Alchemy meaning: turn lead into gold

You’ve probably heard the legend that alchemists, wizards of some sort who were like a combination of a chemist and a wizard, could turn, or tried to turn, lead into gold. But is alchemy really just for getting rich quick? Or is the forerunner and root of modern chemistry something deeper than that?

First of all, we can find clues to what alchemy is really about when we study the origins of the word. What does alchemy really mean, anyway? Well, one translation is “black earth art” because the original name of the lands of the ancient Egyptians is “khem”. The soil along the Nile River is black and is considered to have life-giving and spiritual qualities. Let’s not forget how magical and focused on the afterlife the ancient Egyptians were. But after this, we can also see his allusion to the Greek word “chemeia” found in the writings of Diocletian. This alchemy root refers to the arts of making metal ingots. And then we have another Greek word, “chumeia”, and when we consider this root, which means “juice” and implies that it comes from a plant (hence, a “secretion”, which gives us our modern English word “secret”) refers to taking plant extracts and using them for medical purposes.

Ancient Egyptian alchemists (priests) are said to have known how to create a sacred white powder that gave them second sight and possibly had other “magical” qualities. In the tradition of modern alchemy, this sacred white powder, often depicted in Egyptian drawings stacked in a cone in the shape of a traditional wizard’s hat, is probably what is now known as the philosopher’s stone.

This philosopher’s stone is now considered the catalyst that makes the transition from lead to gold possible. Those familiar with modern chemistry know the importance of a catalyst in making any reaction possible. Some people today even believe that this philosopher’s stone is actually the ancient and mysterious “manna” and that it is a form created from gold that can grant psychic powers and immortality to those who eat it. It is also believed that the Philosopher’s Stone in traditional alchemy can grant immortality when dissolved in an Elixir of Life and drunk. As for turning lead into gold, the alchemist supposedly knew how to apply a magical plant tincture to the process to use as a catalyst – there’s our “chumeia” at work.

But we must also look at the chemical elements that are said to be involved in all alchemical reactions: mercury, sulfur, and salt. All three have well-known symbols attached. Mercury is “spirit”; sulfur is “soul”; and salt is “earth” or “the body.” It is probably very telling that mercury or mercury (mercury is silvery in color and liquid at room temperature) is used chemically to help extract gold from its natural ores. Sulfur is used to make sulfuric acid which is of course used in metal working such as etching. And salt is the great preservative: “You are the salt of the earth!” By the way, gold and platinum (a rarer chemical form of gold) are the most efficient conductors of electricity of all metals. Space exploration agencies also use gold to shield satellites and spacecraft from cosmic rays.

However, what does all this mean for us? Well, the great psychologist and esoteric explorer Carl Jung said that alchemists project something from their own subconscious minds onto their work. By this, he meant that manifesting gold by using alchemy to make it from lead, the basest of metals, is really a metaphor for transforming a basic human or animal nature, obsessed with appetite, cravings, and raw emotions–in an enlightened or spiritual being. There is a process involved in this transformation, a process that, in real or more literal terms, takes a long time, perhaps decades of one’s life, to accomplish. The catalyst for all this, the Philosopher’s Stone, would symbolize someone turning to the truth that the great philosopher Socrates said: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

What about the literal process by which gold can be turned into a Sacred Pan (this would also be a way of transforming “base” gold into “spiritual” gold, paralleling the transformation of lead into gold) that bestows great powers and immortality? Is it for real? Maybe time will tell. But in the meantime, we can view the process of alchemy as a ritual to transform our lives of need and emotional coarseness into extraordinary experiences, and manifest our own inner gold, our own inner abundance, in that way.