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Alchemy was a series of practices that combined philosophical, magical, and chemical experimentation. One goal of European alchemists was to create what was known as the Philosopher’s Stone, a substance that when heated and combined with a non precious metal like copper or iron (known as the “base”) would turn into gold.
The theory was challenged by the concomitant weight increase and was abandoned before the end of the 18th century following experiments by Antoine Lavoisier in the 1770s and by other scientists. Phlogiston theory led to experiments that ultimately resulted in the identification ( c. 1771 ), and naming (1777), of oxygen by Joseph Priestley and ...
(Biblical interpretation, the architecture of the Jewish Temple, ancient history, alchemy and the Apocalypse). "The Chymistry of Isaac Newton: original manuscripts of alchemy". dlib.indiana.edu. Newton wrote and transcribed about a million words on the subject of alchemy "Catalogue of Newton's Alchemical Papers". newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk.
The decline of European alchemy was brought about by the rise of modern science with its emphasis on rigorous quantitative experimentation and its disdain for "ancient wisdom". Although the seeds of these events were planted as early as the 17th century, alchemy still flourished for some two hundred years, and in fact may have reached its peak ...
For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal in alchemy. The philosopher's stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest, divine illumination, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the philosopher's stone were known as the Magnum Opus ("Great Work"). [3]
One of the first evidence of Chinese alchemy being openly discussed in history is during the Qin's First Emperor's period when Huan Kuan (73-49 BC) states how modifying forms of nature and ingesting them will bring immortality to the person who drinks them. [6] Before Huan Kuan, the idea of alchemy was to turn base metals into gold.
In alchemy, the Magnum Opus or Great Work is a term for the process of working with the prima materia to create the philosopher's stone. It has been used to describe personal and spiritual transmutation in the Hermetic tradition , attached to laboratory processes and chemical color changes, used as a model for the individuation process, and as ...
The three phases of the magnum opus: nigredo, albedo and rubedo. (from Pretiosissimum Donum Dei, published by Georges Aurach in 1475). Rubedo is a Latin word meaning "redness" that was adopted by alchemists to define the fourth and final major stage in their magnum opus. [1]