Displosis is the ancient practice of doubling gold. It's considered to be a skill of alchemists and early metal workers as well. If done with care to the details it produces a doubled amount of gold metal. Diplosís or displosia comes from the Greek διπλωσία duplication.
Strange is the allure of gold for humans. Those who have none, want it. Those who have it want more. Gold sparks the base desires. When the Divine Water consumes the shallow exterior, the truth is shown multifold.
The processes of making gold and multiplication of gold are fairly common in alchemy from earliest days of knowledge. These can be used to create abundant golden metal for jewelry or vessels, as gold plate on inferior metals or to get the last laugh on Spanish Conquistadors.
When Spain invades Colombia in the 16th century, it exports enormous quantities of gold to Europe to make rich people richer. In only the first half-century or so of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, over 100 tons of gold are extracted from the continent.
In 1735 a natural philosopher in the Spanish military, Antonio de Ulloa "discovers" platinum. Colombians have been mining it from the alluvial sands of rivers since time immemorial. It turns out quite a lot of gold exports are doubled with the aid of this innocent-looking metal.
In early Colombia platinum is plentiful in the gold placers. The Spanish are exasperated by "doubling" of the gold by individuals alloying gold with platinoids. Platinum is unknown to Europe and has no value. The Spanish order all placer platinum thrown into the sea.
About seventeen centuries before this, Maria the Jewess is describing the gold doubling process to her disciples in ancient Alexandria. Her Tetrasomia, an alloy of copper, lead, iron and zinc, is the substance she uses in the process of the "diplosis of Maria."
From a commentator commenting on Zosimos commenting on Maria's comments on doubling (diplosis):
"... If any one of these special parts fails to appear, the composition will be incomplete; whether it underwent [only] dilution, or cooking, or calcination, or decomposition effected in the water-bath [bain-Marie] heated with the fire of sawdust; or in a bird-beaked vase; or [when it is deposited] in the kerotakis; or in an alembic heated with naked fire; and this, if it is a case of diplosis carried out by means of mercury, according to the procedure of Maria, or any other kind of treatment ... "
Many ancient alchemical recipes are devoted to the doubling of gold. In these recipes, a quantity of gold is mixed with copper and silver or other metals such as mercury or tin. The result, to the alchemist, is creation of more gold.
The process is often accomplished by use of asem. There are many ways of making asem and it's handy to know a couple as ingredients might be seasonal or trade interrupted by conflicts. Making asem is an essential skill for any alchemist.
This particular asem is created with tin, mercury and Earth of Chios, or Chian earth, a clay from the Greek island of Chios. A soft, dense, flaky, greyish-white earth it's also used in cosmetics in ancient times.
Asem Recipe:
"Purified tin, 12 drachmas; mercury, 4 drachmas; earth of Chios, 2 drachmas. To the melted tin, add the crushed earth, then the mercury, stir with an iron, and put (the product) in use."
This asem can be alloyed with gold or silver. It's absolutely essential to add some of the desired precious metal. If it's only colored it will not have the qualities of its prized "parent" metal.
As the medieval era of patronage rolls in, some unethical alchemists explain this convincingly to patrons, then take the money and run. Edward Kelley at the court of Rudolf II in Prague tries twice to dupe the Emperor but gets caught, and the second time perishes from injuries.
These monkeyshines give alchemy a bad name. There are plenty of true believers, like the legendary Bernard Trevisan, the alchemistic template. Isaac Newton puts his scientific reputation on the line in the pursuit of turning base metals to gold.
King Henry IV of England is a believer. He issues a decree making not only the multiplying of gold illegal, but also making of gold out of any substance, including thin air.
In the theories of metals as living bodies, as well as the later perception of metals maturing from base to precious over time in the ground, the addition of real gold is like feeding new life and imbuing it with the essence of the desired parent material.
Another way of doubling gold found in ancient literature is very simple:
Melt together: one part copper to one part gold.
Copper has female qualities and gold embodies the male principle. As Maria is fond of saying: “Join the male and the female, and you will find what is sought.” The alchemical marriage of the White Queen and Red King is based on this concept.
biology
displosis: the doubling of the haploid number of chromosomes that occurs during fusion of gametes to form a diploid zygote
-from Greek diplōsis doubling, from diploun to double, from diploos double
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