Understanding Alchemy

A blog for those who seek to understand true Alchemy, the terms and tools involved and some of its famous practitioners. My goal is to help you better understand the history of true Alchemy, without any guru speak or New Age trite muddying the waters.

[azothseeker]

Alchemedia: Dungeons & Dragons

Hello and welcome back to Alchemedia, the blog segment where I look at the representation of Alchemy in various pieces of media. Last week was a TV show, this time we're going to switch things up with a game. A tabletop roleplaying game.

Yep, Dungeons & Dragons. I'll specifically be looking at the 5th edition of the game, because it's the one most people will likely have been exposed to (and because it's the only one I've played). When it comes to D&D 5e, there are really 3 major ways alchemy is represented: the Alchemist Artificer, the School of Transmutation Wizard, and the Alchemist's Supplies tool set. (There's also homunculi but those are basically perfect adaptation-wise so no real need to go into them)

The Good

First up, the Alchemist Artificer focuses primarily on healing allies, curing various ailments and negative status conditions, and damaging enemies with fire, poison, acid, and necrosis. All of these fit pretty well with real-world alchemy; a major alchemical goal was to cure various illnesses and maladies, and they did discover many chemicals like acids and gunpowder.

The School of Transmutation Wizard focuses moreso on the actual transmutation part of alchemy, changing the appearance and traits of objects. One of their features involves changing the substance objects are made of over the course of some minutes, and while not great gameplay wise this is actually incredibly accurate to the time-intensive process of actual alchemy. Additionally, they can also make a Transmuter's Stone (read Philosopher's Stone) that can do things like cure diseases, raise the dead, and restore youth.

Finally, the Alchemist's Supplies consist of glass beakers, stirring rods, and mortar and pestles, along with ingredients like salts, powdered iron, and purified water. These all match Alchemical tools pretty handily, although they're a bit closer to more modern Chemistry tools. Additionally, the things you can make with these tools, including soap, acid, and "alchemist's fire" (basically greek fire), all match things real alchemists made.

The Bad

While there's a lot of good on display here, not all is perfect. Though the Alchemist Artificer has a lot of on-theme abilities, its main mechanic involves the creation of "Experimental Elixirs". While alchemists certainly did make elixirs and tinctures for curing ailments, these elixirs do things like increase speed, grant tougher skin, and let people fly. This reads to me suspiciously more like magic potions, and that is the cardinal sin of adapting alchemy to media. Additionally alchemists were cryptic with their notes and hid them in symbols, they were very systematic, so the random nature of the experimental elixirs is a big no-no. Not to mention there's basically no transmutation at all in their abilities.

The Transmutation Wizard is probably the least offensive of the 3 we're looking at today. Probably the 2 biggest issues with it are how it completely ignores any sort of alchemical tools, and how easy it is to make their not Philosopher's Stone. That said, these are proper wizards we're talking about, so some of this discrepancy can be hand-waved.

Finally, as mentioned previously the Alchemist's Supplies are a bit too close to a modern chemistry set. There isn't an Alembic or Crucible in sight, and while one could argue they'd be too large to be portable, I'd argue you wouldn't do blacksmithing without a forge and you shouldn't do alchemy without a laboratory. Additionally, I find it strange that gunpowder, perhaps alchemists' most influential invention, can't be created with these tools.

Final Thoughts

Of the three alchemy representations we've looked at today, each one has had strengths in some areas and weaknesses in another. But perhaps the brilliant thing is that generally each one's strength covers the weaknesses of the other. The Alchemist Artificer brings a lot of the tools and focus on healing maladies, while the Transmutation Wizard brings the more arguably magical elements like the Philosopher's Stone and, well, transmutation. Combined they form a fairly complete depiction of alchemy... minus some gunpowder of course.

[azothseeker]

Homunculi

If there's one thing Alchemists were obsessed with as much as (or even more than) gold, it was life. Most people know of their attempts to create an Elixir of Life that would grant immortality. But in addition to that, many Alchemists also wanted to know how to create and control life as well. Probably the most iconic of these alchemic lifeforms is the Homunculus.

A homunculus is a small, artificially created humanoid, often depicted in Alchemic writings as a small humanoid in a flask. The idea first appears in the writings of 16th Century alchemist Paracelsus. His formula for a homunculus involved housing the seed of man in the womb of a horse, after which point the resulting fetus must be fed "the Arcanum of human blood." It's unclear how Paracelsus developed this formula, and I can't see any deeper symbolism behind it.

The idea of making artificial life with Alchemy is older than Paracelsus though. For several Muslim alchemists, they sought to accomplish "Takwin", meaning the creation of life in a laboratory. The ultimate goal of such a process is the creation of artificial human life. Naturally such an idea was not popular with everyone, and many critics claimed that such Alchemists were trying to play God.

In our modern times, the Homunculus is usually depicted as a wizard or alchemist's assistant, aiding in the laboratory or gathering information. Depictions of Homunculi can be found in all sorts of media, from the Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) to the tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons.

[azothseeker]

Alchemedia: Fullmetal Alchemist

Today, I'm going to be starting a new mini-segment of this blog I'm calling Alchemedia! This will look at various depictions of alchemy in movies, tv shows, video games, books, and more! We'll look at what they got right, what they got wrong, and any improvements I'd make (if any). So with that out of the way, our first series is...

Yep, we're starting with one of the big boys, Fullmetal Alchemist. Given that this entire show is based around alchemy, it has a lot of expectations riding on its shoulders. Did the creators do their research, or were they denser than lead? Let's find out!

The Good

Right off the bat, this series nails the Law of Equivalent Exchange—literally, the opening narration of the very first episode explains this concept. This law is reinforced throughout the series, explaining the protagonists Ed and Al's missing body parts, the difficulties behind human transmutation, and more. Philosopher's Stones make several appearances in the show and are appropriately used to perform greater acts of transmutation than alchemists normally could. Several recurring characters are Homunculi, artificial beings made by alchemy, and one introduced later on literally starts as a small humanoid in a flask (how homunculi are depicted in alchemic texts). Others are chimeras, beings made by fusing animal parts and traits, and while not strictly an Alchemy concept there are many depictions of hybrid animals in alchemic texts.

The show is absolutely packed with alchemic symbols like the Ouroboros below. Perhaps the best thing the series does though is focus on the Alchemist's pursuit of truth and self-improvement. The most obvious form of this is the character of Truth, as well as Ed's journey and the way he defeats the homunculus Pride (which I will not be elaborating on here for the sake of spoilers).

The Bad

Although Fullmetal Alchemist is incredibly on the money in terms of Alchemy principles and symbols, there is one area in which it lacks: the tools. Despite being full of practicing alchemists, there isn't a crucible or alembic in sight. The Alchemy in the show acts more like a very controlled form of magic, relying on "Transmutation Circles" and being used for military purposes. Needless to say this is not how real Alchemists pursued their craft, but I also can't really fault the show for this. The Transmutation Circles method allows the series to be more action focused; if they were limiting themselves to real Alchemy tools, we'd have several hours of thrilling crucible stirring, and while that does sound like an interesting premise for a cooking show, it doesn't really fit the style Fullmetal Alchemist is going for.

Final Thoughts

It's clear to me that as an adaptation of Alchemy, Fullmetal Alchemist knocks it out of the park. The creators clearly have an excellent understanding of the goals and principles of the art, and the few areas that aren't perfectly adapted have good reasons behind the change. If I could make one change, I would probably include at least a few scenes using actual alchemy tools, probably as a sub-system that is slower than the transmutation circles but is more material efficient.

[azothseeker]

The Magnum Opus

If you're familiar with Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist, chances are you've ran into the Philosopher's Stone (and no, the "Sorcerer's Stone" doesn't exist).

The central artifact of Alchemy, said to be able to transmute base metals into gold, create the elixir of life, and various other wondrous feats. It's no secret that alchemists were obsessed with finding a way to create this thing, and there were many theories about how to make one. One of the oldest, and the one we'll talk about today, is called the Magnum Opus.

The Magnum Opus ("Great Work" in Latin) can be traced back to some of the oldest recorded alchemists like Zosimos of Panopolis from the 1st Century C.E. Though the exact process remains a mystery, it is known that it included 4 steps. And like so many things in Alchemy, these steps are also symbolic for the process of self-improvement.

First up, the Magnum Opus requires an alchemist to have something called Prima Materia, or "First Matter," which they believed to be the original form of matter that everything in the universe is a variation of. Once you have that, the first step is called Nigredo, or "Blackening." Physically, it involves putrefaction, decay, decomposing and breaking the Prima Materia down. Symbolically this represents the breaking of the human spirit, undergoing great hardship and misery. The idea is that one needs to be brought low before they are ready to be built back up to even greater heights.

Second is Albedo, or "Whitening." It involves purifying the broken down Prima Materia, washing away impurities and leaving it in a state that can be built upon. Symbolically, this represents the broken down spirit being washed clean of vices, becoming ready to grow and learn.

Thirdly is Citrinitas, or "Yellowness." This step is the most unclear (and probably why some later Alchemists merge it with the last step). Physically it means the transmutation from silver to gold, which astute readers will find odd since one needs a philosopher's stone to change silver to gold, and this tells us one needs to change silver to gold to make a philosopher's stone. If we step into the realm of my own theories for a bit, I think this has less to do with literal silver and gold and moreso with the sun and the moon (which are associated with those 2 metals). The moon is the brightest object in the night sky, but its light is only a pale reflection of the sun. Thus both physically and symbolically, turning "silver to gold" involves awakening from a mere reflection of power to a source of power.

Finally there is Rubedo, or "Reddening." As the final step, it involves the crystallization of the power awakened in Citrinitas, and symbolically represents the purified and awakened spirit reaching its highest, purest form. The color red represents completion in Alchemy, which is why the philosopher's stone is so often depicted as red. In fact, the four colors of the Magnum Opus—black, white, yellow, and red—appear very often in Alchemic texts.

As one final fun fact, fans of the Fullmetal Alchemist series may have noticed that these four colors are all present in Edward Elric's character design: black shirt, white gloves, yellow hair, and red cloak. It's also notable that while black, white, and yellow all appear in the designs of other characters throughout the series, Edward is the only one to have red in his design.

[azothseeker]

The Tria Prima

What is everything made of? Nowadays science tells us the answer is fundamental particles—quarks, photons, possibly even strings. But since the ancients didn't have the technology to detect such things, they had many different theories. One of the more popular and well-known ones was the theory of four elements, and indeed those did play a role in Alchemy. But the 16th Century Swiss alchemist Paracelsus had a different theory: the Tria Prima

The Tria Prima (latin for "Three Primes") is a group of three materials which occupy a position of prominence in alchemy: Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury. It was thought that everything was made of these three: solid, permanent things were made of salt; fluid and changeable things were made of mercury; and combustible things were made of sulphur. In a sense this can be thought of as an evolution of the four elements, transitioning toward the modern idea of elements (in fact, sulphur and mercury are still on the periodic table). But more than that, the Tria Prima also has a spiritual aspect.

In this diagram, notice how the corners of the triangle have the words Anima, Spiritus, and Corpus (latin for soul, spirit, and body respectively). Each of these correspond with one of the Tria Prima. Salt represents the body, solid and physical, yet prone to deterioration over time. Sulphur represents the soul, the fire of life, as sulphur burns blue when ignited. Mercury represents the spirit (sometimes translated as mind), flexible and changing, the bridge between the body and soul. Thus, while the idea of the Tria Prima as fundamental elements is outdated, the trio of body, soul, and spirit that they represent remains an important aspect of Alchemy.

[azothseeker]

Transmutation

When it comes to Alchemy, transmutation is probably the most well-known and important process it attempted to complete. Transmutation (from latin trans (across) + mutatio (change)) is the process of transforming something from one substance to another. In theory transmutation could be used to transform anything, but the most popular idea was transforming base metals (usually lead) into gold (as depicted here by emmalazauski).

To our modern society, this sounds like a pipe dream. But there is a certain logic to the alchemists' belief in physical transmutation. They believed that all matter was just different forms of some base matter, which they called "Prima Materia." They also believed in something called the Law of Equivalent Exchange, the idea that to create something with Alchemy, you must sacrifice something of equal value. These two concepts are precursors to the scientific concepts of fundamental particles and the Law of Conservation of Matter & Energy (matter/energy cannot be created or destroyed, just moved from one phase to another). Sadly, we also now know that to change one element into another requires an intense amount of energy, moreso than can be provided with a basic alchemy kit.

However! There is another aspect to Transmutation that we can still learn from even in our modern day! For true historical Alchemists, Transmutation was not just about transforming metals, it was also about transforming themselves. Like many other branches of mysticism, alchemy has a concept of a "base self" and a "higher self". Many of the supposed alchemical processes to turn lead into gold are actually symbolic for the journey to transform someone from their base self to their higher self. Gold was considered the perfect metal, so it was the best symbol for the higher self. I will detail one of these processes, the Magnum Opus, in a future blog.

[azothseeker]

Alchemy Mythbusting

Hello everyone! This is my first post of this new blog, so I figure the best place to start is by tackling some common misconceptions about Alchemy! Since it’s been around for so long and so much of it is obscured by symbols it can be hard for a newcomer to know what’s true and what’s not. But do not fear, I shall do my best to explain!

Myths:

“Alchemy is potion making.” Many works of media like to spice up their potion-brewing system by calling it Alchemy. Although many alchemists could have been considered apothecaries and tried to make medicines, the pop culture potions to make you fall in love, fly, turn invisible, etc were never pursued by real alchemists.

“Alchemy is experiential/relative.” The idea of “experiential magic” is mostly a New Age development and not present in older forms of occultism. Although many alchemists did perform ceremonial magic like Theurgy, they treated their Alchemic work as scientific. They wanted to find working, repeatable processes for things such as transmuting gold, the elixir of life, etc., so it’s incorrect to state that Alchemy was about individual experience or relativism.

“Alchemy involves demons/evil spirits.” There is nothing inherently demonic in alchemy, quite the opposite! The majority of alchemists throughout history were devout Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc., and believed that alchemy was a way to better understand the Creator’s world and become closer to them.

“Alchemists used transmutation circles.” Although many alchemic diagrams feature intricate circles and symbols (like the one on this page), Alchemists never tried drawing these diagrams on the ground to transmute things. They used tools such as crucibles, alembics, and mortars & pestles in their experiments.

“Alchemy uses blood magic.” This one I blame on a certain popular Minecraft mod. Although some alchemic recipes call for samples of the blood of certain animals, this was as a non-magical ingredient and not as any sort of fuel for magical ceremonies/rites. There is no recorded instance of historical alchemists using their own blood.

“All alchemists were frauds and charlatans.” Although there certainly were many charlatans who falsely claimed they could transmute gold, there were many more “true” alchemists who treated their work as a science and genuinely wanted to know more about the world. As science developed, the more spiritual aspects of alchemy were dropped until modern chemistry was developed.

“Alchemy is only spiritual/symbolic/physical.” Alchemy contains both physical and spiritual elements to it, best summed up by the Hermetic phrase “As above, so below.” Although historical alchemists were trying to find a literal means to transform base metals into gold, at the same time they were focusing on self improvement and transforming people from their base self into their best self.