ALCHEMY

By G.Cornelius, and P.Devereux

As in the heavens, so in the dense body of the Earth: alchemy brings the stars and planets into the metals, minerals and crystals where their powers may be released and purified by the initiate.

An esoteric and cosmological interpretation of the operations of early chemistry and metal working –the start-ing-point for alchemy- appears to date from ancient Egypt. The Greek, Islamic and European alchemists attributed their magical knowledge to the mythical Hermes Trismegistos, the divine master of magic. The god and planet Mercury (identified with the Greek god Hermes) was said to be the living spirit of alchemy, with the power of transmutation.

From the 4^th century BCE, alchemists established associations between the heavenly spheres and metals. Gold was associated with the Sun, silver with the Moon, quicksilver with Mercury, copper with Venus, iron with Mars, tin with Jupiter, and lead with Saturn. At any given time, the strength of a planet was said to affect the rate of growth of its associated metal. The interpretation of planetary movements was therefore vital to the alchemist’s work. Furthermore, alchemists used astrology to determine when to begin new stages of work.

A vast range of metals and other substances was used in their work, which usually began by purifying the materials, turning them to powder through intense heat (calcinations). The goal, at the material level, was to transmute base metals, such as lead, into silver and, finally gold. Many alchemists were seeking the secret of organic life, the reward for which would be the elixir of immortality. This is an especially marked theme in the tradition of Chinese alchemy as practiced by Daoist adepts.

To state simply that alchemists strived to produce gold loses sight of the spiritual dimension of their work. In early Greek writings, the accounts of material operations appear alongside a description of a magical or spiritual reality attunes to the soul of the alchemist. The tradition as a whole insisted that the art could be attained by grace alone. In alchemy, the stars and planets were a source of celestial energy that could be employed to “create” materially. By purity of motive only, the natural energy of the heavens could be channeled to turn base metals into gold and, spiritually, to discover the secret of eternal life.