Alchemical signs: description, concept, interpretation and meaning of symbols

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Alchemy evokes different associations in modern man. Most associate the practice of alchemy with the gloomy and narrow streets of Prague and other medieval European cities. Many, at the mention of this science, begin to talk about the philosopher's stone and the transformation of everything that comes to hand into gold. Of course, no one forgets about the elixir of eternal youth either.

And almost everyone is sure that alchemy is not a science, but only scammers and sincerely mistaken people were engaged in it, moreover, in the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, this is not entirely true.

How and where did alchemy develop?

This science was born not at all in the damp cellars of medieval European castles and not in oblique dark alleys of Prague, as many believe. Alchemy is much older, but it is almost impossible to establish the exact time period of its origin. It is only known for certain that alchemical experiments were carried out in ancient Egypt, the Middle East and, probably, in Greece.

During the late ancient period, that is, during the 2nd-6th centuries, the center of alchemical studies was Egypt, or more precisely, Alexandria. This period of development of science left behind not only alchemical signs found by archaeologists at excavation sites and historians in surviving written sources, but also other evidence.

In the III century, the Roman Empire experienced a crisis of power. This state of weak government ended with the accession to the Roman throne of Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletian. It was this man who reformed the government, making the emperor the sovereign master of the state, and not the first of the senators, as it was before.

Diocletian entered the history of alchemy as the first persecutor. Although the persecution was due to the actions of the Egyptians and was only a retaliatory move on the part of the emperor of Rome. In the summer of 297, Lucius Domitius Domitian raised Egypt against the Empire. More precisely, the purpose of this uprising was not to overthrow the power of Rome, but to seize it. The epicenter of the rebellion was Alexandria. Of course, the rebellion was harshly and, at that time, quite quickly, in just a year, suppressed. The pretender to the Roman throne himself died for unknown reasons during the siege of Alexandria, and his assistant, who led the city's defense, was executed.

The result of the suppression of the rebellion was Diocletian's order to destroy all papyri, books, scrolls and other sources of knowledge about the transformation of metals and substances into gold or silver. Presumably, the emperor sought to destroy not so much knowledge asan inexhaustible source of we alth in Egypt, thereby bringing down arrogance and pacifying the local nobility and priesthood. Whatever it was, but a large amount of knowledge, accumulated over the centuries, was lost. Although some books miraculously survived and later became one of the most revered in alchemical circles.

After these sad events, alchemists gradually began to move to the Middle East. The Arabs developed this science, making many significant discoveries. Archaeologists find alchemical signs throughout the Middle East, suggesting a significant spread of this science in the Arab world. The heyday of Arab alchemy is considered to be the VIII-IX centuries. This is due to the fact that it was then that the theory of the initial elements, which originated in Greece and belonged to Aristotle, was improved. At the same time, a distillation apparatus appeared. For the first time, the Arab alchemists introduced the idea of numerology. But besides this, it was the Arab scientists who first introduced the concept of the philosopher's stone. The centers of scientific activity of alchemists were Baghdad and Cordoba. The Academy of Sciences functioned in Cordoba, among which the most significant was alchemy.

How and when did alchemy get to Europe?

It is generally accepted that the acquaintance of European scientists with alchemy began in the VIII century, as a result of the seizure of territories on the Iberian Peninsula by the Arabs. An important role in the development of European alchemy was played by the Dominican monks - the German Albert the Great, canonized by the Catholic Church, and one of his students, Thomas Aquinas. Peru Albert owns several alchemic altreatises based on ancient Greek works on the nature of substances.

The first scientist to "officially" use alchemical signs in his writings was the Briton Roger Bacon, a naturalist, theology teacher and doctor, and besides this, also a Franciscan monk. This man, who lived in the 13th century, is considered the first European alchemist.

What did the main alchemical symbols mean?

Alchemical signs and symbols that developed gradually over the centuries of the existence of this science were used not only by people who studied it. Until the 18th century, symbolism was also used simply to designate chemical elements, substances.

In the period of its dawn and before the beginning of fading, associated with the persecutions initiated by the pontiff John XXII, expressed in a ban on practicing this science in Italy, the main symbolism was formed.

The most important alchemical signs included images:

• four primary elements;
• three main symbols;
• seven metals.

Combinations of these substances are the basis of alchemy as a whole. Of course, in addition to them, alchemists used other substances and elements, which corresponded to their own designations.

Four primary elements

The alchemists considered the primary four elements:

• fire;
• earth;
• air;
• water.

That is, the elements. Alchemical science in the matter of primaryshowed no elements of originality. But the graphic designations look quite peculiar.

The alchemical sign of fire is an even triangle, similar to the image of a pyramid, without additional dashes. Scientists depicted the earth as an inverted triangle, pointing down and crossed out near it with a line. Air was depicted with the help of a sign, which is a mirror reflection of the symbolism of the earth. The sign looks like an ordinary triangle, directed upwards, crossed out by a line. Water, accordingly, was displayed as the antipode of fire. Her sign is a simple but upside-down triangle.

Main characters

Often, researchers of alchemical philosophy try to combine the Christian Trinity with the number of main symbols. But the three basic elements of alchemy have nothing to do with Christian doctrines.

According to the treatises of Paracelsus, who relied in his writings on the remnants of ancient knowledge, the main main substances for alchemists are:

• s alt;
• sulfur;
• mercury.

These are the primary substances that embody matter, spirit and fluids.

The alchemical sign of s alt, which embodies matter, the basic universal substance, looks like a ball or a sphere crossed in half. However, not all scientists used this option. Some alchemists used a designation without a cross bar. There were scientists who denoted the substance by the image of a ball with two transverse lines. This was done so that no oneother than themselves and their students and followers, could not make out the formulas.

The alchemical sign of sulfur represents spirit, an omnipresent and integral part of life itself. This symbol was depicted in the form of an even triangle with a cross emerging from the base. The triangle was not crossed out, although it is possible that this sign was somehow changed in order to hide the meaning of the formulas discovered as a result of the experiments.

The alchemical sign of mercury simultaneously symbolized both the planet Mercury and the Greek god himself. This is the embodiment of fluid flows that connect the top and bottom of the universe, the heavenly dome with the earth's firmament. That is, the flow of fluids that determine the inextricable and endless flow of life, the transition of various substances from one state to another. The graphic image of this symbol is one of the most complex, multi-component. The basis of the image is a sphere or a circle, a ball. The top of the symbol is crowned with an open hemisphere, reminiscent of a schematic depiction of bull horns in ancient Egypt. At the bottom of the sign is a cross growing out of the boundary line of the sphere. In addition, mercury was not only the embodiment of an endless flow of fluids, but was also one of the seven main metals.

Designations of the main metals

Alchemical signs and their meanings would be devoid of practical meaning without the addition of displays of the seven main metals.

Metals endowed by scientists with special properties are:

• lead;
• mercury;
• tin;
• iron;
• copper;
• silver;
• gold.

Each of them corresponded to a specific celestial body. Accordingly, the graphic designations of metals were at the same time the symbols of celestial bodies. This did not add clarity to the records of scientists, since without a general context it was quite difficult to correctly understand the alchemical signs and symbols and their meaning. The symbolism looks like it is shown in the illustration.

The planets Neptune, Uranus and Pluto were discovered later than the idea of basic metals in alchemy. Many followers of alchemy, who took up it at the end of the century before last and later, believe that it is precisely the lack of knowledge about the three planets and their corresponding metals that explains most of the failures in the experiments of medieval scientists.

Which celestial bodies correspond to base metals?

Alchemical signs symbolizing metals and their meanings in astrology correspond to the following ratio:

• The sun is definitely gold.
• Moon is the patroness of silver.
• Venus is associated with copper.
• Mars is the planet of war, aggression, of course, corresponds to iron.
• Jupiter is the celestial reflection of tin.
• Mercury is a flying Greek deity in winged sandals; like the cosmic body of the same name, it is associated with mercury.
• Saturn - distant and mysterious, expresses lead.

The planets discovered later also received a connection with metals and a graphic display in alchemy. Their metals are consonant in their names with the namesthe planets themselves - Neptunium, Uranus, Plutonium. Of course, in the traditional medieval science, these planets, like metals, do not exist.

Was there anything else?

In addition to the main symbolism, which, as a rule, did not change and was the same in the works of most scientists, there were also so-called "floating" designations. Such characters did not have clear prescriptions in calligraphy and were depicted in different ways.

The main of the minor substances, the alchemical signs of which do not have a clear classification, are “worldly”, or mundane. These elements include:

• arsenic;
• boron;
• phosphorus;
• antimony;
• bismuth;
• magnesium;
• platinum;
• stone - any;
• potassium;
• zinc and others.

These substances were considered the first of the secondary. That is, the main alchemical processes were carried out, as a rule, with their use.

What were the main processes?

The main alchemical processes aimed at transforming any substance are:

• connection;
• decomposition;
• modification;
• fixation;
• separation;
• multiplication.

There are exactly 12 basic processes in alchemy, in accordance with the zodiac circle. This number is achieved by various combinations of the above processes and the use of unequal reaction pathways. The graphic representation of the processes themselves also coincides with the zodiac ones, but it is necessarily supplemented by signs expressing the path necessary for the reaction to occur.

What were the main paths in alchemical experiments?

The above processes were carried out in the following ways:

• calcination;
• oxidation;
• freezing;
• dissolve;
• warming up;
• distillation;
• filtering;
• softening;
• fermentation;
• putrefaction.

Each path was applied strictly in accordance with the current value of the zodiacal calendar.

How were the results recorded?

Alchemical records are not at all the same as those used by modern scientists who record a chain of experiments with substances. Alchemists often left behind their work not a line of incomprehensible icons, but real paintings.

On such illustrations, as a rule, showing a whole series of experiments and results obtained, the initial element was placed in the center. Graphic images of the actions of scientists were already departing from him in different directions, like rays. Of course, this option of fixing the work carried out and the results achieved in the experiments was not the only one. However, most often the beginning of the recording was placed in the center of the image.