For its time, this mystic art represented most of what educated people knew about the world around them. However, this doesn’t mean that we should necessarily look down on alchemy. Thus, as the collective understanding of physics and chemistry started advancing beyond alchemy in the 18 th century, this ancient art began to die out. However, all alchemists believed that metals can be transmuted into each other and so creating gold out of other metals for profit was on most alchemists’ minds.Īll in all, alchemy can be described as an early attempt at chemistry but mixed with mysticism and astrology instead of actual science. Whether all alchemists sincerely believed the latter two were possible isn’t clear – it’s possible they were just legends. Discover the elements of the elixir of eternal youth.

The Philosopher’s Stone was believed to be able to transform lead into gold as well as to grant eternal life to its user. Create the mythical Philosopher’s Stone by smelting and mixing different metals and elements.Find a way to transmute low-value metals into gold.The main goals of most alchemists were the following:

This belief likely stemmed from people’s observation of mixed metal alloys in nature and how metals can change properties when they get smelted. In particular, alchemists were fascinated by metals and believed there were ways for one metal to be transmuted into another one. In essence, alchemy is the attempt of people in the ancient and Medieval times to understand chemistry and how chemical compounds interacted with each other. These symbols have existed for hundreds of years and continue to fascinate and intrigue people with their association to the mysterious art of alchemy. Later on, the practice became popular all across Europe, the Middle East, India, and the Far East.Īlchemists used various symbols to represent natural elements. Originating in the early centuries, alchemy first emerged in ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Viewed as a science by its practitioners, as a mystic art by the uninitiated around them, and as impractical pseudo-science by scientists of the last 3 centuries, alchemy is a fascinating attempt at studying nature.

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