as Geber, introduced a new approach to alchemy. Jabir's ultimate goal was takwin, the artificial creation of life in the alchemical laboratory, up to and including human life. He analyzed each Aristotelian element in terms of four basic qualities of hotness, coldness, dryness, and moistness, and theorized that by rearranging the qualities of one metal, a different metal would result. Jabir developed an elaborate numerology whereby the root letters of a substance's name in Arabic, when treated with various transformations, held correspondences to the element's physical properties. The atomic theory of corpuscularianism, where all physical bodies possess an inner and outer layer of minute particles or corpuscles, also has its origins in the work of Jabir. From the ninth to the fourteenth centuries, alchemical theories faced criticism from a variety of practical Muslim chemists, including Al-Kindi, Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, Avicenna, and Ibn Khaldun. In particular, they wrote refutations against the idea of the transmutation of metals. From the fourteenth century onwards, many materials and practices originally belonging to Indian alchemy were assimilated in the Persian texts written by Muslim scholars. The Islamic world also played a crucial role in preserving and transmitting Greek alchemical texts to Europe. The translation of Arabic texts concerning numerous disciplines including alchemy flourished in twelfth-century Toledo, Spain, through contributors like Gerard of Cremona and Adelard of Bath. These translations brought with them many new words to the European vocabulary for which there was no previous Latin equivalent, including alcohol, carboy, elixir, and athanor. The Islamic alchemists also developed a basic set of laboratory techniques, theories, and terms, some of which are still in use today. They did not abandon the Ancient Greek philosophical idea that everything is composed of four elements, and they tended to guard their work in secrecy, often making use of cyphers and cryptic symbolism. The Islamic alchemists also made great contributions to alchemical Hermeticism, with Jabir ibn Hayyan being the most influential author in this regard. The Islamic world was a crucial link in the chain of alchemical knowledge, preserving and expanding upon the traditions of the ancient world and passing them on to the medieval European scholars who would eventually transform the practice into modern chemistry.
The Medieval European Turn
The introduction of alchemy to Latin Europe may be dated to the 11th of February 1144, with the completion of Robert of Chester's translation of the Book on the Composition of Alchemy from an Arabic work attributed to Khalid ibn Yazid. Although European craftsmen and technicians pre-existed, Robert notes in his preface that alchemy was unknown in Latin Europe at the time of his writing. The translation of Arabic texts concerning numerous disciplines including alchemy flourished in twelfth-century Toledo, Spain, through contributors like Gerard of Cremona and Adelard of Bath. These translations brought with them many new words to the European vocabulary for which there was no previous Latin equivalent, including alcohol, carboy, elixir, and athanor. Meanwhile, theologian contemporaries of the translators made strides towards the reconciliation of faith and experimental rationalism, thereby priming Europe for the influx of alchemical thought. The 11th-century theologian Anselm of Canterbury put forth the opinion that faith and rationalism were compatible and encouraged rationalism in a Christian context. In the early 12th century, Peter Abelard followed Anselm's work, laying down the foundation for acceptance of Aristotelian thought before the first works of Aristotle had reached the West. In the early 13th century, Robert Grosseteste used Abelard's methods of analysis and added the use of observation, experimentation, and conclusions when conducting scientific investigations. Grosseteste also did much work to reconcile Platonic and Aristotelian thinking. Through much of the 12th and 13th centuries, alchemical knowledge in Europe remained centered on translations, and new Latin contributions were not made. The efforts of the translators were succeeded by that of the encyclopaedists. In the 13th century, Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon were the most notable of these, their work summarizing and explaining the newly imported alchemical knowledge in Aristotelian terms. Albertus Magnus, a Dominican friar, is known to have written works such as the Book of Minerals where he observed and commented on the operations and theories of alchemical authorities like Hermes Trismegistus, pseudo-Democritus, and unnamed alchemists of his time. Albertus critically compared these to the writings of Aristotle and Avicenna, where they concerned the transmutation of metals. From the time shortly after his death through to the 15th century, more than 28 alchemical tracts were misattributed to him, a common practice giving rise to his reputation as an accomplished alchemist. Likewise, alchemical texts have been attributed to Albert's student Thomas Aquinas. Roger Bacon, a Franciscan Order friar who wrote on a wide variety of topics, including optics, comparative linguistics, and medicine, composed his Great Work for as part of a project towards rebuilding the medieval university curriculum to include the new learning of his time. While alchemy was not more important to him than other sciences and he did not produce allegorical works on the topic, he did consider it and astrology to be important parts of both natural philosophy and theology and his contributions advanced alchemy's connections to soteriology and Christian theology. Bacon's writings integrated morality, salvation, alchemy, and the prolongation of life. His correspondence with Clement highlighted this, noting the importance of alchemy to the papacy. Like the Greeks before him, Bacon acknowledged the division of alchemy into practical and theoretical spheres. He noted that the theoretical lay outside the scope of Aristotle, the natural philosophers, and all Latin writers of his time. The practical confirmed the theoretical, and Bacon advocated its uses in natural science and medicine. In later European legend, he became an archmage. In particular, along with Albertus Magnus, he was credited with the forging of a brazen head capable of answering its owner's questions. Soon after Bacon, the influential work of Pseudo-Geber appeared. His Summa Perfectionis remained a staple summary of alchemical practice and theory through the medieval and renaissance periods. It was notable for its inclusion of practical chemical operations alongside sulphur-mercury theory, and the unusual clarity with which they were described. By the end of the 13th century, alchemy had developed into a fairly structured system of belief. Adepts believed in the macrocosm-microcosm theories of Hermes, namely that processes that affect minerals and other substances could have an effect on the human body. They believed in the four elements and the four qualities as described above, and they had a strong tradition of cloaking their written ideas in a labyrinth of coded jargon set with traps to mislead the uninitiated. Finally, the alchemists practiced their art: they actively experimented with chemicals and made observations and theories about how the universe operated. Their entire philosophy revolved around their belief that the human soul was divided within itself after the fall of Adam. By purifying the two parts of humankind's soul, humans could be reunited with God. In the 14th century, alchemy became more accessible to Europeans outside the confines of Latin-speaking churchmen and scholars. Alchemical discourse shifted from scholarly philosophical debate to an exposed social commentary on the alchemists themselves. Dante, Piers Plowman, and Chaucer all painted unflattering pictures of alchemists as thieves and liars. Pope John XXII's 1317 edict Spondent quas non-exhibent forbade the false promises of transmutation made by pseudo-alchemists. Roman Catholic Inquisitor General Nicholas Eymerich's Directorium Inquisitorum, written in 1376, associated alchemy with the performance of demonic rituals, which Eymerich differentiated from magic performed in accordance with Christian scripture. This did not, however, lead to any change in the Inquisition's monitoring or prosecution of alchemists. In 1404, Henry IV of England banned the practice of multiplying metals by the passing of the 5 Hen. 4. c. 4, although it was possible to buy a licence to attempt to make gold alchemically, and a number were granted by Henry VI and Edward IV. These critiques and regulations centered more around pseudo-alchemical charlatanism than the actual study of alchemy, which continued with an increasingly Christian tone. The 14th century saw the Christian imagery of death and resurrection employed in the alchemical texts of Petrus Bonus, John of Rupescissa, and in works written in the name of Raymond Lull and Arnold of Villanova. Nicolas Flamel is a well-known alchemist to the point where he had many pseudepigraphic imitators. Although the historical Flamel existed, the writings and legends assigned to him only appeared in 1612. A common idea in European alchemy in the medieval era was a metaphysical Homeric chain of wise men that linked heaven and earth, including ancient pagan philosophers and other important historical figures.
The Renaissance Rebirth
During the Renaissance, Hermetic and Platonic foundations were restored to European alchemy. The dawn of medical, pharmaceutical, occult, and entrepreneurial branches of alchemy followed. In the late 15th century, Marsilio Ficino translated the Corpus Hermeticum and the works of Plato into Latin. These were previously unavailable to Europeans who for the first time had a full picture of the alchemical theory that Bacon had declared absent. Renaissance Humanism and Renaissance Neoplatonism guided alchemists away from physics to refocus on mankind as the alchemical vessel. Esoteric systems developed that blended alchemy into a broader occult Hermeticism, fusing it with magic, astrology, and Christian Kabbalah. A key figure in this development was Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, a German who received his Hermetic education in Italy in the schools of the humanists. In his De Occulta Philosophia, he attempted to merge Judaism's Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and alchemy. He was instrumental in spreading this new blend of Hermeticism outside the borders of Italy. Paracelsus, born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, cast alchemy into a new form, rejecting some of Agrippa's occultism and moving away from chrysopoeia. Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine and wrote, Many have said of Alchemy, that it is for the making of gold and silver. For me such is not the aim, but to consider only what virtue and power may lie in medicines. His Hermetical views were that sickness and health in the body relied on the harmony of humankind as the microcosm and Nature the macrocosm. He took an approach different from those before him, using this analogy not in the manner of soul-purification but in the manner that humans must have certain balances of minerals in their bodies, and that certain illnesses of the body had chemical remedies that could cure them. Iatrochemistry refers to the pharmaceutical applications of alchemy championed by Paracelsus. John Dee, born on the 13th of July 1527 and died in December 1608, followed Agrippa's occult tradition. Although better known for angel summoning, divination, and his role as astrologer, cryptographer, and consultant to Elizabeth I of England, Dee's alchemical Monas hieroglyphica is not a traditional alchemical work, but has important theoretical insights about a cosmic vision, in which alchemy played an important part. Monas Hieroglyphica, written in 1564, was his most popular and influential work. His writing portrayed alchemy as a sort of terrestrial astronomy in line with the Hermetic axiom as above, so below. During the 17th century, a short-lived supernatural interpretation of alchemy became popular, including support by fellows of the Royal Society: Robert Boyle and Elias Ashmole. Proponents of the supernatural interpretation of alchemy believed that the philosopher's stone might be used to summon and communicate with angels. Entrepreneurial opportunities were common for the alchemists of Renaissance Europe. Alchemists were contracted by the elite for practical purposes related to mining, medical services, and the production of chemicals, medicines, metals, and gemstones. Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, in the late 16th century, famously received and sponsored various alchemists at his court in Prague, including Dee and his associate Edward Kelley. King James IV of Scotland, Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Augustus, Elector of Saxony, Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, and Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel all contracted alchemists. John's son Arthur Dee worked as a court physician to Michael I of Russia and Charles I of England but also compiled the alchemical book Fasciculus Chemicus. Although most of these appointments were legitimate, the trend of pseudo-alchemical fraud continued through the Renaissance. Betrüger would use sleight of hand, or claims of secret knowledge to make money or secure patronage. Legitimate mystical and medical alchemists such as Michael Maier and Heinrich Khunrath wrote about fraudulent transmutations, distinguishing themselves from the con artists. False alchemists were sometimes prosecuted for fraud. The terms chemia and alchemia were used as synonyms in the early modern period, and the differences between alchemy, chemistry and small-scale assaying and metallurgy were not as neat as in the present day. There were important overlaps between practitioners, and trying to classify them into alchemists, chemists and craftsmen is anachronistic. For example, Tycho Brahe, an alchemist better known for his astronomical and astrological investigations, had a laboratory built at his Uraniborg observatory/research institute. Michael Sendivogius, a Polish alchemist, philosopher, medical doctor and pioneer of chemistry wrote mystical works but is also credited with distilling oxygen in a lab sometime around 1600. Sendivogious taught his technique to Cornelius Drebbel who, in 1621, applied this in a submarine. Isaac Newton devoted considerably more of his writing to the study of alchemy than he did to either optics or physics. Other early modern alchemists who were eminent in their other studies include Robert Boyle, and Jan Baptist van Helmont. Their Hermeticism complemented rather than precluded their practical achievements in medicine and science.
The Great Decline and Rise
The decline of European alchemy was brought about by the rise of modern science with its emphasis on rigorous quantitative experimentation and its disdain for ancient wisdom. Although the seeds of these events were planted as early as the 17th century, alchemy still flourished for some two hundred years, and in fact may have reached its peak in the 18th century. As late as 1781 James Price claimed to have produced a powder that could transmute mercury into silver or gold. Early modern European alchemy continued to exhibit a diversity of theories, practices, and purposes: Scholastic and anti-Aristotelian, Paracelsian and anti-Paracelsian, Hermetic, Neoplatonic, mechanistic, vitalistic, and more, plus virtually every combination and compromise thereof. Robert Boyle, born in 1627 and died in 1691, pioneered the scientific method in chemical investigations. He assumed nothing in his experiments and compiled every piece of relevant data. Boyle would note the place in which the experiment was carried out, the wind characteristics, the position of the Sun and Moon, and the barometer reading, all just in case they proved to be relevant. This approach eventually led to the founding of modern chemistry in the 18th and 19th centuries, based on revolutionary discoveries and ideas of Lavoisier and John Dalton. Beginning around 1720, a rigid distinction began to be drawn for the first time between alchemy and chemistry. By the 1740s, alchemy was now restricted to the realm of gold making, leading to the popular belief that alchemists were charlatans, and the tradition itself nothing more than a fraud. In order to protect the developing science of modern chemistry from the negative censure to which alchemy was being subjected, academic writers during the 18th-century scientific Enlightenment attempted to divorce and separate the new chemistry from the old practices of alchemy. This move was mostly successful, and the consequences of this continued into the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. During the occult revival of the early 19th century, alchemy received new attention as an occult science. The esoteric or occultist school that arose during the 19th century held the view that the substances and operations mentioned in alchemical literature are to be interpreted in a spiritual sense, less than as a practical tradition or protoscience. This interpretation claimed that the obscure language of the alchemical texts, which 19th century practitioners were not always able to decipher, were an allegorical guise for spiritual, moral or mystical processes. Two seminal figures during this period were Mary Anne Atwood and Ethan Allen Hitchcock, who independently published similar works regarding spiritual alchemy. Both rebuffed the growing successes of chemistry, developing a completely esoteric view of alchemy. Atwood wrote: No modern art or chemistry, notwithstanding all its surreptitious claims, has any thing in common with Alchemy. Atwood's work influenced subsequent authors of the occult revival including Eliphas Levi, Arthur Edward Waite, and Rudolf Steiner. Hitchcock, in his Remarks Upon Alchymists, published in 1855, attempted to make a case for his spiritual interpretation with his claim that the alchemists wrote about a spiritual discipline under a materialistic guise in order to avoid accusations of blasphemy from the church and state. In 1845, Baron Carl Reichenbach, published his studies on Odic force, a concept with some similarities to alchemy, but his research did not enter the mainstream of scientific discussion. In 1946, Louis Cattiaux published the Message Retrouvé, a work that was at once philosophical, mystical and highly influenced by alchemy. In his lineage, many researchers, including Emmanuel and Charles d'Hooghvorst, are updating alchemical studies in France and Belgium. The history of alchemy has become a recognized subject of academic study. As the language of the alchemists is analyzed, historians are becoming more aware of the connections between that discipline and other facets of Western cultural history, such as the evolution of science and philosophy, the sociology and psychology of the intellectual communities, kabbalism, spiritualism, Rosicrucianism, and other mystic movements. Institutions involved in this research include The Chymistry of Isaac Newton project at Indiana University, the University of Exeter Centre for the Study of Esotericism, the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism, and the University of Amsterdam's Sub-department for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents. A large collection of books on alchemy is kept in the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam. Journals which publish regularly on the topic of Alchemy include Ambix, published by the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry, and Isis, published by the History of Science Society.
The Hidden Women of the Art
Several women appear in the earliest history of alchemy. Michael Maier names four women who were able to make the philosophers' stone: Mary the Jewess, Cleopatra the Alchemist, Medera, and Taphnutia. Zosimos's sister Theosebia, later known as Euthica the Arab, and Isis the Prophetess also played roles in early alchemical texts. The first alchemist whose name we know was Mary the Jewess. Early sources claim that Mary devised a number of improvements to alchemical equipment and tools as well as novel techniques in chemistry. Her best known advances were in heating and distillation processes. The laboratory water-bath, known eponymously, especially in France, as the bain-marie, is said to have been invented or at least improved by her. Essentially a double-boiler, it was and is used in chemistry for processes that required gentle heating. The tribikos, a modified distillation apparatus, and the kerotakis, a more intricate apparatus used especially for sublimations, are two other advancements in the process of distillation that are credited to her. Although we have no writing from Mary herself, she is known from the early-fourth-century writings of Zosimos of Panopolis. After the Greco-Roman period, women's names appear less frequently in alchemical literature. Towards the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of the Renaissance, due to the emergence of print, women were able to access the alchemical knowledge from texts of the preceding centuries. Caterina Sforza, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, is one of the few confirmed female alchemists after Mary the Jewess. As she owned an apothecary, she would practice science and conduct experiments in her botanic gardens and laboratories. Being knowledgeable in alchemy and pharmacology, she recorded all of her alchemical ventures in a manuscript named Experiments. The manuscript contained more than four hundred recipes covering alchemy as well as cosmetics and medicine. One of these recipes was for the water of talc. Talc, which makes up talcum powder, is a mineral which, when combined with water and distilled, was said to produce a solution which yielded many benefits. These supposed benefits included turning silver to gold and rejuvenation. When combined with white wine, its powder form could be ingested to counteract poison. Furthermore, if that powder was mixed and drunk with white wine, it was said to be a source of protection from any poison, sickness, or plague. Other recipes were for making hair dyes, lotions, lip colours. There was also information on how to treat a variety of ailments from fevers and coughs to epilepsy and cancer. In addition, there were instructions on producing the quintessence, or aether, an elixir which was believed to be able to heal all sicknesses, defend against diseases, and perpetuate youthfulness. She also wrote about creating the illustrious philosophers' stone. Some women known for their interest in alchemy were Catherine de' Medici, the Queen of France, and Marie de' Medici, the following Queen of France, who carried out experiments in her personal laboratory. Also, Isabella d'Este, the Marchioness of Mantua, made perfumes herself to serve as gifts. Due to the proliferation in alchemical literature of pseudepigrapha and anonymous works, however, it is difficult to know which of the alchemists were actually women. This contributed to a broader pattern in which male authors credited prominent noblewomen for beauty products with the purpose of appealing to a female audience. For example, in Gallant Recipe-Book, the distillation of lemons and roses was attributed to Elisabetta Gonzaga, the duchess of Urbino. In the same book, Isabella d'Aragona, the daughter of Alfonso II of Naples, is accredited for recipes involving alum and mercury. Ippolita Maria Sforza is even referred to in an anonymous manuscript about a hand lotion created with rose powder and crushed bones. As the sixteenth century went on, scientific culture flourished and people began collecting secrets. During this period secrets referred to experiments, and the most coveted ones were not those which were bizarre, but the ones which had been proven to yield the desired outcome. In this period, the only book of secrets ascribed to a woman was The Secrets of Signora Isabella Cortese. This book contained information on how to turn base metals into gold, medicine, and cosmetics. However, it is rumoured that a man, Girolamo Ruscelli, was the real author and only used a female voice to attract female readers. In the nineteenth-century, Mary Anne Atwood's A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery, published in 1850, marked the return of women during the occult revival.
The Soul of the Stone
In the eyes of a variety of modern esoteric and neo-Hermetic practitioners, alchemy is primarily spiritual. In this interpretation, transmutation of lead into gold is presented as an analogy for personal transmutation, purification, and perfection. According to this view, early alchemists, such as Zosimos of Panopolis, highlighted the spiritual nature of the alchemical quest, symbolic of a religious regeneration of the human soul. This approach is held to have continued in the Middle Ages, as metaphysical aspects, substances, physical states, and material processes are supposed to have been used as metaphors for spiritual entities, spiritual states, and, ultimately, transformation. In this sense, the literal meanings of alchemical formulas hid a spiritual philosophy. In the neo-Hermeticist interpretation, both the transmutation of common metals into gold and the universal panacea are held to symbolize evolution from an imperfect, diseased, corruptible, and ephemeral state toward a perfect, healthy, incorruptible, and everlasting state, so the philosopher's stone then represented a mystic key that would make this evolution possible. Applied to the alchemist, the twin goal symbolized their evolution from ignorance to enlightenment, and the stone represented a hidden spiritual truth or power that would lead to that goal. In texts that are believed to have been written according to this view, the cryptic alchemical symbols, diagrams, and textual imagery of late alchemical works are supposed to contain multiple layers of meanings, allegories, and references to other equally cryptic works, which must be laboriously decoded to discover their true meaning. In his 1766 Alchemical Catechism, Théodore Henri de Tschudi suggested that the usage of the metals was symbolic. Alchemical symbolism was important in analytical psychology. It was revived and popularized from near extinction by the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. Jung was initially confounded and at odds with alchemy and its images but after being given a copy of The Secret of the Golden Flower, a Chinese alchemical text translated by his friend Richard Wilhelm, he discovered a direct correlation or parallel between the symbolic images in the alchemical drawings and the inner, symbolic images coming up in his patients' dreams, visions, or fantasies. He observed these alchemical images occurring during the psychic process of transformation, a process that Jung called individuation. Specifically, he regarded the conjuring up of images of gold or Lapis as symbolic expressions of the origin and goal of this process of individuation. Together with his alchemical mystica soror, Marie-Louise von Franz, Jung began collecting old alchemical texts, compiled a lexicon of key phrases with cross-references, and pored over them. The volumes of work he wrote shed new light on understanding the art of transubstantiation and renewed alchemy's popularity as a symbolic process of coming into wholeness as a human being, where opposites are brought into contact and inner and outer, spirit and matter are reunited in the hieros gamos, or divine marriage. His writings are influential in general psychology, especially for those interested in understanding the importance of dreams, symbols, and the unconscious archetypal forces that comprise all psychic life. Both von Franz and Jung contributed significantly to the subject and work of alchemy and to its continued presence in psychology and contemporary culture. Among the volumes Jung wrote on alchemy, his magnum opus is volume 14 of his Collected Works, Mysterium Coniunctionis. The Great Work of Alchemy is often described as a series of four stages represented by colours: nigredo, a blackening or melanosis; albedo, a whitening or leucosis; citrinitas, a yellowing or xanthosis; and rubedo, a reddening, purpling, or iosis. These stages symbolize the process of spiritual transformation, from the initial state of darkness and decay to the final state of enlightenment and perfection. The Great Work is not just about the transmutation of metals, but about the transmutation of the soul. The alchemists believed that the human soul was divided within itself after the fall of Adam, and by purifying the two parts of humankind's soul, humans could be reunited with God. This belief system was deeply rooted in the four elements of earth, air, water, and fire, which were thought to be the building blocks of all matter. The alchemists developed a basic set of laboratory techniques, theories, and terms, some of which are still in use today, and they tended to guard their work in secrecy, often making use of cyphers and cryptic symbolism. The search for the philosopher's stone was introduced to Western alchemy by the Islamic philosopher Jabir ibn Hayyan, who theorized that by rearranging the qualities of one metal, a different metal would result. The atomic theory of corpuscularianism, where all physical bodies possess an inner and outer layer of minute particles or corpuscles, also has its origins in the work of Jabir. The Islamic world was a crucial link in the chain of alchemical knowledge, preserving and expanding upon the traditions of the ancient world and passing them on to the medieval European scholars who would eventually transform the practice into modern chemistry.