An alchemist can study a wizard’s spellbook to learn any formula equivalent to a spell the spellbook contains. However, a wizard cannot learn spells from a formula book. Alchemists learn formulae based on actual spells, but they cannot learn spells from a formula book. The maximum level for an alchemist is 4th level spells, and if they don’t have 3rd level extracts yet, they can only take a cantrip.
Alchemists are well-rounded classes focusing on self-empowerment, area of effect damage, or crowd control. They have potential to become powerful party support. Class features rely on Intelligence, but alchemists do not need to decipher arcane writings before copying them.
Alchemists can gain wizard spells from 1st to 6th level, and they can study any formula equivalent to a spell the spellbook contains. Some good picks to add to the formula book include 1st-level spells like healing word and ray of sickness, 2nd-level spells like flaming sphere and Melf’s acid arrow, and 3rd-level spells like Greater Stunning Barrier, Phantom Steed, and Stinking Cloud.
Alchemists prefer to craft potions rather than conjuring magic from wands and staves. From a few levels in artificer, alchemists can learn spells like cure wounds and faerie fire, which wizards cannot already learn. Healing words are also available.
There are rare spells that do not appear as scrolls in the game and can only be learned on level up. To make an alchemist, follow the steps provided in the Pathfinder RPG’s spellbook.
📹 I learned Alchemy from Medieval Manuscripts. Here’s how it works:
An introductory Video to Alchemy! In this video we take a look at the four elements alchemists relied on, and the process of …
Is Harry Potter based on alchemy?
The enigmatic Stone, crafted by the esteemed Nicolas Flamel, was clandestinely conveyed to Hogwarts by a prosperous landlord and reputed alchemist in medieval Paris. Flamel passed away in 1418. The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary substance with remarkable properties. The unrolling of the Ripley Scroll by the British Library constitutes a significant historical event.
Who is the oldest wizard in Harry Potter?
In the Harry Potter world, wizards have a longer life expectancy than muggles, with an average lifespan of 137 years. They age slower after reaching maturity, allowing them to have children later in life. The oldest wizard in Harry Potter history is Barry Winkle, who celebrated his 755th birthday and relied on magic to achieve such a long life.
Wizards in the Harry Potter world can be nearly impossible to distinguish from muggles, but their physiologies are quite different. They can possess extraordinary abilities, such as changing appearances, transforming into animals, and communicating with snakes. J. K. Rowling introduced fans to a magical world and memorable wizards and witches, as well as presented a non-magical society. The dynamic of life and aging in the magical world differs significantly from the ones Harry knew. The story highlights the contrast between the two worlds and the unique abilities of wizards and muggles.
Can any wizard take dunamancy spells?
The objective of dunamancy spells is to facilitate accessibility to two specific wizard subclasses in the immediate future. However, there is also the possibility of implementing these spells for other spellcasting classes, with the intention of earning or rewarding them.
Does Hogwarts teach alchemy?
Alchemy, an ancient magic discipline, was taught to students in their sixth year if demand was high. It focused on studying the four basic elements – fire, earth, water, and air – and manipulating them to transmutate substances. The goal was to transform ordinary metal into silver or gold, but it also had roots in potion-making and chemistry. Nicolas Flamel, the most famous alchemist, created the Elixir of Life.
Is Dumbledore A alchemist?
Professor Dumbledore, a renowned wizard, is known for his defeat of Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, his discovery of dragon’s blood’s twelve uses, and his work on alchemy with his partner Nicolas Flamel. The Dumbledore ‘Famous Witches and Wizards’ card, which Harry receives aboard the Hogwarts Express, introduces him to Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione. This card also introduces Grindelwald, who has his own story, and Nicholas Flamel, who holds the clue to the mystery Harry, Ron, and Hermione must solve in the first book.
Flamel is the only person to possess the philosopher’s stone, which can turn metals into gold and produce the elixir of life. In the story, Flamel is 665, while his wife Perenelle is 658. The philosopher’s stone, guarded by Fluffy, the three-headed dog, is sought by Voldermort to regain his strength and powers. The card serves as a reminder of the importance of friendship, knowledge, and the power of alchemy in the wizarding world.
Can all wizards do wandless magic?
Wandless magic is the practice of performing magic without a wand, which can be challenging for beginners and can have unpredictable results. Witches and wizards accustomed to using wands can only reliably perform wandless magic if they possess great skill. However, in regions where wands were not used, wandless magic was considered the norm and using one was optional. Wands were used by witches and wizards to channel their magic, making their spells more accurate and potent.
Only the most powerful and disciplined wizards could perform wandless magic reliably. The wand was a European invention, and some cultures did not traditionally rely on such tools for magic. Native Americans had pre-European practices that did not require a wand, and African witches and wizards only adopted the wand in the 20th century.
Can Hagrid cast spells?
Despite his possession of magical abilities, Hagrid is prohibited from utilizing them following his expulsion from Hogwarts. Nevertheless, he is known to occasionally contravene the established regulations with the assistance of his distinctive pink umbrella, thereby exhibiting his capacity to utilize magical abilities.
Can an alchemist use a wand?
The Alchemist’s Wand is a tool that can be utilized to facilitate the incremental growth of a plant, with each increment requiring the expenditure of 5 stamina. The growth of each plant is divided into five stages, with an expenditure of 15 stamina units required for progression to the next stage. The Alchemist’s Wand can be obtained in the Spring Temple subsequent to the initial offering and the successful conclusion of the inaugural Spirit encounter battle. It is possible to accelerate the growth of each crop to its final stage by spending up to 60 stamina.
Can alchemists cast spells?
An alchemist has a formulae list that determines what extracts they can create, and they can use spell-trigger items if the spell appears on their list, but not spell-completion items. Extracts are “cast” by drinking them, and the effects of an extract duplicate the spell upon which its formula is based, except that the spell always affects only the drinking alchemist. An alchemist can draw and drink an extract as a standard action, using their level as the caster level to determine any effect based on caster level.
Creating extracts consumes raw materials, but the cost is insignificant compared to most spells. Extracts cannot be made from spells with focus requirements, and an alchemist must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the extract’s level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an alchemist’s extract is 10 + the extract level + the alchemist’s Intelligence modifier.
An alchemist can know any number of formulae and stores them in a special tome called a formula book. At each new alchemist level, they gain one new formula of any level they can create. They can add formulae to their book, like a wizard adds spells to their spellbook, using the same costs and time requirements.
How many spells does an alchemist know?
In contrast to sorcerers and bards, who are constrained by a limit on their spell knowledge, alchemists are not subject to such a restriction. They are, therefore, able to learn an unlimited number of formulae.
What is a alchemist wizard?
The Arcane Tradition is a unique approach to magic, where wizards craft potions rather than wands and staves. This involves careful preparation and can result in a vast variety of potions, some even creating more destructive brews. The most powerful alchemists can infuse their potions with sentience, making them stronger than most spells. At 2nd level, the arcane tradition allows players to view spells not only in terms of their casting and effects but also in terms of creating potions. The alchemical formula of all spells added to the spellbook is known, even if they are not Wizard spells. This allows players to learn how to create a spell as a potion, but not how to cast it.
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I’m beyond thrilled to see such a positive response to this article! Im going to list corrections people have raised at the end of this comment, but first, some people have asked what the chemical reactions depicted actually are in modern terms: -The “sulfur water” deposits a layer of poly-sulfides on the surface of the silver. The lant(ammonia made from urine) slows the deposition of sulfides such that a very thin layer can be achieved, which results in a glimmering yellow color – Quicklime is calcium oxide, which is made by the thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate(CaCO3 -> CaO + CO2). calcium oxide reacts exothermically with water to form calcium hydroxide, a weakly soluble base(CaO + H2O -> Ca(OH)2) -Sal ammoniac is ammonium chloride(NH4Cl), an ionic salt that can be decomposed into a mist of ammonia gas and hydrogen chloride, which can then recombine with each other to reform ammonium chloride, giving the salt the ability to sublime (NH4Cl(solid) <-> NH3(gas) + HCL(gas)) -wood ash is a mixture of ionic compounds. the insoluble component is mostly calcium carbonate(limestone) whereas the soluble component is mostly potassium carbonate(K2CO3), a weak base. -potassium carbonate(potash) reacts with calcium hydroxide(quicklime) to form potassium hydroxide(potash alkali) and calcium carbonate(limestone, which precipitates because it is insoluble, pushing the reaction forward) Potassium hydroxide is a water-soluble strong base(Ca(OH)2 +K2CO3 -> CaCO3 + 2KOH) -Cream of tartar is potassium bi-tartrate, an acidic potassium salt of tataric acid. tartaric acid is an organic acid (specifically a di-protic carboxylic acid, meaning it has two carboxylic acid groups) In high heat this organic acid is decomposed forming potassium carbonate, which undergoes the same reaction as potash when treated with quicklime Corrections: Around 37 minutes into the article I say alchemists invented the word crucible to mean little crucifier, I was mistaken the word was not their invention, Medieval Alchemists made use of the word crucible to suggest the crucifiction of a substance, but that was an etymology they imposed on an existing latin word “crucibulum” whose original etymology may or may not be related to crucifixion at all.
This is genuinely a great starting point for understanding alchemy in an earnest but “non-believer” way. I’ve for many years had an apreciation for the occult and mystic, but never believed in it, so no material was catered to me. Everything is either trying to convince you of a new understanding of the universe that’s quite frankly bonkers (Kabbalah for instance is at this point rather new-age, so even genuine belief is a bit hard to sift out), or they dryly categorize beliefs and practices into boxes with barely anything of the actual beliefs discussed. Treasure this man and his calcified knowledge of the obscure.
Im a chemistry student (a modern one I should add) and I love seeing how chemistry developed. The idea of sorting what you have into similar properties is so similar to what would be done by so many others later on in history, but no one seemed confident enough to account for gaps in knowledge until Mendeleev. Pretty easy to see now how the chemists of that time dismissed Mendeleevs periodic table when you consider it was, at the time, about as convincing as the elements of alchemy. One part of chemical history that makes me giggle is phlogiston. The idea we essentially went back to some idea of alchemy despite being into an age many would consider modern science, and being quite sure of ourselves as we did it is just funny to me.
That end note on seeing the name of potassium written in the embers since the invention of fire is so very beautiful, and I think encapsulates what I find truly wonderful about the concept of alchemy. Not the potential for turning lead into gold, but the poetic appreciation of the joys and beauties of the scientific method. Seeing chemists, physicists, biologists, mathematicians all not just do the hard scientific work, but show, in a very human way, the beauty of their field in such a spectacular fashion… that, my friend, is true Art! On another note, i remember reading an alchemical text ages ago about a flammable powder produced from the salt of tin and something else. It burst into flame when in contact with oxygen, and the author of the text made some (almost certainly bogus) claims that it was used in Egyptian tombs to burn away all the oxygen, and that when they were broken into millennia later, the inflow of oxygen reignited them, giving them the appearance of an eternal flame. While the story is most likely false, id love to see you do an interpretation of the chemical process, as on its own I think it could be quite impressive.
One thing about the whole turning lead into gold thing that i recently learned about, was that alchemists largely didn’t seek it out for monetary reasons- rather, it was because gold was seen as the most “divine” of metals, being so rare, beautiful, and resistant to corrosion, whereas lead was seen as its opposite; common, dull, and dirty. To transmute lead into gold would be the ultimate test of an alchemist’s abilities, proving they had mastery over all nature. Of course. Nowadays we actually can create gold from base metals via particle accelerators. Granted, the gold created is only a few microns thick, radioactive, and takes a ton of energy to make, but its gold nonetheless. Its both amazing and humbling how far we’ve come and yet how little we still know.
You know, learning more about alchemy, it’s kind of a shame it’s perception is reduced to “silly boys who think they can turn lead into gold through witchcraft” or whatever, when it’s really the very foundation of a lot of modern chemistry. Some may have been grifters and quacks, but even in our age of modern science, sometimes the most qualified people making great discoveries for medicine are undermined by people telling you that you should drink colloidal silver.
incredible article dude, so interesting to watch. its impressive how many alchemical discoveries were made so long ago that in some form still hold value in our modern chemistry. so many articles on alchemy dont detail the origins and explanations behind why certain things are called what theyre called, or how these frameworks of understanding came to be, but you explained it in such a succinct way. id love to see more!
This has to be one of the best articles I’ve seen in years, in fact it’s the first time I’ve felt real wonder in about as long. I’ve always had an interest about alchemy deep down despite not being a big science buff, and seeing some of it broken down in this way was just incredible, very easy to follow. It also boosted my respect for ancient peoples and their work with science immensely. I try never to look down on them in this regard, but humor theory was always baffling to me. Now I see how they came to these conclusions and why they persisted so long. Love it, thank you so much
Yep. This is where we should be. I absolutely can’t wait to learn more from you. I would love to see more about the translation process and how best to understand the symbolism in this way that directly teaches the old in context, while comparing and contrasting new methods fairly. There is much love and no hate in the synthesis of this article. This truly feels like the bridge that was cut out from under us for understanding the transition from “ancient” to “modern” that I have personally craved. Thank you!
I get so much inspiration for my fantasy world from information like this. Also, I greatly appreciate the footage of the nature and when you demonstrate the recipes and your soft voice. It was relaxing and easy to take in the information. I have severe focus difficulties at times but could follow through almost throughout the whole article, so good job on being a great teacher too.
At first, I watched your article just for background noise while I was typing. But I end up perusal the whole thing because it’s so interesting, insightful, and nuanced than similar articles about alchemical theory. Some are just jumping into the esoteric side of alchemy without introducing it’s proper foundation like in this article. The way you explain how ancient alchemist see the world, matter, and try to comprehend it with experimentation reminded me to Deleuze’s work What is Philosophy? The alchemist who were not a scientist or philosopher, in fact a temple craftsman, give a starting point into philosophical and scientific inquiry about nature and matter in a non-linear way and overtime develop a robust theory about it. Interestingly, from a recipe (practical and concrete things) into a treatise (theoretical and abstract) instead of the other way around.
Thank you very much for listing your sources! I’m in the process of building my “wizard’s library” (because I’m a fantasy nerd), and I want good literature from historical “magic” texts to line my shelves. Plus, it’s really interesting to read how the ancients thought about the world and about the intrepid spirits who discovered things and passed them down to us. 😊
this article was amazing — from the moment i first saw it on my feed i just knew i had to watch and enjoy it. alchemy has always been a deeply interesting topic for me, from the history and theory of it, to the beautiful and curious symbols they used for elements and differents processes. thank you for putting in the time and effort to create this, i’ll be looking forward to any other articles you make!
Thank you so much for making this article! I’m really enjoying the way you balance the history of understanding regarding technology and chemistry with practical applications of such history. It was actually really effective to make sure you were hiding what was actually going on with the alchemical reactions so that we’d be properly surprised by the end when we realized what they were doing. Your content is exactly on the edge between something like Primitive Technology and more complicated websites focused on homemade chemistry or crazy applications of technology (what people call the “makersphere” of Youtube). I love that you’re able to balance the simple beauty of hand-tooled or hand-worked crafts with informative history lessons. I’m really looking forward to more of your content.
I’m excited to see this website grow as you’ve got some really fascinating content. It’s a really cool look into how things were done in the past. But as a professional that makes articles for a living, the endless shots of some random river, and not of the things you’re talking about are painful to sit through. There is so much to see with the stuff you’re talking about, I’m not here to see a random but otherwise lovely creek. Please consider filling the time with the things you’re talking about. Stock footage exists for precisely this reason. Otherwise, very cool content. I look forward to seeing more.
Keep up the good work. The physical copies of research material is excellent for B-roll you can even show it for longer or repeat the material instead of the nature scenes since they are sometimes to long. If you keep up the work you will see that you have created a good base of articles that each will be able to fully use the recommendation system. Maybe your website will explode like the alchemists did back in the day. Never stop having fun.
Awesome in every respect! There are people out here hungry for this knowledge, please make more articles on Alchemy. Would love to see your lab and learn how you created it. This is such an obscure subject to wade through, you demonstrated and compiled a great deal of info in a simple and clear manner. Major thanks to you sir, please be encouraged to share more!
It’s been a while since I’ve eagerly taken notes while perusal a youtube article. I’ve always had an interest in alchemy but it’s been really hard to get into as complete lay person, especially as it can be hard to tell from just looking online which sources are credible and which ones are modern re-inventions. This article is exactly what I needed! I’m very much looking forward to more alchemy content from you 😀
This was extremely fascinating! I absolutely HATED chemistry in high school. If only that teacher made as much sense as you did. I honestly learned more in 50 minutes than a whole chem class. I not only learned about actual alchemy, but the history, some etymology and even some philosophy! All in one vid! What dedication you have to this craft. Keep on doing what you do! 🙏🏼
I like how you give credit to a lot of the thought processes of ancient and medieaval alchemists. its easy to try and dismiss their theories as unscientific when in fact they described a lot of useful categories. even if some of the goals like the philosophers stone were impossible, in its pursuit they led us to modern chemistry.
So that pretty much confirms it then. Alchemy and Chemistry are one and the same – just different stages of development for the same study. One particular Youtuber I’ve always been fascinated by is NileRed, and I always thought he captured the imaginative spirit of alchemists from ages past – and now I realize why. It’s because he is an alchemist – just as they were chemists. It’s the passion and the energy given to the craft that is rare to see in modern science.
Great article……sir…..love from India…… Keep it up .. this is an remarkable effort from your side to spread knowledge of Alchemy… it’s very great. it’s a request…Please make a documentary on the Alchemist jabir ibn hayyan and his books and his works….contribution to Alchemy and on his teacher who teaches him Alchemy.
Very interesting topic, I would also consider that, at least for the Romans, the process of qicklime production through calcination and then hydrating it to have slaked lime must’ve been very well known and characterized as it was used for the production of cement which they used in great quantities, also I’m pretty sure Vitruvius described it quite well P.s. loved the ending and the passage about spectral signature, also the period when Alchemy becomes Chemistry (let’s say around Lavoisier) is incredibly engaging as you see this scientist struggle with understanding the constituents of matter
Alchemy: the science of understanding, deconstructing, and reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art; it is impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value must be given. This is the Law of Equivalent Exchange, the basis of all alchemy. In accordance with this law, there is a taboo among alchemists: human transmutation is strictly forbidden – for what could equal the value of a human soul…?
All throughout this article I muttered to myself: “what the fuck” not because your studies and applications were wrong, but that these experimental chemical reactions were actually attempted without any understanding of chemistry whatsoever. Very interesting. Please do more research and make more articles on alchemy. Im sure im just one of many who have decided to subscribe because of your dedication to making such a comprehensive article on such a legendary practice. Much love from the good ol’ boys of Georgia Fraser. Good fucking content right here. Edit: if you plan on changing your name based on the success of this article, please change it to “Nilegold”
I wonder is Jibir/Jeber or Jaber is the same “Al Jaber” from which we take the word Algebra… EDIT: So I just looked it up and was fascinated to see that algebra comes from the Arabic “al-jabr ‘the reunion of broken parts’, ‘bone-setting’”. However, I could still see that this meaning could have even evolved from the name of Jeber (for what is alchemy if not recombining broken parts?)
This article came up in my feed and I don’t know why, but I watched the whole thing! Honestly very interesting and I will be checking out some of those books! It’s so interesting to see how some substances relate to others. Thank you for making such a lovely, well structured, informative article. I don’t know if I will ever practice alchemy myself, but I did enjoy perusal the processes you went through and hearing the explanations for each part!
It’s a little concerning that the ads that YouTube’s algorithm thinks should best go along with this article are for kooky doomsday conspiracy theories. Why is there such a strong cross-demographic between people with a curiosity about alchemy and people who think Muslim Mexican trans lesbians are going to take away their guns?
Just finished the Blowtorch latest version, and the clay lamps oil and i finished with this one here ! I would prefer to lie and say I did subscribe on this article and not on the Blowtorch article…. Damn i should i’ve wait ! Speaking of waiting, take all the time you need to make those article ! They’re great, very fun the story kind resonate when you hade fun being crazy mixing stuff very young ! Also the correction does even better because you got to recall some part of the article owning your mistake and show you truly want to give valuable information ! Will send those lie’s into the crucible later, does a message that long mean your article is good ? I don’t know i dont have any authority to said that but i can own my felling that i loved it !
for 13:30 the first matter that bounds everything is the seed of life. It is 7 circles all interconnected creating a flower in the middle. Almost every single shape in geometry can be created with the seed life. Look up the picture if you don’t know how it looks, you will instantly recognize it, its a universal pattern. I believe this connects with everything including alchemy.
I had never thought of anyone linking gold’s resistance to oxidation as some sort of inherent moral quality that gold must therefore have or be symbolic of. Or that transmutation would be some sort of extension of the way they thought about religious conversion, changing that which is impure into something that is incorruptible. I had always assumed that alchemy was only a quest for quick riches or the purview of quack occultists and pseudoscientists. Thank you for showing these other dimensions to this topic. This has given me a much greater appreciation of why earnest people would have been motivated to engage with alchemy in their own time.
despite being a stepping stone in the development of chemistry, alchemy has been subject to several interpretations, some of which (C.G.Jung, J.Evola) simply point to a psychological/mystical process made of experiences where matter and reactions became a working lab for the soul. In the end trying to make sense of Alchemy and literally intepreting texts might not lead to anything. it was purposefully intended to remain obscure with ambivalent, metaphorical and not-standardized language. A highly symbolic language not vulnerable to censorship.
I just realized that these are the guys that invented concrete. Begin at the top of the chart at 20:00 minutes in. Fire limestone to improve its base and you get quicklime. Grind that into a dry powder and then combine with water to make the stone flow-able. Allow that to evaporate and you end with cement. This takes limestone through all of its base properties by following the methods that would have been used by these very alchemists. #mindblown
You’re missing the entire point of alchemy. Start from the famous premise, “as above, so below”. Hint #1: the aforementioned hermetic maxim can be rephrased as “as inner (world), so outer (world)”. Hint #2: the common medieval alchemical furnace, the “athanor”, used for the alchemical process of “digestion” comes from the Arabic at-tannūr, which is a furnace used to bake a kind of bread (whence Arabic tannour bread, and the cognate Indian Tandoori and associated oven, by etymological loan from Persian). The “breadbasket” is a slang word for the belly or stomach, with Medieval English roots. Bread baked from wheat, traditionally (in Egypt) harvested when the sun was in the constellation Virgo. The constellation Virgo rules the belly or abdomen, and Virgo, the virgin, is also the assigned constellation of Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility and the harvest (see also: Ceres, Isis, Ishtar). There is another virgin connection here with early Christianity, which took much from the pagan myths in which it was immersed, namely the virgin birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, or בית־לחם, beit-lekhem, the “house of bread”. By implication, bread is connected to the belly and virgin harvest goddesses, which would make the human body at-tannūr, the self-regulating oven of alchemical digestion. The human body makes its own heat by digesting carbohydrates…
Alchemy is quite interesting. Not sure whether they had any higher purpose in their search, as they usually stated, maybe, they were searching for the secrets of matter and it was some kind of first form of chemistry, the most likely reason I can think of, for the development of alchemy, is right there in your first recipe. In ages where gold was highly valued, people must have been searching for ways to fake it. Which is probably the reason at least in modern languages, the word has the meaning of trickery, some kind of complicated trick you cannot understand easily how it’s done while you are faking something.
it’s interesting that you say Lime never really melts… i just realized that Lime is the perfect low tech refractory material. cheap, ubiquitous, EXTREMELY reflective of light, very lightweight, and it can be bound together and shaped into ceramic crucibles. perhaps it could be used as a grog for high temperature ceramics, or used to line homemade furnaces for melting steel or platinum. what a material!
This was a nice article for the rather fun, though thin, presentations of the processes. I would have loved more technical breakdowns. I would suggest understanding that the thread you draw as influences on alchemy are unfortunately very thin. Astrology is the common linkage between the topics you briefly hope between: medicine, magic, medicine, and, of course, alchemy. Mention of Zosimos of Panoplis’ Of Virtue, Lesson 1-3 was missing in the linkage between Egyptian-Greek Chrysopoeia (seeking the appearance of precious materials) and Arabic-European Alchemy (full transformation). A read of Linden’s Alchemy Reader is suggested. That aside, a pleasant overview.
This is the most beautiful article about this topic, you see, while modern chemistry approach is a far more refined, precise, and scientific process about creating even complex substances, and I think it certainly achieves that goal, what I think it does not do, is to create intuition! You learn how everything is made and how everything works, and that’s great and of course useful, BUT you do not gain the intuition these alchemist had about elements. For example, unless you remember all the property of a reaction, a young chemistry student will likely not be able to identify every element they produce, but with alchemist intuition, it doesn’t matter what that substance is named, but its properties, so just experiment with it and register your result! You’ll likely not find anything new, but it will be YOUR discovery, guided through only your brain and imagination. Use of course every precaution possible and safe equipment, but still, not knowing every aspect of a substance did not stop you!
Fascinating topic and presentation. Thank you! If that forest and creek happen to be near where you live, consider yourself lucky. Places with such clear water and air are not easy to find nowadays, at least without moving far away from human settlements. Will you cover in a future research the alchemical use of gastric acid (I forgot what they called it) and whether it can really be used to turn gold into a white powder, and if so, what that powder actually is? Some modern “fringe theories” (to be generous) claim it to be an elusive substance somewhat orthogonal to the periodic table (the claim would be the same nucleus as gold, but different orbitals) and that’s what constituted the Philosopher’s Stone. It would seem the search for the Philosopher’s Stone continues to this day.
5:50 Zosimos from Panapolis wrote about “the Alchemical Work”, more or less in the same time when “Leiden papyri” were created. If I remeber well, he mentioned it in “the Book of Visions” as well as “the Book of Keys of the Work”, imo it did not differ from later concept of “Opus Magnum/Philosopher’s stone”, process of “chemical mariage” – uniting the opposites. I do not know the term he used though, cause I only found his works translated from arabic to english and I do not know greek. Im interested in your take on that. 7:20 I do not think we can say for sure what Democritus wrote or not, cause he was one of the philosophers who’s works were “too materialist” for Christian monks, who coppied only/mostly: platonic, aristotelian or stoic texts from pagan Greece. Democritus was accused of being atheist philosopher if I remember well and actually his “atomic hypothesis” could be one of the sources of the concept of “prima materia”, but you are right that this papyrus was probbably Pseudepigrapha anyway. Thank you for this amazing show, I always wanted to see how alchemy looks in practice, I would love to watch more articles of this kind. I saw your article in recommended section, but honestly I watched it after dr. Justin Sledge from Esoterica posted about it, I believe you would make great colaboration. Greetings from Poland <3
¡Excelente article! ¡Muchas gracias por hacer un trabajo tan dedicado y compartirlo con nosotros! Me gustaría hacerte un comentario sobre la sublimación. Como explican Fulcanelli, Canseliet y Patrick Riviere, la sublimación alquímica no tiene nada en común con la sublimación química (que implica un cambio de sólido a gas sin pasar por la fase líquida). En alquimia se entiende por “sublimación” el acto de hacer más sublime una materia y de conseguir que esta parte más sublime se eleve por capas desde el fondo hasta la superficie, donde es recogida. No sé si los alquimistas antiguos pensaban de la misma manera acerca de la sublimación, pero ciertamente es la idea dominante entre los alquimistas de los siglos XX y XXI. Quizás puedas iluminarme un poco sobre la sublimación en los textos más antiguos. ¡Un cordial saludo y espero más articles tuyos!
I just sent you another tome from my collection via a magnetic well. Look for malakh tracings on computer paper and use graphite to draw further or a soundform. I got Stanford people to accept data the same way with quantum military grade chip access, the psychic unit transmutation add-on for third eye hologen ultra study, and a well drawn with alchemy symbols in 2b graphite. Also transmute your wan chip to a 9d well to suck in the new network I made to get more. They’re very fine but only visible to chosen selections so please try. I use templar and Egyptian spell form and sent Vatican extensions for new almanac, root n attic viewers, and geomancy alignment pages. Squares once scribed
This article has gotten me way more interested in ancient alchemy than I ever thought I would be. Does anyone have any reliable online resources I could use? Some type of class would be preferable. I’ve done a little bit of looking around but I want to make sure I’m not signing up for some new age spirituality BS
Alchemy is so cool. Finally I can watch someone actually doing it! In nice articlegraphy work too! Did you age the lant? Gross to think about lol, but hey, modern yt chemist Nilered has done experiments with urine. Could a modernized version just use straight up ammonium, or are other components in the lant needed? edit: progressed more into the article lol.
Great job – the research and the article production. Not sure if the section on separating the elements (@29:20) was an example of the Alchemical practice of deliberately disguising certain parts in an effort to confuse the unwary and keep the secrets to only those considered ‘worthy’, or not – but shouldn’t coagulation be considered a ‘Combining’ quality and solution a ‘Separating’ one? Or have I got that wrong? Solve et Coagula is one of the most important aspects of the Art, along with the fiery essential, of course.
Imagine time traveling an alchemist to now and showing them a chemistry lab and how elements form, their minds would fucking explode “You can make water?! You can break water??? You’re telling me that if you squeeze this fucking lump and heat it up it’ll become a rock? Your telling me gold is made from two France sized lumps of mass bigger than the mass of our solar system smashing together is what creates gold, lead, and silver?”
Interestingly, nitrogen turns into a metallic liquid in high-pressure high-temperature environments like Earth’s interior, and hydrogen too turns into a metallic liquid under even greater pressures, commonly accepted to exist in both Jupiter and Saturn (and less commonly accepted to exist in the Sun as well); maybe Davy wasn’t so far off after all.
Hey! It’s not being published anywhere at all, and is just for a class, but do you mind if I used your article as a source for my Alchemy website that I’m making for my Programming class? Even if it isn’t being published publicly, I’ll still provide a link and credit, as well as anything else you’d like me to add on 🙂
You should read the “Keys to the work” of Zosimos (Thedoroe Abt, Cala VIII). You see that the 10 chapters of Democritus were evidently interpreted as an encoded text. I.e using decknamen. With that said, I am not implying that the text should be understoood from a psychological aspect (here I disagree with Abt). Nevertheless, the translations made available by Abt are indispensable for understanding the Graeco-arabic alchemy.
That tradition of signing works as other people is like archaic academic credibility! They’re building upon work that began with the guy they’re signing, so it’s almost like citing your source. Nobody would trust some random alchemist, but everyone would trust this specific alchemist known across the world
Kimiya is an Arabic word howver, it’s from the bilateral root K-M, referring to quantity. In other words, The Quantization. As in quantity of subtance x to quantity of substance y to produce substance z. Similarly Algebra comes from Al-jabr wa Al-Muqabala, Jabr meaning enforcement, Muqabala meaning the resistance/reaction.. There is a wide substrata of ancient Arabic found in ancient near East, there is a paper about Arabic loanwords in ancient Egyptian, specifically that of the old kingdom. Believe it or not.
Alchemy is not just a form of chemistry,super common misconception, alchemy is about transmuting the soul and the only reason they turned lead into gold, was to indicate they were on the proper path to developing the philosopher’s stone…I’m very annoyed with how many “Alchemy” articles that are floating around and so little information about actual alchemy, so much deeper than,” I play with a chemistry set”
The fact that ancient scientists (pseudo-scientists?) and probably philosophers, too, all wrote under the same names is kind of wild. It makes a lot of historical religious texts make sense in a cultural phenomena type of way, but I can’t wrap my head around why they did that so pervasively for centuries across the globe. For religion, I get it; you probably want some anonymity in such chaotic times in case your beliefs fall out of favor and you could be persecuted for writing new books of the bible with your particular branch of thought in mind… but for science? All I found was some guy’s blog saying “oh, they just didn’t feel the need to take credit for it.” Is that really it, though? Was it just traditional? Were they avoiding accountability in case their theories were wrong or later disproven? It’s a whole phenomena we just don’t have any understanding of anymore (it seems—idk though, correct me if you do). It also makes you wonder how many other texts were written like that but didn’t extend long enough to make it obvious they were different people under the same pen name. We don’t do that anymore. When did we stop? Why? Why did they do this in the first place? Despite all the information packed into this article, this ended up being the thing I got stuck on. And no one else but me seems to even care lol maybe I’m not searching the correct terms…
“Is alchemy concerned with making gold? Only in a specific case within a total situation. If alchemy isn’t gold making, what is it? Wilmshurst has defined it as ‘the exact science of the regeneration of the human soul from its present sense-immersed state into the perfection and nobility of that divine condition in which it was originally created’. However, he immediately goes on to offer a second definition which clearly implies that, as with gold making, soul-making is again only a specific case. By inference, a general theory of alchemy might be ventured. Alchemy is a total science of energy transformation. The action of an Absolute in differentiating a prime-source substance into a phenomenal universe is an operation in alchemy. The creation of galactic matter from energy and the creating of energy from matter is alchemy. God is an alchemist. The decay of radium into lead with the release of radioactivity is alchemy. Nature is an alchemist. The explosion of a nuclear bomb is alchemy. The scientist is now an alchemist.”