Alchemy 101: The Very Special Number 7
Seven is such a significant number in physical alchemy–and literary alchemy–that it deserves its own post.
In alchemy, there are 7 metals, 7 heavenly bodies, and 7 organs of the body. I will discuss each group separately, then explain how they are interrelated.
The perfect visual representation of the 7 metals, heavenly bodies, and human organs can be found in this 1618 emblem by Johann Daniel Mylius, Opus medico-chymicum–Mundus elementaris (”The Elemental World”).
The labels are all in Latin.
Heavenly bodies
The 7 celestial bodies are listed within the concentric rings on the top left of the diagram. Alchemy emerged at a time when people believed that the sun and the planets all revolved around the earth. These 7 were the only ones visible to the naked eye. The order of the heavenly bodies on the diagram is (approximately) from most distant from the earth to closest:
1. Saturn
2. Jupiter
3. Mars
4. Sun
5. Venus
6. Mercury
7. Moon
Confusingly, the list is NOT organized in terms of importance in the Great Work. Saturn Is the least important, yes, but the Sun is the most important, as will become clear in the discussion of the 7 metals.
Metals
The 7 metals are listed in the rings on the bottom left of the diagram. From outside to inside–
1. Lead
2. Tin
3. Iron
4. Gold
5. Copper
6. Mercury (Argentvive)
7. Silver
Just as the ancients knew only 7 heavenly bodies, they were aware of only 7 metals.
From antiquity up until the mid-eighteenth century, the number of metals known and recognised as such was seven. They were: lead, tin, iron, gold, copper, mercury and silver. Brass, made from copper, was used, but people didn’t realize it was an alloy that included zinc, until the latter half of the eighteenth century. The metal which finally broke the sevenfold spell of millennia (in 1752) and was called the ‘eighth metal’ was platinum, emerging from the gold mines of Colombia. (Nick Kollerstrom, “The Metal-Planet Affinities - The Sevenfold Pattern,” alchemywebsite.com)
A basic tenet of alchemy was that all matter was organic, living. Metals were living and growing things. Beyond that, all metals were growing towards perfection; eventually, all metals would “grow”–transform–into the most perfect metal, gold. The transforming process took thousands upon thousands of years, however. Alchemists believed that they could speed up the process: they could harness and manipulate time. By subjecting a piece of rock to repeated cycles of solve et coagula (dissolution and coagulation), they could purify it into the Philosopher’s Stone, which they could then use to transmute base metals into silver and gold.
Part of the alchemists’ theory was that each metal “grew” under the influence of a particular heavenly body. They drew on earlier ideas to come up with the correspondences shown on the diagram. Nick Kollerstrom explains:
Belief in a linkage of these seven metals with the ‘seven planets’ reaches back into prehistory: there was no age in which silver was not associated with the Moon, nor gold with the Sun. These links defined the identities of the metals. Iron, used always for instruments of war, was associated with Mars, the soft, pliable metal copper was linked with Venus, and the chameleon metal mercury had the same name as its planet. Then, around the beginning of the 18th century these old, cosmic imaginations were swept away by the emerging science of chemistry.
Here’s the full list of the 7 metals and their associated “planets,” organized (by me) from least to most important, from basest to purest.
1. Saturn - Lead
2. Jupiter - Tin
3. Mars - Iron
4. Venus - Copper
5. Mercury - Mercury
6. Moon - Silver
7. Sun - Gold
Organs of the Body
The 7 parts of the body are listed in the bottom right circles of the diagram. From outside to inside, we have–
1. Spleen
2. Liver
3. Gall bladder
4. Heart
5. Kidneys
6. Lungs
7. Brain
For literature, the only two that are important are “Heart,” which is in the same ring on the diagram as the Sun and Gold, and “Brain”–Mind–which is in the same ring as the Moon and Silver. This is why, in an old-school story, your Male protagonist is the “Heart” character, a Hero who cares about and saves his people, while his Female partner is a “Mind” character, with great wisdom, who guides the Hero. Think of Harry Potter, with his rashness and “saving people thing,” and Hermione, his wise companion. If, on the other hand, your Hero is female, then she will be the Heart character and her male companion will be the clever one. For example, Maria and Robin in the Little White Horse, or Lyra and Will in His Dark Materials.
What’s so interesting about ASOIAF is that GRRM has TWO main protagonists, with separately unfolding narratives. Both Daenerys and Jon are Heart characters. Both care about the downtrodden–Daenerys frees the slaves and Jon allows the Wildlings through the Wall. Both act rashly at times; both display great courage.
In every other respect, however, Dany and Jon are alchemical opposites. She is Sulphur, Sun, Red; he is Mercury, Moon, White. In both cases they are given the opposite of the standard Male/Female characteristics. Dany at least has the choice of any of the Stark brothers, all marked as White, as a partner. For Jon, there is no other Red Woman for him than Dany.
Here’s the Red Sun illustration from Splendor Solis; the Sun corresponds to Gold, as I’ve just said, but also to Red.
The Mylius diagram also includes the 12 signs of the Zodiac, which are occasionally used in alchemy stories. I can post a brief explanation, if anyone is curious.
