In Eastern and Western alchemy, the transformation of metals into gold (Au) symbolizes a process of maturation for metal and alchemist. The elixir, Magnum Opus, prima materia or mystic philosopher's stone mark the culmination and perfection of the alchemical journey.
The alchemist seeks to enhance nature and hastening the passage of time, with the distinction that the aurum alchemicum or alchemical gold bestows health, eternal youth, and even immortality. In medieval times the metals are believed to mature in the ground.
Gold for example matures from bronze through silver to gold. This is noted by natural philosophers in the metal electrum, which is a combination of silver and gold. The silver, they assert, has not matured long enough to become gold.
In alchemy of the East, gold as a metal and spiritual value has many names. Gold by any other name is:
the noble silver the sun the father of experience the jewel the tomb the discarded the knower the rays the light the day the red wax | the permanent sulfur the cradle the balanced the head the knot the integral the complete the popular the patient the king of the bodies the gum |
These terms suffuse alchemy, a practice known for cryptic language, symbols, metaphors and allegories. Metals hold great spiritual significance. From Neolithic times and early forms of nature reverence, removing a substance from a cave or mountainside is a sacred practice.
The earth, caverns and mountains are the womb and body or the Earth Mother. Almost every culture and religion has an Earth Mother figure, giver of life also associated with chthonic realms of death.
Before opening a mine or beginning the mining process, incantations, rituals, rites of purification, offerings and astrology are used. In 18th century Germany, miners complain of a trickster spirit, Nickel, who inhabits copper mines, corrupts metal and gives no copper.
The mythologies of mines and mountains represent the sacred presence encountered in geological levels of life. These include spirits of the earth. Gnomes are not invented until the 16th century but the Dark Earth is populated by many entities harmful or benevolent.
Ceremonies may be pagan or Christian. Miners perform rites of purity, fasting, meditation, prayers to enter a sacred place. The miner risks encountering a deeper and more dangerous spirit realm associated with the underground world and its mysteries.
Even the Romans, with their emphasis on expansion and exploitation, are known to give prayers and offerings before taking treasures of the fertile Earth. In ancient Roman-owned mines such as Almadén, which processes deadly cinnabar, miners just pray to survive.
Rocks such as obsidian and metals such as copper have their own characteristics, properties and quintessence, being seen as living things. According to Jabir ibn Hayyan, medieval Islam the metals travel through the earth as vapors of mercury and sulfur.
Where they settle, they form the metals, depending on the ratio of mercury to sulfur. Thus to make lead, the alchemist need only find the correct proportions. In fact, lead has to shed only three protons to become gold.
However this is an unstable isotope of gold (Au205) and changes quickly. One must remove a further eight neutrons to achieve Au197, the only stable isotope of gold.
The metallurgist, blacksmith, alchemist and the potter are skilled in the use of fire and heat. These occupations are all considered creative. Through fire a material transforms from one state to another.
Smelting is not only a way to work more quickly, but also a method to transform raw materials into something new. In ancient societies, smelters and blacksmiths were revered as fire masters, alongside shamans, healers, and magic practitioners.
Metallurgists and blacksmiths are held in high regard, yet also feared for their associations with magic, fire and the realm of the dead. In West Africa, blacksmiths belong to secret societies and receive the same respect as sorcerers.
In the Kongo and surrounding regions, they have a close association with priests and chiefs sometimes the same person; elsewhere the metal worker is feared and respected. In Hamitic and steppe cultures, smiths are scorned and form a caste set apart.
In Indonesia and other parts of South Asia, the smith and the smelter are esteemed for their mysterious abilities. Implements used by African smiths such as hammer, bellows, and anvil are seen as alive and extra-ordinary. They have their own magical and religious power.
Blacksmiths take a crucial role in ceremonial practices of ancient Germans as well as in the male societies of Japan. In ancient Scandinavia, there's a strong link between the skilled creations of the smith and those of the poet and musician.
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