The Origins of Alchemy

The mediaeval alchemists appear to have inherited their 'knowledge' from the Hermeticists of Hellenised Egypt, but the precise origin of their Art remains mysterious. Johannes Fabricius considers it likely that Alchemy may be as old as the 4th Century BC, and that the central figure of Hermes Trismegistus was derived from the ancient Egyptian god Thoth. Subsequently, Alchemy came to Western Europe, via Sicily and Spain, in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Fabricius explains how:

"The first scientists of the West were philosophical and mystical types to whom practical alchemy was a branch of a comprehensive philosophical system. Their ideas rested on the Hermetic doctrines formulated by Alexandrian science and Greek alchemy and disseminated throughout the Roman Empire on the wings of syncretism. Due to this development, the Hermetic docrtines became saturated with a number of mystical teachings and myths, such as astrology and Gnosticism, Orfic speculation and Eleusinian mystery religion, the worship of Isis and Osiris, the worship of Serapis and Sol Invictus, the teachings preserved by Nestorians, Monophysites, and Manichees in Persia, Syria and Iraq. This heritage did not pass directly to the Western alchemists, it went through an important intermediate link - the Arabs"

Interestingly, the knowledge of metals, as described by the 4th Century alchemist Zosimus of Panopolis, is said to date back to the time of the 'fallen angels'; the mysterious sons of God, or Nephilim

Alchemy uses a tremendous amount of celestial imagery to put across its esoteric ideas. The images are often accompanied by short texts which can appear quite unfathomable. It is easy to let our own perspective colour our interpretation of the inner meaning of these glyphs and symbols, and there is plenty of material in the alchemical literature for esotericists to get their teeth into. Johannes Fabricius puts forward the notion that the underlying message of Alchemy is Freudian. But it is evident that the symbols that the alchemists borrowed from the many sources listed in the quotation above were used to put across quite different ideas. In particular, the derivation of physical or spiritual gold from base metals, or base humanity.

Each metal was symbolised by one of the seven planets of astrology; Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus, Mars , Jupiter and Saturn. Yet, as we can see from this image, there is often an eighth component. It appears like a second sun, often red or orange. What could it possibly be? The analysts on alchemy are vague on this point, sticking fairly rigidly to the idea of a Sol/Luna duality. Yet, this third usurper, often appearing the dominant partner of the three (as in this image) belies this simple analysis. Could it be Nibiru, a brown dwarf in a retrograde elliptical orbit around the Sun? This is highly likely in truth. Note how the rendition of this second sun is accompanied by a coronal cloak strongly reminiscent of the Winged Disc. Note also how the central figure of the Alchemist is seen holding Masonic symbols, and how the central red circle contains a glowing Star above a dark orb, denoting the hidden star. We are moving into mysterious, and heretical, territory.

Many consider that the Winged Disc is simply the sun. But how would this work within alchemy? How can the sun be the 'son' of the moon and sun? The alchemists talked of hermaphrodites, and the there are certainly a lot of bizarre goings-on in their treatises. Even so, this makes little sense, and the next image will show how this symbol was clearly used quite separately from that of the Sun:

It seems to me that the alchemists were speaking of a new celestial entity being created by the amalgamation of the Sun and Moon, and although this can readily be understood within esoteric teachings and psychotherapy, in terms of astronomy or astrology this is a more difficult problem to reconcile. In the absence of an additional, hidden body in the solar system that could vie with the sun and moon for our attention, this problem is impossible to solve. The ancient knowledge about the existence of Nibiru, however, opens a whole new dimension to the argument. The image to the left shows a semi-circle of the sun, the 5 visible planets and the moon. At the top sits the Seal of Soloman, or the Star of David, surrounded by Masonic symbols.

At the centre of the image lies a glowing dark orb, which possibly represents a solar eclipse. But if that central image indicates the amalgamation of the sun and moon during the eclipse, then what does the Seal of Soloman depict? It cannot be the sun, because that symbol is already present. Does it represent God? Or possibly the 'Celestial Lord', the dark star Nibiru?

The Freemasons have a tremendous interest in a 'Blazing Star' that is said to represent Sothis, or Sirius. They have this Star motif placed in prominent places in their Temples, or Lodges. Many of their rituals are derived from Isiah rites, and ancient Egyptian symbols feature strongly in the Craft, even though many of their degrees are actually Mosaic, or sometimes Christian, in character. There is emphasis placed upon the appearance of a bright light in the darkness, derived from the 'Black Rite', described by Isis in 'The Virgin of the World'. This celestial entity known as the 'Night' "weaves her web with rapid light though it be less than Sun's" (3).

Combine this with the Freemason's worship of the Divine Being as represented by a 'bright, shining light in the East' that breaks through the darkness of the Lodge, and one can begin to piece together a common strand. Although connected with Sirius, this light is an altogether different entity.

The alchemical image shown here contains Masonic symbols. The five visible planets and the Sun and Luna make up the standard set of planetary symbols, but the rebus is stood upon the alchemical dragon, Azoth, who breathes fire. He, in turn, lies upon a Winged Disc that is evidently neither the Sun nor Mercury.

Geometrical workings are at play within the disc, in keeping with the other Masonic symbols, and the numbers 4 and 3 appear to hint at that magic number 7 again...'

The equilateral triangle is an important symbol for Freemasons also. Matthew Scanlan has described the Triangular Lodge of Rushton in Northamptonshire and links much of the symbolism used within its architecture to alchemy. The Equilateral Triangle is one of the oldest of the sacred symbols, according to James Churchward, and represents the Trinity or the Triune Godhead: "Whenever or wherever this symbol is found, in any form of record or inscription, it is either in reference to, or represents, the ancient Trinity and Heaven...The Truine Godhead of the Egyptians consisted of "Shu, Set and Horus" (Andy Lloyd)