Ads
related to: alchemy ancient and modern
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
Alchemy is defined by the Hermetic quest for the philosopher's stone, the study of which is steeped in symbolic mysticism, and differs greatly from modern science. Alchemists toiled to make transformations on an esoteric (spiritual) and/or exoteric (practical) level. [ 28 ]
Suns in alchemy – Sun symbols have a variety of uses Circled dot (disambiguation) Monas Hieroglyphica – 1564 book by John Dee about an esoteric symbol; Rub el Hizb – Islamic symbol in the shape of an octagram; Seal of Solomon – Signet ring attributed to the Israelite king Solomon; Rosy Cross – Western esoteric symbol
Glauber's salt – sodium sulfate.Na 2 SO 4; Sal alembroth – salt composed of chlorides of ammonium and mercury.; Sal ammoniac – ammonium chloride.; Sal petrae (Med. Latin: "stone salt")/salt of petra/saltpetre/nitrate of potash – potassium nitrate, KNO 3, typically mined from covered dungheaps.
The practice of alchemy in the Western world, based on a Hellenistic and Babylonian approach to planetary astronomy, often ascribed a symbolic association between the seven then-known celestial bodies and the metals known to the Greeks and Babylonians during antiquity.
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]
Roger Bacon – staunch proponent of the use of alchemy. Paracelsus – developer of iatrochemistry. Robert Boyle – alchemist critical of Paracelsus, credited as the father of modern chemistry. Mary Anne Atwood – key figure in the occult revival of alchemy. Carl Jung – merged alchemy and psychoanalytic thought.
Protoscience, early sciences, and natural philosophies such as alchemy and astrology during the Bronze Age, Iron Age, classical antiquity, and the Middle Ages declined during the early modern period after the establishment of formal disciplines of science in the Age of Enlightenment.