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alchemy quest beginnings

Strange Brew: a Basic Exploration of Alchemy

by Questio888

2/8/2020

This is an informational quest on the topic of alchemy. One should begin at the beginning and a good definition is in order.

This search for a definition denotes one of the problems of studying alchemy. In 21st century English, alchemy has devolved into slang for "any process". In conversations and online, one hears of "the alchemy of finance", the alchemy of sex", the alchemy of culture", the list of slang uses is almost indefinite. So before the use of alchemy as a term can become useful as a concept for the evolvement of consciousness, the garbage needs cleaned out of its use. So I intend to put some fire to it and burn out the dross related to its definition. Indeed, this study of the term alchemy turns into a good example of its process. This is unintentionally so, but it demonstrates its own method within itself.

My search begins at the Google search engine. This search produces "About 158,000,000 results". As Morpheus said do Neo in The Matrix, "you see how far the rabbit-hole goes".This is a vast topic. A dictionary is usually a good place to start understanding a term. So I will arbitrarily begin there. Dictionary.com defines alchemy as:

"noun, plural al·che·mies for 2, 3. a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life. any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value. any seemingly magical process of transforming or combining elements into something new: Through some kind of alchemy he has reinvented himself as a writer."

Wikipedia states the following when describing alchemy as a term. This check on Wikipedia was performed on 1:25 P.M. EDT, February 8, 2020. It is important to denote this, as Wikipedia is open to change of content in its articles over time.

"Alchemy (from Arabic: al-kīmiyā) was an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition practised throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, originating in GrecoRoman Egypt in the first few centuries."

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines alchemy as:

"al·che·my | \ al-kə-mē ˈ 1 : a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life 2 : a power or process that changes or transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way … the practitioners of financial alchemy that transformed the world of money in the 1980's … 3 : an inexplicable or mysterious transmuting".

The Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy, 2011 Edition, online at URL https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4020-9729-4_22,  in its webpage states:

“ The Latin word alchimia is a transcription of the Arabic al-kīmiyā, which is itself a transcription of the Greek word χυμεíα (fusion) “.

From the website Islamic Medical Manuscripts at the National Library of Medicine, at URL https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/arabic/alchemy1.html, section "Catalogue: Alchemy, article "A Note on Alchemy", the following etymology is found.

"The Arabic word al-kimiya’, from which we derive the word alchemy, was used for both chemistry and alchemy, and no clear distinction was made between the two activities. A wide range of chemical processes was undertaken by both the alchemist and the druggist, including distillation, calcination, evaporation, crystallization, sublimation, filtration, ceration, and amalgamation. Distillation was one of the most important processes in Islamic chemical technology, being employed for medicinal, technological and industrial purposes, including the preparation of mineral acids and the distillation of perfumes, rose-water, and essential oils".

From that same website, the following idea is cited regarding alchemy and Hellenistic Greece. "A number of Hellenistic Greek texts on alchemy (composed from the 2nd to the 4th centuries AD) were translated into Arabic, and a considerable number of Greek authorities are cited in Arabic alchemical literature. Aristotle formulated some ideas which, though not actually alchemical, were later incorporated into the alchemical tradition, and for that reason he figures as one of the earliest Greek authorities, as does also Plato, though neither were in fact alchemists. Some of the authorities cited are of legendary proportion, such as Hirmis. Others are important historical figures, such as Zosimos of Panopolis, who, around 300 AD, composed a Greek encyclopaedia of alchemy."

A trail of cultures is emerging from this information. From Renaissance Europe to the Arabian world, back to ancient Greece and then ancient Egypt. After all, Khem is an old name for Egypt. From Wictionary at , the following entry is found.

"Etymology 3: From Ancient Greek Χημία (Khēmía) or Bohairic Coptic  (khēmi, “Egypt”), both ultimately from ⲭⲏⲙⲓ Egyptian kmt (“Egypt”). The final vowels were apparently dropped to form a closer match to the Biblical Ham. First attested in 1837. Proper noun."

Alchemy was also present in China and India, according to encyclopedia.com. The following is stated there:

"Adding the specification that the alchemical art uses chemical change to symbolize the processes by which perfection is attained, one can recognize a pattern common to Hellenistic Alexandria, China, Islam, India, and early modern Europe."

It will be worthwhile to explore the chronology, movement, and degrees of separation regarding these manifestations. However, this information makes clear that alchemy in some form was practiced in ancient Egypt, ancient China, ancient India, Hellenic greece, the Medieval Arabic world, and Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

Not for even a partial millisecond would I consider this an exhaustive description of these terms and ideas related to alchemy. But it should serve as a good beginning point. Now it is truly time to begin.