alchemy

Alchemy is a historical discipline that united elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy, religion, and mysticism. Practitioners pursued both material and spiritual aims, commonly described as the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of the philosopher's stone, and the procurement of the elixir of life. Many alchemists also sought personal enlightenment, interpreting laboratory work as a metaphor for inner transformation.

Origins lie in antiquity and cross-cultural exchanges. Early strands emerged in Hellenistic Egypt and the Greco-Islamic world, drawing on Egyptian metallurgy, Greek philosophy, and Indian and Chinese alchemical ideas. From the medieval Islamic world, scholars such as Jabir ibn Hayyan contributed systematic experimentation and theory. In Europe, Latin translations of Arabic and Greek writings sparked a flourishing of alchemical practice from the 12th to the 17th century.

Western alchemy developed several persistent concepts. Practical work employed laboratories, distillation, calcination, and the use of tools such as alembics. Theoretical ideas included the belief that substances contain hidden principles, often expressed as salt, sulfur, and mercury (the Paracelsian triad), or as the classical four elements and a quintessence. The ultimate goal of the philosopher's stone became a symbol for spiritual wisdom as well as material transmutation. Notable figures included Jabir, Paracelsus, Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, and, later, Isaac Newton, who wrote extensively on alchemy.

Outside Europe, Daoist and other East Asian traditions pursued alchemical aims, including external elixirs of longevity and internal (neidan) practices. In Indian traditions, Rasayana and alchemical laboratories contributed to metallurgy and medicine. Alchemy's legacy persisted in early modern chemistry and in mysticism and literature, influencing scientists, philosophers, and artists. Today it is studied as a historical precursor to chemistry and as a symbolic language for transformation.