Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Outline of alchemy

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Outline of alchemy

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to alchemy:

Contents

Alchemy – A philosophical tradition recognized as protoscience, that includes the application of Hermetic principles, and practices related to mythology, religion, and spirituality.

Branches

  • Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam
  • Chinese Alchemy
  • Neidan
  • Processing (Chinese materia medica)
  • Iatrochemistry
  • Spagyric
  • New Age
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Analytical psychology
  • Individuation
  • Metacognition
  • Rasayana

    • Influences

    Influences upon alchemy – alchemy developed dependent on a number of influences and experienced regional and period-specific variations:

  • Aristotelianism
  • Esotericism
  • Western Esotericism
  • Esoteric Christianity
  • Gnosticism
  • Hermeticism
  • Humorism
  • Metallurgy
  • History of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent
  • Platonism
  • Neoplatonism
  • Pseudoscience
  • Pythagoreanism
  • Taoism
  • Stoicism
  • Anthroposophy
  • Astrology
  • Ayurveda
  • Homeopathy
  • Kayaku-Jutsu
  • Magic, magick
  • Moxibustion
  • Tay al-Ard
  • Yoga Nidra

    • Concepts

  • Alchemical elements – Primarily the four Classical elements of:
  • Fire (classical element)
  • Water (classical element)
  • Earth (classical element)
  • Air (classical element)
  • For variations see: Wu Xing • Mahābhūta • Five elements (Japanese philosophy)
  • Alchemy in art and entertainment
  • Alkahest
  • Anima mundi
  • Chrysopoeia
  • Filius philosophorum
  • Takwin
  • Homunculus
  • Philosopher's stone
  • Cintamani
  • Elixir of life
  • Panacea
  • Prima materia
  • Yliaster
  • Septenary of the seven metals and Classical planets in Western alchemy
  • Lead • tin • copper • iron • mercury • silver • gold
  • Saturn • Jupiter • Venus • Mars • Mercury • Moon • Sun
  • Tria Prima (three primes)
  • Salt • mercury • sulfur
  • Body • soul • spirit
  • Unity of opposites or coincidentia oppositorum
  • Hieros Gamos
  • Rebis

    • Processes

    Magnum opus – great work of alchemy consisting of:

  • Nigredo
  • Albedo
  • Citrinitas (sometimes excluded)
  • Rubedo

    • Alchemists also engaged in practical and symbolic processes including:

  • Calcination
  • Ceration
  • Cohobation
  • Congelation
  • Digestion
  • Distillation
  • Fermentation
  • Filtration
  • Fixation
  • Multiplication
  • Projection
  • Solution
  • Sublimation

    • Symbolism

    Alchemical symbol – 1. Glyphs

  • AGLA
  • Monas Hieroglyphica

    • 2. Imagery

  • Suns in alchemy
  • Undine (alchemy)

    • 3. Visual Symbolism

  • Porta Alchemica
  • Serpent (symbolism)
  • Caduceus
  • Ouroboros
  • Nehushtan

    • Scientific connections

  • Biological transmutation
  • Chemistry
  • Historicism
  • Nuclear transmutation
  • Obsolete scientific theories
  • Physics
  • Scientific method
  • Synthesis of noble metals

    • Substances of the alchemists

  • phosphorus • sulfur (sulphur) • arsenic • antimony
  • vitriol • quartz • cinnabar • pyrites • orpiment • galena
  • magnesia • lime • potash • natron • saltpetre • kohl
  • ammonia • ammonium chloride • alcohol • camphor
  • sulfuric acid (sulphuric acid) • hydrochloric acid • nitric acid • acetic acid • formic acid • citric acid • tartaric acid
  • aqua regia • gunpowder
  • blue vitriol • green vitriol • vinegar • salt

    • more...

    Apparatus

    Stills

  • Alembic
  • Retort
  • Retort stand

    • Vessels

  • Aludel
  • Crucible
  • Hessian crucible
  • Cupels
  • Mortar and pestle

    • Heating devices

  • Athanor
  • Bain-marie
  • Sand bath

    • Alchemy organizations

  • Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica
  • European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism
  • Freemasonry
  • Rosicrucianism

    • Alchemical texts

  • Axiom of Maria
  • Alchemical Studies (Carl Jung)
  • Aurora consurgens
  • Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit
  • Cantong qi
  • Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz
  • Hermetica
  • Corpus Hermeticum
  • Emerald Tablet
  • The Hermetical Triumph
  • Fasciculus Chemicus
  • Kimiya-yi sa'ādat
  • Musaeum Hermeticum
  • Mutus Liber
  • Rosary of the Philosophers
  • Splendor Solis
  • Theatrum Chemicum
  • Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
  • The Mirror of Alchimy
  • Turba Philosophorum

    • Journals

  • Ambix
  • Aries
  • Hermetic Journal

    • Alchemists

    The most influential names in the history of alchemy include:

  • Hermes Trismegistus – by tradition, the founder of Western alchemy.
  • Wei Boyang – authored the earliest known book on theoretical alchemy in China.
  • Zosimos of Panopolis – a Gnostic mystic who wrote the oldest known books on Western alchemy.
  • Khālid ibn Yazīd – credited with bringing alchemy to Arabia.
  • Jābir ibn Hayyān – notable for takwin, sulfur-mercury theory, and emphasis on experimental science.
  • Pseudo-Geber
  • Roger Bacon – influenced the reintegration of alchemy and Christianity.
  • 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.

    • References

    Outline of alchemy Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA