The History of Alchemy

Whether regarded as a science or philosophy, interpersonal chemistry provided the beginnings for chemistry and the basis for recent lab proficiencys. Alchemists believed that the secrets of nature could be revealed through laboratory experimentation and examination and they successfully revealed many an(prenominal) of those secrets. chemical science is defined as the process of taking something familiar and turning it into something extraordinary, sometimes in a way that can non be explained. (YourDictionary.com) This definition, though true, does not comprehend all that interpersonal chemistry is closely. Alchemy also involved the supposition of transforming ones spirit. If one could learn how to vomit up gold, one could use the technique to purify the human thought (Thelemapedia: The Encyclopedia of Thelema & Magick).\nAlchemy counterbalance developed independently in both Egypt and China. In China, the creators of interpersonal chemistry were Taoist monks. Consequentl y, Chinese alchemy was based on Taoist beliefs and practices. Wei Po-Yang is credited with the foundation of Chinese alchemy. The Chinese first remainder of alchemy was not the work shift of base metals into gold. When alchemy began in China, the explicate for gold was not yet a word in the Chinese language. The primary goal of Chinese alchemy was to discover the elixir of behavior, a substance that when ingested, brings eternal life. In Chinese alchemy object lesson techniques were undecomposed with the purpose of manipulating ones life force and prolonging life. Minerals and plants were also ingested for the homogeneous purpose. Alchemy spread to India from China. The Indians practiced alchemy in the resembling fashion as the Chinese ( The Magic and Myth of Alchemy).\nBy around the 4th snow BCE in Egypt, there was a basic practice of alchemy in place. It was practiced by the priestly class. Alexandria was the center of alchemic knowledge. Most information about early alc hemy in Egypt has been lost due to their depository library in Alexandria being burnt-out when the Christians invaded. (The Magic and...