The concept of a human soul, as well as a world soul or Anima Mundi, is found in many cultures. In Greek philosophy ancient thinkers...

Aristotle (c. 350 BCE) develops the Platonic concept of souls present in living beings, categorizing them based on distinct functions....

The tria prima are mercury, sulfur and salt. Based on medieval views of mercury and sulfur making up all metals, Swiss physician and...

During the late sixteenth century, the Roman Inquisition is influential in shaping perspectives on different forms of divination and...

Writing inside eggs is invented by Naples polymath Giambattista della Porta. In the 16th century he uses this method to smuggle messages...

Convents play a crucial role as centers of research and innovation during the alchemical Renaissance in Naples. The religious...

The theory of the four humors dominates medicine for two thousand years. Since the time of the ancient Greeks to the 19th century, humor...

Rosicrucianism is the study or following of a movement based in Renaissance thought, popular in the 17th century. Rosicrucians explore...

Yliaster or Iliaster is a concept attributed to Renaissance alchemist and physician Paracelsus. This term arises from alchemy, where it...

Robert Fludd (1574 - 1637) is an influential figure of the European Renaissance. He's known as a cosmologist, astrologer, mathematician...

Natural magic is a type of Renaissance magic, working directly with forces inherent in nature, as in physics, compared to ceremonial...

Michael Maier (1568–1622) is a German physician, alchemist, epigramist and composer. A prolific writer and shrewd thinker, he influences...

The powerful Medici family of Italy, like many ruling courts, patronize and practice alchemy. In the Renaissance alchemy is a topic of...

Pope John Paul XII bans the practice of alchemy for the falsification of metals in 1317. In the Middle Ages, alchemy is a mysterious...

Democritus, an ancient Greek philosopher, makes a groundbreaking conclusion: matter is fundamentally indivisible. He introduces the...

In Jungian psychology, the Self archetype is the deepest core of a person's being, including conscious and unconscious aspects and the...

Abū Bakr al-Rāzī c. 864 - 930 AD is a Persian alchemist, philosopher and physician during the Islamic Golden Age . One of the most...

Alchemy and astrology have a long history as related spiritual disciplines. Alchemy, arising from metallurgy and ancient medicine, is the...

Pseudo-Democritus numbers among the Alexandrian alchemists and writers, with works appearing in the early centuries AD. Originally...

Cupellation involves smelting and manipulation of metals to improve their qualities or separate them into components. Silver is often...