Alchemy is Change. The Process of Change is the ultimate “Atom” of the ancient Greeks, the original building block of the Cosmos. All of the symbols of Alchemy emphasize the aspect of Change: the transmutation of the baser metals into Gold through a process of Solve et Coagula, Separatio et Coniunctio (“disintegrate” and “unite;” “separate” and “join”). Alchemy is the “spagyric art,” from Greek words meaning “to tear apart” and “to bring together.”
Since the earliest times, Alchemists have been interested in applying their Hermetic wisdom towards the perfecting of the body and soul of man -- the quest for Gold being left to the “puffers.” For the Alchemist, the first stage of the “Great Work” is the Nigredo, the stage of Blackness, disintegration, chaos, where the material (metal, the soul of Man, or what have you) is reduced to the “prima materia” or formless original stuff, before it can proceed to the second stage, the Albedo (whiteness), where the material may be unified once again. The Alchemical process is circular, alternating between solve and coagula on its path towards perfection.
Originally, “Alexandrian Alchemy” had as its purpose the transmutation of the baser metals into Gold. Although this goal was quickly superceded by the loftier notions of the Alchemical Adepts, it is instructive to review the original understanding of the old “Masters of Fire.” Aristotle laid the groundwork with his famous dictum: “Nature strives towards Perfection.” This was an article of faith that defined for proponents of the ancient wisdom the source of the whole underlying pattern of order in the cosmos.
in conclusion, it was the foundation of modern science as to say, but it had spiritualiy in it actually....
