#Arab philosophers

[lesewut]

"Mercy is innocence, so it can not be a guest in every heart."

Chaldun, Ibn “Geography is Destiny” is taken from the original work of 1377 “Muqaddima”, presented by Turkish philosopher Mesud Topal. Critically interlinking the ideas of Chaldun and the inability of (Islamic) World to truly live the essential requirements of tolerance, education, justice and peace.

"The Right can just be protected with justice."

Not present in the collective consciousness, in the flow of history overshadowed by other great thinkers such as Avicenna and Averroes, forgotton at the tipping point of the former height of the Islamic world and detached by the rising Europe,  I would like to present an enriching and progressive thinker, who, due to his wealth of ideas, no matter what effort, can only be presented fragmentarily in terms of its size and foresight: 

Ibn Chaldun (*1332) is considered the first historian of the Islamic world.  His achievements in the field of sociological research are outstanding and his  understanding of history shows a polyvalent and profound analysis. 

Perhaps he is the first to show the various interconnections and influences of geography (from weather to the borders) on human life, therefore its Qadar (~ fate) and thus on the development of dynasties.  [Cf. Ptolemy “Tetrabiblos” - the influence of stars and planets, based on place on birth] 

"The strength of a government can only be based on justice, courage in truth and mercy."

In his work "Mukkaddime" (Turkish spelling) further aspects are analyzed,  such as the duties of a government towards its population   (main task: Ensuring peace, welfare, justice) or how the individual as part of society -  (according to Aristotle's zoon politikon + al-Farabi "The Virtuos City"   depiction of an idealized state, see Plato "Politeia")   has a special obligation to continuously work and constantly educate oneself. 

"Man is an entity that denies not having understood his own mind."

Acquiring knowledge is an essential part of Islamic values.  Already Hz. Muhamed used to say "And if knowledge is in China, strive!"  Because only healthy, intelligent people can form a healthy and sustainable system of government.  Therefore, man's main goal should be to acquire knowledge and education,  to approuch to the Truth and to learn how to distinguish right from wrong.  (the confusion of concepts leads to irreparable damage, the Truth and the Right  are no longer protected because they are no longer recognized = beacon of moral apostasy) 

"Man does not die of hunger, but because of habits."

Ibn Chaldun also places a special requirement on the state to guarantee the education of its citizens,  for "to leave a man uneducated is to lose him." 

Also he states that the transfer of knowledge should not falter and sets requirements  to teachers who are supposed to be competent and learning methods of "authority, memorization and undisputed constraints" hinder the enlightment of the learner, because it is particularly significant to illuminate why it is so important to aspire education . 

Ibn Chaldun repeatedly emphasizes that there is no other salvation for man  than constant striving and learning.  Only education leads to salvation and so the individual should strive for he has the duty not only towards society and God, but especially for the one's own happiness. 

[philosophors]

“Don't love deeply, till you make sure that the other part loves you with the same depth, because the depth of your love today, is the depth of your wound tomorrow.”

— Nizar Qabbani

[beetlefem]

frankly I do not want to get hyped for Kamala Harris. a woman president IS a landmark achievement, but do not let that distract from the fact that she will enact trump’s border, appoint republican judges, and continue funding genocide.

if you’re surprised by the fact that leftists are increasingly dissatisfied with increasingly right-wing democrat candidates, idk what to tell you.

Our first black president set up the detainment centers that cage children, despite the fact that it is a highly racialized hatred that justifies the abuse of immigrants. I don’t for a second believe that Harris has any vested interest in alleviating the struggles of poor women.

to be clear, I did vote for her. there is no vanguard party, revolution is not around the corner, and we have no viable alternatives right now. selfishly, I vote on single issues like abortion access, but please do not mistake that for approving her actions. I think that in almost all areas, trump will be a far more devastating president. more bombs, more racist and sexist hatred, and the empowering of a group of thoughtless Americans who are falling for fascism.

but to those of you who are angry at the women who aren’t voting for Harris, I urge you to use that anger after the election. while a black woman as president was unimaginable just 20 years ago, please do not forget that she will continue upholding American imperialism in the same way. please do not let the election be the only time you criticize or advocate for candidates.

involve yourself in local elections, as they have MUCH greater impact and are often used as models for federal policy. beyond that, familiarize yourself with local protest/mutual aid organizations. participate in your community. do not let leftist infighting be the end of your praxis.

[deliciousmicroplastics]

busuu arabic fun

[heritageposts]

[...] In an open letter to Habermas, distinguished Iranian sociologist Asef Bayat said he “contradicts his own ideas” when it comes to the situation in Gaza. With all due respect, I beg to differ. I believe Habermas’s disregard for Palestinian lives is entirely consistent with his Zionism. It is perfectly consistent with the worldview in which non-Europeans are not completely human, or are “human animals”, as Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has openly declared. This utter disregard for Palestinians is deeply rooted in the German and European philosophical imagination. The common wisdom is that out of the guilt of the Holocaust, Germans have developed a solid commitment to Israel. But to the rest of the world, as now evidenced by the magnificent document that South Africa has presented to the International Court of Justice, there is a perfect consistency between what Germany did during its Nazi era and what it is now doing during its Zionist era. I believe that Habermas’s position is in line with the German state policy of partaking in the Zionist slaughter of Palestinians. It is also in line with what passes for the “German left”, with their equally racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic hatred of Arabs and Muslims, and their wholesale support for the genocidal actions of the Israeli settler colony. We must be forgiven if we thought what Germany had today was not Holocaust guilt, but genocide nostalgia, as it has vicariously indulged in Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians over the past century (not just the past 100 days).

. . . continues on MEE (18 Jan, 2024)

[secular-jew]

Before the 60s "Palestinians" meant Jews. Since the 60s, Arabs decided to call themselves "Palestinians". Be curious, facts are very interesting!

"Palestine" is Judea renamed by Romans.

In 1798, philosopher Immanuel Kant referred to Jews as "Palestinians".

In 1936 a Palestinian Jew Franz Kraus created a famous poster to promote Jewish tourism to the Land of Israel, "Visit Palestine" was written on a poster.

There were many Jewish organizations like the Palestine Post, Palestine Electric Company, and the Palestine Symphony Orchestra. You can google and research everything!

In 1948 after establishment of Israel, Palestinian Jews started calling themselves Israelis. Arabs obviously called themselves Arabs and rejected the term "Palestinian" because it referred to Jews. So no one actually called themselves "Palestinians" from 1948 to 1964.

In 1964 genius Arafat and Soviet Russia decided that Arabs should start calling themselves "Palestinians"!

The purpose was to create impression as if Jews stole the land from Arabs (which obviously never happened). All this was to make the Arabs the "oppressed", because in the West it was already trending to support the "oppressed" and Arafat knew how to use trends.

More proofs and historical facts in the comments.

Note to fact-checkers: if these facts are not correct, I'll be more than happy to see your facts and proofs. And also, facts can't be Islamophobic or hateful.

[probablyasocialecologist]

We search for God on this land. Theologically, philosophically, we ask: Where is God when we suffer? How do we explain his silence? But away from philosophy and existential questions. In this land, even God is a victim of oppression, death, the war machine, and colonialism. We see the Son of God on this land crying out the same question on the cross: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why do you let me be tortured? Crucified? God suffers with the people of this land, sharing the same fate with us. As Mitri Al-Raheb wrote in his article “Theology in the Palestinian Context,” which appeared in an Arabic book I edited: “As for the God of this land, he is not like all the gods... His land is plowed with iron... His temples are destroyed by fire ... His people are trampled underfoot, and He does not move a muscle. The God of this earth is hidden from view. You search for His traces but do not see them. You long for Him to split the heavens and come down to see. To listen, to be compassionate, to be saved. The God of this land does not repel brutal armies, but rather shares one fate with his people. His house is demolished. His son is crucified. But his mystery does not perish. Rather, he rises from the ashes, and with the refugees you see him. He walks, and in the dark of the night he raises springs of hope. Without this God, Palestine remains a scorched land ... it remains a field of destruction. But if God tramples its foundations, he will only make it a holy land, a land in whose hills the good news of peace resounds.” Beloved, in these difficult times let us comfort ourselves with God’s presence amid pain, and even amid death, for Jesus is no stranger to pain, arrest, torture, and death. He walks with us in our pain. God is under the rubble in Gaza. He is with the frightened and the refugees. He is in the operating room. This is our consolation. He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: Alchemy

Some scholars say alchemy comes from the Greek cheo, meaning “I pour” or “I cast,” since much of alchemy has to do with the working of metals.

But many believe the word comes from the Egyptian Khem, meaning “the black land” (land with black earth), and see that as indicating Egypt as alchemy’s place of origin:

The Arabic article al was added to Khem to give alchemy.

Alchemy is an ancient art, at the heart of which lies the manufacture of a mysterious substance called the Philosopher’s Stone.

Later, as the science (some call it a pseudoscience) progressed, the article was again dropped, to become chemistry.

Alchemy certainly is the early history of chemistry.

The Philosopher's Stone - the highly desirable and legendary object that is said to transform base metals—such as lead—into gold.

However, the gold in this instance symbolizes not just the valuable metal, but enlightenment and eternal life, and Alchemists are concerned with their own spiritual and personal development as well as the pursuit of the seemingly unattainable goal.

The Chinese differentiate these different kinds of alchemy as nei-tan (the alchemy of spiritual transformation) and waitan (the straightforward “lead-into-gold” type).

The motto of the Alchemists is Solve et Coagula, meaning “Solution and Coagulation.”

The work of the early Alchemists was necessarily a secretive and clandestine matter, and its secrets are still held within a rich encrustation of symbols, pictures, oblique references, double meanings, and riddles.

Alchemical symbolism features animals, birds, colors, and parables as well as archetypal symbols such as the Cosmic Egg.

The key tenets of alchemy are encompassed in something called the Smaragdina Tablet, or the Emerald Tablet.

The tablet is said to have been found by Alexander the Great in the tomb of Hermes Trismegistus (Hermes the Thrice Great) who is the founder of all things alchemical.

The Alchemical Tradition exists/existed in Ancient Egypt, China, and India, but its most recent incarnation was in medieval Europe.

Those who dabbled in alchemy include the famous and the infamous, such as John Dee (astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I), Paracelsus, Albertus Magnus, Christian Rosenkreuz, Nicholas Flamel, and Isaac Newton.

Some of the chemical treatises are befuddling to even the most learned of scholars, but the very word “alchemy” is almost in itself a symbol, conjuring up images that are magical, mystical, and marvelous.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

Meet Edgar Morin - a 102-year-old Jewish veteran of the French Resistance, a renowned philosopher, and a strident voice for justice. It truly upsets me that I’d never heard of this incredible man till now.

“I am both astonished and outraged by the fact that those who represent the descendants of a people who were persecuted for centuries for religious or racial reasons... That the descendants of this people who are today the decision-makers of the State of Israel, could not only colonize an entire people, partly drive them out of their land and seek to expel them for good... But also, after the massacre of October 7, engage in a real massive slaughter on the population of Gaza and continue, incessantly, hitting civilians, women, and children.

And to see the silence of the world, the silence of the United States, protectors of Israel, the silence of the Arab states, the silence of the European states who claim to be defenders of culture, humanity, human rights.

I think we are living through a horrible tragedy because we are also powerless in the face of this thing that is unleashing. At least, I say: bear witness! The only thing that remains if we cannot resist concretely is to TESTIFY. Let’s RESIST IN OUR MINDS, let’s not be fooled, let’s not forget, let’s have the courage to face things head-on.”

Repost from @middleeasteye

“After the massacre of 7 October, (Israel) engaged in a real massive slaughter on the populations of Gaza.”

French philosopher Edgar Morin, a Jewish WWII resistance fighter, criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza. He expressed disappointment at the silence of countries like the United States, Arab and European nations, whom he referred to as “protectors” of Israel.

#jewsforpalestine #jewsagainstzionism #gaza #gazagenocide #humanrights #palestine #freepalestine #freegaza #freethewestbank #israel #crimesagainsthumanity #antifascist #solidarity #ceasefirenow #neveragain #neveragainisnow

[astrobiscuits]

Unknown asteroids #2

@m1nd-r0t here is part 2, enjoyyy!!

🌷Elodie (10726) – French form of Elodia, which has a Spanish origin; means “foreign riches” as in old money/inheritances, denoting the nature of both Capricorn and Scorpio; if prominent in composite, it can indicate a couple that becomes rich together under mysterious circumstances

🌷Epicles (23549) – of Greek origin; denotes an Ancient Greek medical writer who lived in 1st or 2nd century BC; prominent in medical staff and medicine students

🌷Epimetheus (1810) – of Greek origin; denotes the Titan god of afterthought and excuses; it shows which area we tend to come up with excuses (if it aspects Mars – excuses as to why we can’t start something, why we don't exercise; if it aspects Venus – excuses as to why we can’t get in a relationship, why we’re unlovable)

🌷Epikourus (5954) – of Greek origin; denotes an Ancient Greek philosopher, who founded a renowned philosophy school centered around Epicureanism; prominent in philosophers and those who think deeply

🌷Ercol (155784) – of British orign; denotes a British furniture manufacture; prominent in the charts of successful interior designers, usually by sextile or trine

🌷Fado (541741) – of Portugese origin; denotes a type of Portugese folk music which centers around death, mourning and loss; based on my research, it does show up in the charts of metalheads who are into doom metal (this asteroid usually aspects their moon), but not in the charts of goths

🌷FAIR (204873) – of English origin; well, it’s self-explanatory

🌷Fairbank (67235) – of English origin; denotes someone who gets charity money for the right cause/someone who easily attracts scolarships and sponsorships

🌷Fiammetta (50729) – of Italian origin; means “little fiery one”; denotes someone who becomes cute when angry; in the charts of very spiritual/religious people, it can show the faith that burns inside and guides them

🌷Huma (3988) – of Persian origin; denotes a bird similar to the phoenix, which is supposed to bring luck and fortune; luck that comes after a transformation

🌷Hus (1840) – of Swedish origin; means house; in synastry, if there’s double whammy aspects (person A’s Hus aspects person B’s Hus and vice versa), it’s very possible that you might live together

🌷Icke (7508) – of (old) Swedish origin; means nobody, no one; if it conjuncts Sun, it indicates a loner or someone who isn’t taken into consideration by others; a second meaning: what we find disgusting

🌷Ida (243) – of Greek and German origins; means industrious, laborious, hardworking

🌷Indulgentia (90703) – of Latin origin; means lenience, concession; in synastry, it denotes someone prone to give a second chance to their ex; if this asteroid squares the other person’s Venus and the Venus person cheats on the Indulgentia asteroid person, the asteroid person is very likely to forgive them and continue the relationship

🌷Isolda (211) – of Welsh and German origin; means “she who is gazed at”; denotes a woman who attracts the attention of both men and women due to her beauty; if it conjuncts MC, it can point out to a career as a model

🌷Jaffe (9696) – of Hebrew origin; means beautiful, pleasant

🌷Jamila (1843) – of Arabic origin; same meaning as asteroid Jaffe

🌷Lioba (974) – of German origin; means dear, beloved one

🌷Lippens (9640) – of Scottish origin; means trust, to rely on someone; a second meaning: lips

🌷Lipschutz (2641) – of German origin; means lip protection (it might be prominent in those who use lip balm frequently); in synastry, it denotes a thoughtful, caring lover, who kisses softly

🌷Meesters (10647) – of Dutch origin, means master (of something), boss

🌷Megaira (464) – of Greek origin; she is one of the 3 Furies/Erinyes in Greek mythology; denotes jealousy and envy, similar to Klythia (73) and Irsha (216451)

🌷Meiden (2881) – of German origin; mean to avoid, to shun

🌷Vieuxtemps (40007) – of French origin; means “old times”, but it can also show nostalgia; in synastry, it can show connections that last decades; the friends and lover/spouse we will have during seniorhood

🌷Vetter (18377) – of German origin; means cousin

(10726, 23549, 1810, 5954, 155784, 541741, 204873, 67235, 50729, 3988, 1840, 7508, 243, 90703, 211, 9696, 1843, 974, 9640, 2641, 10647, 464, 2881, 40007, 18377)

[philosophors]

“The days have taught you not to trust happiness because it hurts when it deceives.”

— Mahmoud Darwish, “Journal of an Ordinary Grief”

[johannestevans]

had a Great experience the other day where i was at a trans event and started talking to this woman who was also Jewish, and so we were talking about like, Jewish movies and gender roles in different Jewish and Ashkenazi spaces and antisemitism and like, broader philosophical concepts and it was genuinely really nice

and at some point this other girl came over and mentioned wanting to be a cop, and when she was resolutely shut down by everyone else in the social circle, she started dropping "fun facts" about hitler's regime

such as that "hitler didn't really hate jews, his second in command, himmler, did, and he led the whole thing. hitler was just the face of it" and then at some point said something like "you know, people say even churchill was kind of racist"

and i was like. "yeah. churchill did multiple genocides and also hated jewish people."

and she replied, "yeah. makes you think that no one's actually good, doesn't it?"

and i went, "no. that's a very cowardly position to take, i would posit, by someone too lazy or too spineless to make an effort to be "good", as you say."

and that shut her up for a bit

and then the conversation moved on a bit more, and got onto the topic of israel, and she said something vaguely to the effect of like. jewish voices where she - to her credit, i do believe unintentionally - implied that a Jewish group were Zionist when they weren't, they were just Jewish

and i corrected her, and she went "well, yeah. Israelis aren't real Jews anyway"

and i said, "can you tell me what you mean by that?"

and she said, "well, like. loads of jews oppose israel actually being and having a state, right? like that's part of the scripture, and has been for ages. and loads of israelis are just americans and they're just racist"

and so then i like. explained that yes, when it came to the formation of israel, many Jews opposed it because jews aren't meant to have their own state until after the coming of the messiah, and also that yes, a lot of criticism of israel should rightly be made as to the way it's colonial in its nature and its desire to form a white jewish ethnostate

eugenics have always been part of the israeli mentality, not merely in wanting to be like, broadly white, but also in the ideology around israelis being "super Jews", and a large part of this came as israel tried to establish itself as a more positive territory worldwide through the '60s when it was pushing itself as a tourist destination

many orientalist tropes were taken on, the positive ones, israeli women being presented as desirable and exotic, israeli men as strong and lethal; the focus on the IDF and krav maga and the depiction of palestinians and other arabs as monsters they're triumphing over, the push to define israelis as having a "middle easten" identity when the choice was made to take over palestine over various other locations around the world, in part to legitimise the israeli identity by establishing it as a literal homecoming, and attempting to redefine Jews coming to israel as a return to their indigenous roots

but to say that by virtue of being israelis no israeli jew is a "real jew" is a pretty thorny area, because "jewish" has always been a religion and an ethnicity, and a complexedly policed and examined one. israeli jews will often claim that non-israeli jews or particularly anti-Zionist jews aren't real jews, and that kind of attitude of attempting to delegitimise the other group's identity rather than grappling with the actual harms of their politics or identities is not like. valuable

and then i was telling her a little bit about the history of like. not only the constructed israeli identity, but also forms of racism within the jewish communities - pushing forward modern hebrew whilst pushing back yiddish, ladino, and other jewish languages, because languages associated with poverty, the shtetl, the shoah, or with being too brown or too foreign, undercut the "super jew" idea, even without getting into israeli treatment of ethiopian jews and other Black and darker skinned jews

and i was just like. i don't care that you're bored, i don't care that this is more complicated than you cared for, bc like. attitudes that end up dismissing all jews as supporting the state of israel and therefore evil, or like. atttiudes where you end up really racialising and getting into ethnic condemnations of jews without understanding the history or implications of what you're saying are a large thing of what makes leftist and queer spaces feel so unsafe for jewish people across the board

and i was then like. "do you understand that the modern state of israel has always wanted people to believe that nowhere but a state run by jews is safe for the jewish people? that when you make even leftist and anti-zionist jews feel unsafe in leftist spaces, that's what some israelis want, in the hopes that that lonely experience of antisemitism will be harmful enough to have them go to zionist spaces instead?"

and she really did seem to have a moment of. oh.

because like. fucking yeah, babe. obviously.

but it's just so exhausting bc i went from some really fun and exciting conversations about jewish cinema and antisemitism on the screen and like. jewish gender and gender roles and how they relate to diff experiences of being racialised or pushed into an underclass

and then i had to pivot into giving some ABCs of not talking like a fucking nazi to some goyische 4channers

and i know that being pushed out of a space like this is likely to radicalise the nazi cop girl more, that it's better for her to be in a trans space and be told some of her opinions are shitty and harmful than to be like, excluded and then made to seek out even more racist spaces to exist in, but it's just like. shit. it's just really shit

like it's great to care about your leftist politics but sometimes your reading needs to be more than like. your specific hyperfixation/special interest anarchist who took part in fucking pogroms

[the-library-alcove]

On the topic of Jewish culture being appropriated by Palestinians (either directly or by proxy), there's one thought that keeps coming to mind.

Palestinians are Arab, and thus Arabic culture belongs to them as well. And there is a lot of Arabic culture to be proud of, from cuisine, to a thousand-plus years of Islamic religion, to intellectual, scientific, mathematical, and philosophical contributions and discoveries, and centuries of traditions and connections stretching back centuries and millennia before Mohammad.

But, one might argue, that doesn't belong uniquely to Palestinians, being a shared cultural and ethnic identity among all Arabs.

Which is true.

Which brings me to the one bitter, dark thought that goes through my mind.

There is one element in which Palestinians can lay a unique claim alone among the Arab world...

And that is the extent to which they have been marginalized, scapegoated, ostracized, disenfranchised, and generally abused by their fellow Arabs over the last seventy-five years. The degree to which they've been dehumanized and used as weapons. The sheer scope of how they've been deliberately radicalized and then abandoned by the people who should be their ethnic family.

That, at least, is sadly theirs and theirs alone, and I sympathize with them for it.

At least when we Jews were treated in a similar manner by the combined populations of Christianity and Islam, said treatment was at the hands of outsiders... and not our own ethnicity.

[deliciousmicroplastics]

you don't have to like the strike but mocking it just seems really heartless???

[jewish-vents]

To be brutally honest the pro pal movement is the most counterproductive thing I've ever seen. I was fairly sympathetic to Palestinians before the protests and now I have a hard time caring about anything but getting the hostages back and for Israel to be secure at any cost. Well played Goyische left. You have so thoroughly alienated a bisexual patrilineal Ashkenazi who is philosophically agnostic and a life long lefty Democrat to the point I don't feel safe at pride and feel like I've lost 90 percent of my friends so I now have nothing left to lose if I just go full Zionist on your performative progressivist asses. I'm not alone. History will record the Hamas fan club as the exact wrong side. You aren't helping arab children you are just making things worse for literally everyone but yourselves.

It's important for us to remember that the antisemitism of Western Leftists and the violence of Hamas are not the fault of the civilians of Gaza. There are still many innocents in Gaza, including many children. Quite frankly, the people of Gaza deserve better than the antizionist movement.

Because it is extremely difficult to hold space for others when one is traumatized and facing imminent danger to themselves or their loved ones.

The vast majority of western antizionists are not in this position. If they are traumatized, it is because they made the choice to look at pictures or videos which traumatized them. If they are in any danger, it is because they made the choice to participate in violent activities.

But because of their actions, because they target our schools and our places of worship and our spaces on college campuses and our internet spaces, this is exactly the position the vast majority of Jews are in. 🐞

[macabresymphonies]

The Magnus Protocol Alchemical Theory Ramble

I've been really into alchemy recentyl due to it's connections to The Magnus Protocol (probably to woe of my thesis supervisor), but the more I read the more some stuff that already have happened is starting to make sense to me. This post will be probably due to an update once I get further in my research, but I wanted to get some stuff out of my system as it's still fresh in my mind (people also wanted an update on my previous post where I spoke how there is a lot of connections between history of alchemy and TMAGP so here it is).

Keep in mind this is very brief explanation cause history of alchemy is MASSIVE, so I will be mostly focusing on a brief period in 12-14th century where alchemy was kind of the talk of the ruling class (mostly church). I will also not be explaning much the alchemical goals, but the purpouse of this post I will say chrysopoeia (transmutation of metals into gold) and connected concept of a Philosopher's Stone were two of the main ones.

Natural vs Artificial

The main concern with alchemy in the eyes of the church at the time was the issue of "natural" vs "artificial" gold. You see there were few loosely documented cases where alchemists seemingly reached one of their main goals and trasmutated some metals into gold. The problem was this "alchemical gold" was either devauling natural gold (if real), which was also an issue of "playing God" it was by divine design a fixed amount of gold in the world existed, or an elaborate way to counterfiet coins (if not real). This combined with the concerns of using artificial gold in medicine pushed alchemy into an underground by a decree of pope John XXII by forbidding alchemists from selling this alchemical gold (and silver). Roger Bacon and Albertus Magnus (known alchemists) were however both subscribed to idea that not only is alchemical gold equal to the natural one, it's actually better than natural one.

I see a connection here between "natural" fears (Smirk's 14) and "artificial" fears (clearly a faction of people who experiment on people, forcibly turning them into some type of creatures that resemble TMA's avatars). If we see Entities as apexes of their domains, these "offshoots" we've seen so far could be read as attempts of creating new entities by amature "alchemists" of this universe. This leads us very nicely into the second section.

Deckname, hiding in plain sight

You see, because alchemy was becoming quite controversial alchemists needed to hide their recipies. Deckname describes a way alchemists hid some of their exact recipies by using allegories, same names for multiple ingredients or (quite the opposite) one name for multiple ingredients. This concept wasn't new as in even in arabic writings on alchemy we can observer use of Deckname, but in ~13th century it was quite prelevant and even sometimes mixed with religious imagery (which will be important later). The general idea was to hide infromation with this type of "code", but not in such a way as it would be virtually impossible to decipher (as this would deem it useless). It also connects with the idea of "scattering" information (ingredients) as to send some scholars on this wild goose chase for Philosopher's Stone.

I don't think I need to talk much on how German way of hiding information might connect to the fact Freddie is a mysterious program written in German code that seemingly does not make much sense (with Deckname being intensively decribed by an arabist named KRAUS of all things). What I would like to point out that even very early on I believed that Freddie is used to crossreference attempts at creation of Philosopher's Stone and it's becoming much more likely this is a case, especially if you consider the next point.

The battle against the Antichrist

You see, alchemy wasn't like a one school of thought with a proper way to perform it, it was a science much like chemistry is today (alchemy is like a granddaddy of chemistry anyway). One of the concept that caught on, especially with the faction of Franciscan Spirituals (which is like hardcore Franciscans who liked to predict end of the world a lot) was the idea that Antichrist is coming and that all knowledge will be needed to stop him. Franciscan friar Roger Bacon even wrote a letter to the pope about it. This connected to with alchemy created a notion of a Philosopher's Stone as a tool in stopping the Antichrist which will be important later.

The Magnus Institute did tests on children that were mostly measuring three things: their developemnt, their empathy and how compliant they are. Given the history of the Institute in TMA it's hard to believe they were doing it for selfless and pure reasons, so I believe they were monitoring children to catch the possible "antichrist" and use their potnential for their own gain (note that I do not believe this "antichrist" is like a christian concept in TMAGP universe, I think it's something more aligned with entities or a purely symbolic title for some type of individual).

The torment of Messiah

For every Antichrist there's gotta be a-christ and alchemy actually did have a concept of one. You see, combining Deckname and the battle with Antichrist the Philosopher's Stone was very often hidden under the allegory of the Passion of Christ. Alchemists believed they are in a way tormenting metals by subduing them to all these processes (this is where the word crucible comes from by the way, it's "the little place of torment"), combine that with Antichrist theory and Jesus became a great allegory for creation of The Stone. Alchemists believe that metal (most often mercury) would have to go through four stages of torment before "ascending" similar how Jesus did (the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension). This were in fact only believed to be instructions hidden in religious imagery.

I believe TMAGP does reverse of that concept. We've seen the Intitute use chemical terms like agent and catalyst do describe either the paranormal items or their wielders. I believe that the faction currently pulling the strings is using alchemical writings to experiment on people through tormenting them and exposing them to what is left of TMA Entities after traversing the universes. Some of those parts were used to make Freddie, that's why we got The Voices, but some are used to make eldritch abominations like we've seen so far. I'm not sure if Messiah in this sense is to be considered a benevolent concept, perhaps it's simply a being that will stop the apocalypse, but I believe that Antichrist is probably rebirth of The Prime Fear all Entities came from in TMA.

Closing thoughts

You can take that with a grain of salt, as I'm not a proficient alchemy scholar, but I won't deny the fact all of this so far fits pretty well and I can already see how this could play into many arcs (like how Celia has a baby that could be the "natural" antichrist and Sam with "chosen boy" issues could become the chosen "artificial" Messiah). If there are other points anyone with more knowledge on alchemy would like to mention in this post feel free to do so!