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#Alchemy
race-detail-politics · 10 hours
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chelseajackarmy · 3 days
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voidic3ntity · 3 days
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subconscious instincts, the ways of understanding:
the inner & the outer, witnessed as great tapestry;
many expressions of one thing, sacred & profane.
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cy-lindric · 7 months
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An angel. Alchemy treaty Aurora Consurgens, 1420-1450
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cryptotheism · 2 months
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I hope this doesn't come off as disrespectful, because I'm genuinely curious, but like...is alchemy "real"? Because the way you speak about it is how I wish I could, myself, appreciate it and you're the closest I've ever found to a real world wizard which excites me a great deal. I totally respect if for you it's actually just an interesting academic study without intention, I'm just curious for how you view it in that lens.
No that's a good question!
Short answer: Yes, as in alchemists were real people who could actually do cool shit sometimes, but they weren't actually transmuting lead into gold, you need a particle accelerator for that.
In the 4th century, you weren't a scientist, that word hadn't been invented yet. You were a Natural Philosopher. You studied everything from the stars, to mathematics, to medicine, to the nature of herbs and stones.
In the medieval era, you weren't an astronomer, you were an astrologer. Telling people's horoscopes involved a lot of astronomical math. There wasn't really a difference between astronomy and astrology.
In the renaissance era, you weren't a chemist. The term chemist didn't exist yet. You were an alchemist. You tried to make gold sometimes, but you also manufactured dyes, glass vessels, cosmetics, paints, and medicines. You were kind of a whitesmith, and a glass-blower, and a doctor, and sometimes just a con-man.
Alchemy and chemistry have a relationship similar to Astrology and Astronomy. But, don't think of alchemy as just "Chemistry with magic." Alchemy is the father of modern chemistry. It is the cocoon that chemistry sprouted out of.
The thing is, alchemy is more "real" than astrology is. You know what a common use of astrology was in the medieval era? Diagnosing diseases. You'd check someone's horoscope to determine what medicine to give them. This didn't work. A medieval astrology textbook isn't going to be useful for diagnosing why your stomach hurts.
But!
Medieval alchemy texts are actually useful sometimes. If you want to dye some copper so it looked more like gold, there are alchemy texts that can tell you how to do that. If you want to distill the mercury out of some cinnabar, alchemists could do that. They didn't really know how or why that worked, but they could do it! If you want a potion that could make you immortal, the alchemists could make a philter of mercury and lead that would definitely 100% kill you and it would hurt the whole time you were dying. You can't win em all.
Im writing about the history of alchemy on my patreon if you wanna support me!
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escuerzoresucitado · 5 months
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goddess-of-alchemy · 6 months
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prokopetz · 9 months
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Starting a business with two separate bathrooms, except one of them has the symbol for alchemical antimony on the door, and the other, the symbol for alchemical phosphorus. If you ask the staff about it, they claim to understand your confusion, then lead you to a third, previously undisclosed bathroom with the alchemical symbol for potassium carbonate.
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portalibis · 9 months
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Leonora Carrington, "El Laberinto"
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thesorceresstemple · 3 months
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Alchemical Lyon, William Wiley, 2007
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hexora · 4 months
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15 Grimoire Page Ideas That Aren't Basic
Chronomancy Correspondences:
Explore the connection between time and magic, including auspicious moments for spellcasting, planetary hours, and lunar phases.
Echoes of Enchantment:
Discuss the use of echoes and resonance in magical workings, tapping into the vibrational frequencies of words, symbols, and intentions.
Liminal Spaces Invocation:
Explore the magical potency of liminal spaces—thresholds, crossroads, and in-between places—and how to invoke their energies.
Numinous Nectar Elixirs:
Detail the creation of magical elixirs using rare and ethereal substances, discussing their uses in rituals and ceremonies.
Quantum Sigilcraft:
Delve into the intersection of quantum physics and sigil magic, exploring the idea that consciousness can influence reality at a fundamental level.
Astral Alphabets:
Introduce lesser-known alphabets or symbolic systems used in astral travel and communication with otherworldly entities.
Dreamweaving Spells:
Discuss the art of crafting spells that are specifically designed to be cast within the dream realm, influencing waking reality.
Candle Color Alchemy:
Explore the magical properties of less common candle colors and their associations with specific intentions, emotions, and energies.
Chthonic Charms:
Focus on charms and talismans specifically attuned to underworld energies and deities, connecting with the mysteries of the subterranean realms.
Technomancy Scripts:
Examine the use of coding languages, digital symbols, and technology-based sigils in modern magical practice.
Quantum Familiars:
Explore the idea of spirit companions that exist beyond the constraints of time and space, bridging the gap between the metaphysical and quantum realms.
Sacred Geometry of Sound:
Investigate the use of sound frequencies and sacred geometry in combination, exploring how they can enhance magical rituals and spellcasting.
Ephemeral Elementals:
Discuss the existence and interaction with elementals that are tied to fleeting or ephemeral elements, such as mist, shadows, or reflections.
Psychotronic Crystals:
Explore the use of crystals not only for their physical properties but also for their alleged ability to interact with psychic and spiritual energies.
Aetheric Anatomy Cleansing:
Detail practices for cleansing and balancing the aetheric body, exploring lesser-known energy centers and channels.
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torteen · 2 months
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This advertisement is for Infinity Alchemist, a dark academia fantasy about a quest that leads three young alchemists toward dangerous truth, legendary love, and extraordinary power from the bestselling and award-winning author of Felix Ever After, Kacen Callender.
The art featured in this image is by Chris Sack. 
WHAT’S IT ABOUT
Defy All Limits.
For Ash Woods, practicing alchemy is a crime. Only an elite few are legally permitted to study the science of magic—so when Ash is rejected by Lancaster College of Alchemic Science, he takes a job as the school’s groundskeeper instead, forced to learn alchemy in secret. When he’s discovered by the condescending and brilliant apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash is sure he's about to be arrested—but instead of calling the reds, Ramsay surprises Ash by making him an offer: Ramsay will keep Ash's secret if he helps her find the legendary Book of Source, a sacred text that gives its reader extraordinary power. As Ash and Ramsay work together and their feelings for each other grow, Ash discovers their mission is more dangerous than he imagined, pitting them against influential and powerful alchemists—Ash’s estranged father included. Ash’s journey takes him through the cities and wilds across New Anglia, forcing him to discover his own definition of true power and how far he and other alchemists will go to seize it.
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voidic3ntity · 2 days
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many expressions of one thing, sacred & profane:
& within safe space, we see ourselves as we exist;
pure witness, without attachment & without self. 
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nyxshadowhawk · 1 month
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A selection of images from a sequence depicting the alchemical process, from an early modern manuscript.
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cryptotheism · 5 months
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The "potion-crafter" archetype of alchemist used in fantasy is often, like, an independent chemist that works off commission or sales to create fireball elixirs or exorcism salves. Is there a grain of truth, there? Did alchemists in any period you studied make a living by synthesizing magical items (like panaceas or DIY-chrysopoeia-kits or somesuch) and selling them on to any willing customer, or was that not really in their domain?
Ha! You know sometimes it can be a bit annoying answering asks like this, because most fantasy media isn t terribly interested in authentically representing history, BUT THIS TIME I can give y'all a specific and direct answer!
The archetype of the potion-crafter you're talking about almost definitely has its roots in an actual pre-paracelcian european medical profession; the Apothecary.
There were three types of doctors in the 1500s. There were diagnosticians, the people who went to school to learn about anatomy, and were allowed to call themselves "doctor." There were surgeons, the low-skilled workers who were in charge of hacking off limbs and draining bedpans. And there were apothecaries, basically the medieval equivalent of a pharmacist.
If you were a wealthy merchant, and you went to a doctor for your runny nose, he would look you over, and give you a prescription that you were supposed to take down to your local apothecary, so you could buy a potion from them.
But these prescriptions weren't exactly strict. A doctor might prescribe you an exact list of ingredients with the amounts, or he might just prescribe you "a healing ungent of cooling and drying herbs." So the apothecaries occasionally had some wiggle room based on supplies and expertise.
The important thing to remember, is that apothecaries were NOT considered magicians or alchemists.
That is, until Paracelsus came along.
See, good ol' Paracelsus was a radical innovator. He was one of the first physicians in history to be all three types of doctor at once. He was a diagnostician, a surgeon, and an apothecary. He argued that all doctors should have knowledge of their entire profession, and that no doctor was above suturing their patients wounds, and mixing their patients medicines.
He was also, crucially, an alchemist and a magician.
Alchemy was the cutting edge of technology for the time, a practice regarded with equal parts awe and suspicion, but it was more the realm of glassblowers and metallurgists than doctors or botanists. Paracelsus disagreed. He argued that if it's part of God's creation, it should be used to heal the human body.
This extended to magic. Paracelsus figured that you had to factor in things like "the movement of the planets and their influence on the earth." And he was known for prescribing patients things like "astral talismans to be worn about the neck." A practice that, even for his time, was often seen as backwards and superstitious. (Although given how harmful medieval medicine was, the astral talismans might have been your best option sometimes.)
Paracelsus was a radical. People fucking hated him, especially when he was alive. But his ideas were extremely influential, and exploded in popularity after his death in 1541. I can confidently say that the fantasy archetype of the Potion Brewer is based on Paracelcian physicians, the doctor/alchemist/apothecary/magicians who followed his theories.
Here I'll link my Patreon if y'all wanna support my research! I have a whole section on Paracelsus.
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