Alchemy is very ancient, never-the-less very few people who have heard of or even practice magick have ever heard of this form of mysticism. Alchemy is considered both a form of magick as well as a type of ancient science. During its inception it included the in depth study of nature as well as philosophical and spiritual disciplines; in this regard it is similar to practical magick in that it uses nature as its basis of investigation and practice. Alchemy magick has its roots in Egyptian and Greek cultures of the seventieth century. It is considered one of the oldest forms of magickal and spiritual practices known to civilized man. Some ancient alchemists were very devoted to the idea that common materials could be turned into gold and attempted this with great vigor. Other respected alchemists were more devoted to the study of nature and specifically the composition of minerals, rocks and metals found in the Earth. During the Middle Ages a strong movement concerning alchemy magick and spirituality began to evolve. It was during this time that alchemists from all over the world, particularly in Europe, began to search for a substance called the Philosopher’s Stone. This high profile alchemy magick was said to increase the owner’s knowledge of alchemy magick, amplify their spiritual understanding and, most interestingly, give eternal life to any who drank from it. Alchemy magick is very interesting and worth learning more about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy
Alchemy (Arabic:al-kimia) (Hebrew:אלכימיה al-himia) is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties. The practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics of modern inorganic chemistry, namely concerning procedures, equipment and the identification and use of many current substances.
The fundamental ideas of alchemy are said to have arisen in the ancient Persian Empire.[1] Alchemy has been practiced in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia (today's Iran), India, China, Japan, Korea and in Classical Greece and Rome, in the Muslim civilizations, and then in Europe up to the 20th century—in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.
Alchemy as a philosophical and spiritual discipline
Alchemy became known as the spagyric art after Greek words meaning to separate and to join together in the 16th century, the word probably being coined by Paracelsus. Compare this with one of the dictums of Alchemy in Latin: SOLVE ET COAGULA — Separate, and Join Together (or dissolve and coagulate).
The best-known goals of the alchemists were the transmutation of common metals into gold (called chrysopoeia) or silver (less well known is plant alchemy, or "spagyric"); the creation of a "panacea", or the elixir of life, a remedy that supposedly would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely; and the discovery of a universal solvent.[4] Although these were not the only uses for the discipline, they were the ones most documented and well known. Certain Hermetic schools argue that the transmutation of lead into gold is analogical for the transmutation of the physical body (Saturn or lead) into Solar energy (gold) with the goal of attaining immortality.[5] This is described as Internal Alchemy. Starting with the Middle Ages, Arabic and European alchemists invested much effort in the search for the "philosopher's stone", a legendary substance that was believed to be an essential ingredient for either or both of those goals. Alchemists were alternately persecuted or supported through the centuries. For example in 1317 Pope John 22nd issued a Bull against alchemical counterfeiting, and the Cistercians banned the practice amongst their members. In 1403 Henry 4th of England banned the practice of Alchemy. In the late 14th century Piers the Ploughman and Chaucer both painted unflattering pictures of Alchemists as thieves and liars. By contrast, Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, in the late 16th century, sponsored various alchemists in their work at his court in Prague.
Some people[who?] suppose that Alchemists made mundane contributions to the "chemical" industries of the day—ore testing and refining, metalworking, production of gunpowder, ink, dyes, paints, cosmetics, leather tanning, ceramics, glass manufacture, preparation of extracts, liquors, and so on (it seems that the preparation of aqua vitae, the "water of life", was a fairly popular "experiment" among European alchemists). In reality, although Alchemists contributed distillation to Western Europe, they did little for any known industry. Goldsmiths knew long before Alchemists appeared how to tell what was good gold or fake, and industrial technology grew by the work of the artisans themselves, rather than any Alchemical helpers.
Several early alchemists, such as Zosimos of Panopolis, are recorded as viewing alchemy as a spiritual discipline, and in the Middle Ages, metaphysical aspects increasingly came to be viewed as the true foundation of the art. Organic and inorganic chemical substances, physical states, and molecular material processes as mere metaphors for spiritual entities, spiritual states and ultimately, transformations. In this sense, the literal meanings of 'Alchemical Formulas' were a blind, hiding their true spiritual philosophy, which being at odds with the Medieval Christian Church was a necessity that could have otherwise led them to the "stake and rack" of the Inquisition under charges of heresy.[6] Thus, both the transmutation of common metals into gold and the universal panacea symbolized evolution from an imperfect, diseased, corruptible and ephemeral state towards a perfect, healthy, incorruptible and everlasting state; and the philosopher's stone then represented a mystic key that would make this evolution possible. Applied to the alchemist himself, the twin goal symbolized his evolution from ignorance to enlightenment, and the stone represented a hidden spiritual truth or power that would lead to that goal. In texts that are written according to this view, the cryptic alchemical symbols, diagrams, and textual imagery of late alchemical works typically contain multiple layers of meanings, allegories, and references to other equally cryptic works; and must be laboriously "decoded" in order to discover their true meaning.
In his Alchemical Catechism, Paracelsus clearly denotes that his usage of the metals was a symbol:
Q. When the Philosophers speak of gold and silver, from which they extract their matter, are we to suppose that they refer to the vulgar gold and silver? A. By no means; vulgar silver and gold are dead, while those of the Philosophers are full of life.[7]
Ancient Egyptian Alchemy
Al=God Khem=Egypt
Ancient Egyptians were into all kinds of magic and astrology. They considered alchemy a science, perhaps the science of immortality eternal life. Alchemy as a transition metalboth physical and metaphysical would take many turns in the millennia that would follow. Transition metalsturning base metals into goldand alchemy of consciousness moving from physical reality to that of higher frequency.
The roots of alchemy date back to an ancient Egypt document called The Emerald Tablet of Thoth. In Greece Thoth was called Hermes the MagicianHermes Trismegistus which is thought to be the foundation of alchemy. Thoth stated, 'As is Above, So is Below', the duality of our experience in third dimension.
Thoth was considered part of the Zep Tepi the creation gods who came here as a Giant or Godand lived befre recorded hostory and the pyramids. The famous Emerald Tablet (Tabula Smaragdina) of Hermes is the primary document of alchemy. There have been various stories of the origin of the tract, one being that the original emerald slab upon which the precepts were said to be inscribed in Phoenician characters was discovered in the tomb of Hermes by Alexander the Great.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy
Alchemy in ancient Egypt was about Magic, Magicians, Priests. Thoth and Hermes who was Merlin and later Zoroaster [Magi] the magicianswho created a reality based on electromagnetic energiesdualitypolarity magnetsmagic mathematical patterns that repeat in the spiraling concept of time.
In alchemy we separate the gold from the slag. The metal is placed in a crucible where it is heated with fire. Fire are the experiences of the Earth planethe emotional body. One has only to transmute the fireto move into conscious awarenes where creation begins and ends and all answers reside beyond the alchemy of time and space.
