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    #16
    Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

    [quote author=B. de Corbin link=topic=105.msg1066#msg1066 date=1286791278]

    Get a copy of one of the better known Alchemy texts, like The Golden Tractate of Hermes[/quote]

    euhm is it normal the book is only 8 pages long? i think i have the ebook. and about 'won't making sense', you're right

    [quote author=Golden Tractate of Hermes]
    ...
    Know then, that the division that was made upon the water by the
    ancient philosophers separates it into four substances; one into two, and three into one; the third part of
    which is colour, as it were-a coagulated moisture; but the second and third waters are the Weights of the
    Wise.
    ...
    [/quote]

    O.O this might take a while to understand...
    Please, just call me Ghost

    I want to be like the moon. A lonely observator of earth, watching the people live, love and die

    Knowledge destroys enemies, too much knowledge makes enemies ~Ghost~

    It doesn't matter how you practice your magick. As long as the thought behind it is clear, it will work

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      #17
      Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

      I know from dabbling hither and thither that there is a lot of alchemical symbolism hidden in paintings (and I'm not talking out of a Dan Brown book) - most of it is 'hidden in plain sight', things like the pelicans and eggs, red & white dragons, suns and moons, you name it.

      Do you know of any galleries or collections of 'alchemical' art, or even good coffee-table books on the subject?
      The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

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        #18
        Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

        [quote author=Corvus link=topic=105.msg23294#msg23294 date=1292687315]
        Is alchemy a science or a magic? So alchemy is the separation or use of the body,spirit,and soul? Im still alittle confuzzled. Are thee spirit and soul the ka and ba? If so what is the body? Is thre an ultimate goal to alchemy?
        [/quote]

        It's closer to science than it is to magic. Alchemists, per se, do not do spells or conjurations - although that's a bit confusing because Alchemy is one of the "Hermetic Arts" (Arts taught by Thoth/Hermes), which also include astrology, magic, science, etc. So many Alchemists also practiced magic.

        Alchemy is an attempt to understand all of nature at a deep level - it can't include the supernatural... but, if what we call "supernatural" is a part of nature which we don't quite understand yet, it can be studied by Alchemy... So the distinction is pretty muddy, especially because, as one works along the path of Alchemy, one will soon discover that what we think is real, and what actually is real, are often times two different things... Confused? Good - Hermes sez: putrefaction before generation. All colors return to black before proceding.

        I don't know enough about ancient Egyptian beliefs to make an authoritative statement about the Ka and Ba, but, from my perspective, it does seem that spirit is close to Ka, and soul is close to Ba. This may be one of the bits of Alchemy which actually did have it's origin in Egypt.

        In Alchemy, the body is "Salt." When spirit and soul come together, they generate a body, in much the same way that when oxygen and hydrogen come together they generate water.

        The goal of Alchemy is to reach the highest level of potential of which the practitioner is capable - to become a human as it is possible to become, by learning how to use those things which a human is capable of using.

        [quote author=ghosthaunter link=topic=105.msg23306#msg23306 date=1292691694]
        euhm is it normal the book is only 8 pages long? i think i have the ebook. and about 'won't making sense', you're right [/quote]

        It is short. 8 pages... maybe... it's longer in the pinted form, but not very long. Give me an address from where you got the e-copy and I'll check it against my copy to make sure. However, I've been reading that short book for a long time, and I still haven't finished it. There's a difference between words and understanding them .

        I'll give you a tip - when you begin reading it, you are likely to discard the most useful parts because they will seem like they are just some kind of formalized statements. In the beginning, those are he parts you need to pay most attention to because they contain the instructions telling you how to read and use the rest of the text (I know because I made this mistake for several years...).

        For example, you will run into the constantly repeated idea that nothing can be accomplished without the aid of God. This isn't just formal religious BS - You will actually have to allow the thing which the Alchemists refer to as "God" to help you, or you'll get nowhere. It's certainly possible for Hermes to enter through a locked door, but it won't - it's not polite. But he will keep knocking until you decide to let him in.

        [quote author=ghosthaunter link=topic=105.msg23306#msg23306 date=1292691694]
        O.O this might take a while to understand...
        [/quote]

        LOL - give yourself time. After 30 years, it's plain as day to me.

        [quote author=perzephone link=topic=105.msg23323#msg23323 date=1292696690]
        I know from dabbling hither and thither that there is a lot of alchemical symbolism hidden in paintings (and I'm not talking out of a Dan Brown book) - most of it is 'hidden in plain sight', things like the pelicans and eggs, red & white dragons, suns and moons, you name it.

        Do you know of any galleries or collections of 'alchemical' art, or even good coffee-table books on the subject?
        [/quote]

        Yes - I have some picture books, but I think they are mostly out of print now. Try this: http://www.levity.com/alchemy/images_s.html

        There is also a link on the page to works by contemporary artists using Alchemy imagery which you might find interesting - be sure to check that out (http://www.levity.com/alchemy/contemp_artists.html).

        Art and Alchemy go hand in hand together - in Alchemy texts which have pictures, you will often find that the pictures convey far more information than the text does. The Mutus Liber (Silent Book) is a famous text made up only of pictures - here's a link... but somebody added a bunch of words... http://hermetic.com/caduceus/article...tus-liber.html
        Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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          #19
          Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

          [quote author=B. de Corbin link=topic=105.msg24093#msg24093 date=1293025214]
          Yes - I have some picture books, but I think they are mostly out of print now. Try this: http://www.levity.com/alchemy/images_s.html

          There is also a link on the page to works by contemporary artists using Alchemy imagery which you might find interesting - be sure to check that out (http://www.levity.com/alchemy/contemp_artists.html).

          Art and Alchemy go hand in hand together - in Alchemy texts which have pictures, you will often find that the pictures convey far more information than the text does. The Mutus Liber (Silent Book) is a famous text made up only of pictures - here's a link... but somebody added a bunch of words... http://hermetic.com/caduceus/article...tus-liber.html
          [/quote]

          Oooh, sparklies!

          Thank you
          The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

          Comment


            #20
            Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

            [quote author=B. de Corbin link=topic=105.msg24093#msg24093 date=1293025214]


            I don't know enough about ancient Egyptian beliefs to make an authoritative statement about the Ka and Ba, but, from my perspective, it does seem that spirit is close to Ka, and soul is close to Ba. This may be one of the bits of Alchemy which actually did have it's origin in Egypt.


            [/quote]

            They're both different parts of a soul, though in simplistic terms this works

            For further reading: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ka.htm




            That could be an interesting approach to a part of alchemy for me, though...
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              #21
              Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

              K got things typed and charts inked over. For lack of a scanner I had to take pics of the charts that would've been scanned so they are a little blurry lol. For lack of how to post this I'll do a post per section I think... The following several posts are what I was taught by the occultist who runs the local apothecary I attend classes at.

              Alchemy is more than just metal working or ancient chemistry. It is everything, it is the universal truth. Everything you do is alchemy. There is one rule for alchemy, you can NOT mix fire and water.

              What You can do with alchemy:

              You can use alchemical principles in all aspects of life. You can prepare meals alchemically, they will taste better, sit well in the system and have a great affect on those who eat it. If you have a meal that's prepared against the alchemical rule, it will cause indigestion.

              It is widely known that red cars get pulled over more, but if you look at the alchemy, red is mars. It creates passion, often adversarial feelings, in others. A silver car (moon) will often be over-looked or let go on lesser charges.

              The countries that other countries don't like, all have flags that violate the alchemical rule, they contain red and white.

              Going to a meeting where it'll help to have the ability to control others? Wear Saturnal colours: black and purple. Black will ward against negativity, the purple is saturn's domination, debauchery, control and lust colour. Combined they do well for situations where persuasion is needed.

              You can also apply alchemy to healing. If you use the chakra system or find the associations for the part of the body that's injured you can use alchemy to mix a transmutation to aide the healing. For ex: The thyroid is part of the lymphatic system and located in the throat. It is part of the system that is responsible for healing us (Jupiter). If you look at the chakra belief, it is a part of the throat chakra which is blue (Jupiter) and associated with communication (Jupiter and Mercury). To heal the thyroid you could use a blend that contains Jupiter, Mercury and Sun (for success). If you have a blood problem that you needed help with, use an oil that's associated with Mars.

              Notes on Money Spells:
              Green does not equal money, the value of currency is the amount of gold a country has that is not promised out to debt. So Gold is the colour for money spells. Do not use Saturn for money spells, it is money at a severe cost. Using Saturn for money is much like asking a chaos deity for money, you will get it at a great expense to you: aunt dies and leaves an inheritance, car will be totaled so you can collect the insurance pay out, you will be hit by a car and get a settlement, etc.
              Love+money=prostitute

              ---------- Post added at 11:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------

              This part teaches you how to properly blend oils. A note in selecting oils. It only takes 3 drops of oil into a carrier oil for it to be called "pure essential oil". You must test the oils before you blend them. You do so by starting to inhale and pass the oil under your nose 3 times. If there is any variance in the smell there is a carrier oil and do not buy it. You'll notice that the blending section does not have carrier oils included in the blends, they throw off the planets thus degrading the blend.

              Parts:
              -incense: a part for incense is much like cooking measurement, it can be a Tablespoon, teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon, etc.
              -oil: a part for an oil is dividing the bottle by the number of ingredients.


              (for the next part, refer to the blending chart in the images folder)

              Blending:
              Rose and Cinnamon can mix, both have Sun
              Rose, Cinnamon and Patchouli can mix, Rose and Cinnamon have Sun and Rose and Patchouli have Venus
              Patchouli and Jasmine can mix, both have Venus.
              All four cannot be mixed, Sun and Moon violates Alchemy's one rule.

              The three different love elixir examples use the same ingredients, but the planets are mixed differently to create different results.
              A: Mostly venus and sun. It Will have successful love and attraction, not much passion. Think good friend.
              B: Mostly venus and saturn. It Will have intense love and lust, but burn out quickly.
              C: All is balanced with slightly more sun and venus. It will be successful passionate love with a little debauchery.


              ---------- Post added at 11:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:57 AM ----------

              Perfect Elixir:
              Planets affect around you; Elements affect within you.
              Your goals cannot conflict with each other or your element.

              The perfect elixir is when you blend so that the outcome will align with your personality. The perfect elixir is temporary, it will only last about three months. You will have to re-evaluate your personality to see if the element changed. When you evaluate your personality you MUST be honest with your flaws.

              When creating the elixir you must look at your goals and make sure the planets work without violating your personality. In order to balance the personality you need to use a minimal amount of the element to be balanced while raising the counter elements.

              To find your personality. Go through the chart (see ref pic in images) and circle which personality flaw you have, every one will have at least one in each column. The column with the most is the element you need to balance. To balance it use the chart below and chose planets that fit within the needed elements.

              Balancing elements:
              - fire: raise earth and air
              - air: raise earth and water (for more tranquility) OR earth and fire (for more passion)
              - water: raise earth and air
              - earth: water and air (builds on existing) OR fire and air cleanses for a rebuild)


              ---------- Post added at 12:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:58 AM ----------

              Examples of blending perfect elixirs



              ---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:00 PM ----------

              Incense Creation:
              When you add parts of a plant, it adds another planetary aspect to the ingredient.
              - Resins add Sun
              - Seeds, Leaves, and Flowers add Venus
              - Bark adds Mars
              - Roots add Saturn
              *Be careful not to use a part that violates the alchemical rule!



              Almost anything can be blended into an incense. When you add oil, bones, body parts or stones in the incense blend, it will always be 1 part no matter how much you use. How much oil you use will be dependant on your incense type. The fast incense blends will be moist, but still dry enough to burn. The transmuted blends will need to be wet, but not soaked.

              Low Magick: fast, low preparation, wicca, fast incense
              High Magick: precise, high preparation, ceremonial magick, transmutation
              Fast Incense is 5 separate herbs, can have times of smelling more frankincense in one pinch over another.
              Transmutation creates a whole new herb out of the ingredients. All pinches will smell the same from the oils of the ingredients sweat into each other.

              In selecting your herbs be wary of sources as well. Be sure that they come from trusted sources. It's ok, even preferred to ask a store who their sources are or to demand the growing condition reports from a supplier. The better the conditions, the stronger the plant will be for use. If you use bad ingredients you'll have a weaker blend.
              -=Ex Ignorantia Ad Sapientiam; E Luce Ad Tenebras=-

              My art and writing http://khaotyk-artwerx.tk/
              (whole site is marked adult, the adult and gore sections are in their own section so you can opt not to view them, adult and/or gore stories are marked with an *)

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                #22
                Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                Transmutation:

                The transmutation process is a long, energy consuming process, so be sure to make a lot of it. When you start the process you will need an air tight container. DO NOT OPEN during the process, it will mold if you let in fresh air. You must also be precise with the timing. You have two hours variance to move in between stages. Any later than that it will mold and you will need to start over with fresh ingredients and a fresh container.

                Transmutation schedule:
                - refrigerated 2 weeks
                - room temp 1 week
                - refrigerated 2 weeks
                - heated 2 weeks (think above room temp, not cooking... don't microwave, heat in oven, etc. a coffee mug warmer will work, as will behind the computer if you have one that puts out that much heat, etc.)
                - refrigerated 3 weeks
                - room temp 2 weeks.

                DONE! Oils will last forever without changing as long as they don't have a carrier oil to separate from. Incenses will get more powerful and smell better with age. One that's been in the container for 12 yrs will be much more potent than one that was just created. The strength of the incense will also depend on the energy you focus into it. It will work if you just go through the process, but if you concentrate intent into the incense it will be more powerful.

                You can transmute yourself (or others) into your blends to create a much more powerful bond to the incense. If you're trying to do a healing blend for someone, add a piece of them into it.
                -Moon: spit, tears
                -Saturn: sweat, puss, waste
                -Mars&Venus (both combined): blood
                -Venus: female ejaculate
                -Mars: male ejaculate
                -Mercury: gas, mucus
                -Jupiter: plasma, clear mucus
                *external parts and bones don't have designated planets.

                Necromantic Additions:

                As stated briefly you can add in all kinds of parts. If you take a fetish (part of a being with great power, like the eye of a bat) you can dry it and grind it into the transmuted incense. The part to consider will be 1 and if it has an association you'll have to take that into consideration.
                -=Ex Ignorantia Ad Sapientiam; E Luce Ad Tenebras=-

                My art and writing http://khaotyk-artwerx.tk/
                (whole site is marked adult, the adult and gore sections are in their own section so you can opt not to view them, adult and/or gore stories are marked with an *)

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                  #23
                  Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                  Wow! Thant's a heck of a lot of information!

                  Thanks for posting that, KashakuTatsu - it's going to take me a while to assimilate it all...
                  Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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                    #24
                    Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                    My father (many years ago) practised alchemy... our kitchen was full of the small ridged bottles with the skull and crossbones on them to denote poison. I often think that modern day health and safety would probably have a fit! Although he would talk to me about herbs a lot, he rarely talked about alchemy. I think he tried to when I was about eight (it has to be said that my father had little clue about what children do at that age) but when I showed no real aptitude, he gave up. I wish he was here now to ask him so many things.

                    However, I have had a longstanding interest in the alchemical ideas of the Florentine Renaissance. In particular the works of Marsilio Ficino who worked for the Medici. There is a lot of work to be done, I feel, teasing out the alchemical meanings of some famous paintings (including Botticelli's Primavera and Di Cosimo's Death of Procris. I did quite a bit on this last painting a year or so ago... it was absolutely fascinating, but alas there is littloe information out there to guide us.
                    www.thewolfenhowlepress.com


                    Phantom Turnips never die.... they just get stewed occasionally....

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                      #25
                      Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                      I found this nifty book...which I found pretty interesting, and raised some alchemy questions for me (particularly after finishing a fiction book by Deborah Harkness which features alchemical texts)...

                      What do you know about Elias Ashmole?
                      Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                        #26
                        Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                        Actually, I know nothing of Ashmole at all. I had to wikki him.

                        It wouldn't have been at all unusual for a founder of Of the Royal Society to have been an Alchemist. You have to remember that from around 1200 to as late as the beginning of the 19th century, pretty much everybody who was involved in the sciences in Europe was working from an Alchemist's perspective - or working their way out of it. The mode of thought was so pervasive in society that even the uneducated would have known something about it, in much the same way that most people in the 50's and 60's could have told you about Freudian concepts like a "phallic symbol" or "Oedipal complex."

                        In Shelly's Frankenstein (1818), the old books that Victor is studying are most likely the works of Alchemists - a lot of their writing is about returning life to dead matter:

                        "And know this, that except one understandeth how to mortify (kill) to induce generation (create new life), to vivify (bring to life) the Spirit, to cleanse and introduce Light, until they fight with each other and grow white and freed from their defilements (decay/corruption), as blackness and darkness, he knoweth nothing, nor can he perform anything..." from The Golden Testament of Hermes

                        So what interests you about Ashmole?

                        (I'll have to take a look at Harkness. I'd like to see how she uses the texts. Dan Brown made use of a bit of Alchemy in his last book - he actually had a good idea about what he was talking about)

                        (I just wikki'd her too. Are you talking about the novel A Discovery of Witches? It sounds like it might be good...)
                        Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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                          #27
                          Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                          Originally posted by B. de Corbin View Post
                          So what interests you about Ashmole?

                          (I'll have to take a look at Harkness. I'd like to see how she uses the texts. Dan Brown made use of a bit of Alchemy in his last book - he actually had a good idea about what he was talking about)

                          (I just wikki'd her too. Are you talking about the novel A Discovery of Witches? It sounds like it might be good...)
                          yup, that was the book--she uses a (fake) text of Ashmole's to build her story on. I reviewed it a week or two ago... I think what is cool about her is that she is IRL an actual historian.

                          Ashmole just seems like an interesting character.

                          I also came across a reference (in the English Magic) book--their Alchemy section focus more on spagyric (sp?) alchemy, and the merger into Hermeticism--to Mary Ann Atwood's "A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery", which I want to read because I'm a bit interested in 19th century occult (to go along with my 19th century interest in science--they were still in some ways closely aligned)...

                          What is the significance of the Chemical Wedding?

                          Also...how do you see the elements in terms of alchemy?

                          ETA: I found this quote in a review of Atwood's book "this is to be accomplished by understanding the Elementals of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Of these, the first three are the Principles. Air symbolizes the conscious mind. Earth symbolizes the primeval mind. Water symbolizes the subconscious mind. The term "Elementals" includes Fire that symbolizes sentience. To "know thyself" in this way was the beginning of their philosophy." Is this basically accurate? Can you expand on it if it is? (this makes alot of sense to me)
                          Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                            #28
                            Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                            Bloody 'ell. I just typed out a huge response, and lost it by punching the wrong button. I'll have to come back and try again tomorrow... Hermes just kicked me in a soft spot again...
                            Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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                              #29
                              Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                              I absolutely HATE that!!
                              Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                                #30
                                Re: What the heck is Alchemy?

                                http://www.levity.com/alchemy/paracel1.htmlAS
                                What is the significance of the Chemical Wedding?
                                The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutzhttp://www.crcsite.org/wedding1.htmThe Chymical Wedding Honeymoon
                                Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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