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External Websites
- European Commission - Research and Innovation - Alchemy: much more than male-driven pseudoscience
- MLibrary Digital Collections - Journal of Western Society for French History - Alchemy
- Chemistry LibreTexts - Alchemy
- University of Bristol School of Chemistry - A Brief History of Alchemy
- LiveScience - What is Alchemy?
- Science History Institute - The Secrets of Alchemy
- Academia - The Transition from Alchemy to Chemistry
- World History Encyclopedia - Alchemy
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While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
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External Websites
- European Commission - Research and Innovation - Alchemy: much more than male-driven pseudoscience
- MLibrary Digital Collections - Journal of Western Society for French History - Alchemy
- Chemistry LibreTexts - Alchemy
- University of Bristol School of Chemistry - A Brief History of Alchemy
- LiveScience - What is Alchemy?
- Science History Institute - The Secrets of Alchemy
- Academia - The Transition from Alchemy to Chemistry
- World History Encyclopedia - Alchemy
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- alchemy - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- alchemy - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
Written by
Robert Andrew Gilbert,
Robert P. MulthaufAll
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Wijck, Thomas:
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- Key People:
- Isaac Newton
- Paracelsus
- Roger Bacon
- Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān
- John Dee
- Related Topics:
- chemistry
- philosopher’s stone
- alembic
- elixir
- neidan
- On the Web:
- European Commission - Research and Innovation - Alchemy: much more than male-driven pseudoscience (June 20, 2024)
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Top Questions
What is alchemy?
What is alchemy?
Alchemy was a form of speculative thought that, among other aims, tried to transform base metals such as lead or copper into silver or gold. It also sought to discover cures for diseases and a way of extending life.
What are the metals of alchemy?
What are the metals of alchemy?
Gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and tin are the metals of alchemy. Mercury and sulfur were also crucial to alchemy.
Which is the oldest known Chinese text on alchemy?
Which is the oldest known Chinese text on alchemy?
The oldest known Chinese alchemical treatise is the Chou-i ts’an t’ung ch’i (“Commentary on the I Ching”). It is mainly an apocryphal interpretation of the I Ching, an ancient classic, relating alchemy to the mystical mathematics of the 64 hexagrams (six-line figures used for divination).
alchemy, a form of speculative thought that, among other aims, tried to transform base metals such as lead or copper into silver or gold and to discover a cure for disease and a way of extending life.
Alchemy was the name given in Latin Europe in the 12th century to an aspect of thought that corresponds to astrology, which is apparently an older tradition. Both represent attempts to discover the relationship of man to the cosmos and to exploit that relationship to his benefit. The first of these objectives may be called scientific, the second technological. Astrology is concerned with man’s relationship to “the stars” (including the members of the solar system); alchemy, with terrestrial nature. But the distinction is far from absolute, since both are interested in the influence of the stars on terrestrial events. Moreover, both have always been pursued in the belief that the processes human beings witness in heaven and on earth manifest the will of the Creator and, if correctly understood, will yield the key to the Creator’s intentions.
Nature and significance
That both astrology and alchemy may be regarded as fundamental aspects of thought is indicated by their apparent universality. It is notable, however, that the evidence is not equally substantial in all times and places. Evidence from ancient Middle America (Aztecs, Mayans) is still almost nonexistent; evidence from India is tenuous and from ancient China, Greece, and Islamic lands is only relatively more plentiful. A single manuscript of some 80,000 words is the principal source for the history of Greek alchemy. Chinese alchemy is largely recorded in about 100 “books” that are part of the Taoist canon. Neither Indian nor Islamic alchemy has ever been collected, and scholars are thus dependent for their knowledge of the subject on occasional allusions in works of natural philosophy and medicine, plus a few specifically alchemical works.
Nor is it really clear what alchemy was (or is). The word is a European one, derived from Arabic, but the origin of the root word, chem, is uncertain. Words similar to it have been found in most ancient languages, with different meanings, but conceivably somehow related to alchemy. In fact, the Greeks, Chinese, and Indians usually referred to what Westerners call alchemy as “The Art,” or by terms denoting change or transmutation.