Alchemists, like modern day scientists, would share their findings and works with one another, but there were a couple of problems of the times. One, not all of them spoke or wrote in the same language. An alchemist in Florence may have problems discussing a procedure with a colleague in Prague or Paris, unless they all spoke a language readily available to them. Many did speak and read Latin, which helped with the flow of information between them, but not all the authorities condoned the works of alchemists and writing a procedure in plain language would let the uninitiated into what they were doing. So, how did the alchemical community get around these problems? How could alchemists from various countries and parts of Europe communicate in a safe manner without giving away their secrets? The answers came as allegory and allegorical imagery, which hid, from the uninitiated what was being discussed and shared amongst them.
The art of alchemy reached its pinnacle of achievement during the sixteenth century in Europe. This was mostly from the physical, or applied use of alchemy, and there was a beginning at that time in looking at alchemy as a spiritual aspect, which reached its height in the early seventeenth century with the rise of Rosicrucianism. It was during this period that the Hermetic-Cabalist tradition of the Renaissance received an influx of another hermetic tradition, that of alchemy. As the physical art progressed, so did the need of the diverse alchemists throughout Europe need to be able to communicate with not only each other in the numerous countries and principalities, but also with their students, so that the secrets of the Royal Art would be protected just as the secrets of the goldsmith guilds in those selfsame countries protected its secrets.
The alchemists chose as their means of communication, the use of images and allegory to convey the needed information and ideas associated with their hermetic art. In the numerous collections throughout Europe and in the United States, there is a dizzying array of images conveying the processes and ideas that correspond to the workings of the alchemist’s ultimate goal, the Magnum Opus, or Great Work. This Magnum Opus is the fabled Philosopher’s Stone, which will allow the transmutation of something of a base nature in to something of a divine or higher nature. The most common tale associated with alchemists and their royal patrons at the height of the use of alchemy is the creation of alchemical gold from lead. Other uses of the Philosopher’s Stone, was said to be the creation of the Elixir of Life, thereby granting the drinker immortality or near immortality. In both of these efforts, the alchemist did not have a recipe book in plain language to work by, because each alchemist approached the Magnum Opus from a slightly different point of view, but they each needed to understand the basics of a given operation to achieve their goal.
The works of many noted alchemists, particularly people like Nicholas Flamel (c. 1330-1418), his wife Perenelle, Roger Bacon (1214-1294), Basillius Valentinus (dates unknown), Thomas Norton (circa fifteenth century), Edward Kelly (1555-c. 1597), and the famous scientist Isaac Newton (1642-1727), all used in their alchemical writings and in some cases their drawings these allegories and allegorical pictures to convey the meaning of what they wanted to get across to the initiated in the art of alchemy. To anyone else though, these allegories and drawings conveyed little meaning. (Source: Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition)
The art of alchemy reached its pinnacle of achievement during the sixteenth century in Europe. This was mostly from the physical, or applied use of alchemy, and there was a beginning at that time in looking at alchemy as a spiritual aspect, which reached its height in the early seventeenth century with the rise of Rosicrucianism. It was during this period that the Hermetic-Cabalist tradition of the Renaissance received an influx of another hermetic tradition, that of alchemy. As the physical art progressed, so did the need of the diverse alchemists throughout Europe need to be able to communicate with not only each other in the numerous countries and principalities, but also with their students, so that the secrets of the Royal Art would be protected just as the secrets of the goldsmith guilds in those selfsame countries protected its secrets.The alchemists chose as their means of communication, the use of images and allegory to convey the needed information and ideas associated with their hermetic art. In the numerous collections throughout Europe and in the United States, there is a dizzying array of images conveying the processes and ideas that correspond to the workings of the alchemist’s ultimate goal, the Magnum Opus, or Great Work. This Magnum Opus is the fabled Philosopher’s Stone, which will allow the transmutation of something of a base nature in to something of a divine or higher nature. The most common tale associated with alchemists and their royal patrons at the height of the use of alchemy is the creation of alchemical gold from lead. Other uses of the Philosopher’s Stone, was said to be the creation of the Elixir of Life, thereby granting the drinker immortality or near immortality. In both of these efforts, the alchemist did not have a recipe book in plain language to work by, because each alchemist approached the Magnum Opus from a slightly different point of view, but they each needed to understand the basics of a given operation to achieve their goal.
The works of many noted alchemists, particularly people like Nicholas Flamel (c. 1330-1418), his wife Perenelle, Roger Bacon (1214-1294), Basillius Valentinus (dates unknown), Thomas Norton (circa fifteenth century), Edward Kelly (1555-c. 1597), and the famous scientist Isaac Newton (1642-1727), all used in their alchemical writings and in some cases their drawings these allegories and allegorical pictures to convey the meaning of what they wanted to get across to the initiated in the art of alchemy. To anyone else though, these allegories and drawings conveyed little meaning. (Source: Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition)
