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Hello lovely community!
Welcome to another #takeover.
Today, I'm diving with you into
alchemical symbols and their meaning.
Don't wait! Read down!
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Alchemy symbols has been around for a very long time. Centuries even. Symbols are used to represent different elements or compounds.
The symbols usually hint to some characteristics the element has or its history, which only make symbols even more interesting!
Another cool fact is that a good part of the symbols are connected to planets or stars, due to the astrological reference taken in Alchemy.
I won't make you wait longer, let's dive into some symbols!
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The three primes
Tria Prima
The three primes are mercury (symbol to the left), salt (on top) and sulfur (on the right). They were named by Paracelsus, a Swiss philosopher. They were named back in the 16th century, where he believed that those elements contained all poison that caused diseases. By knowing them, it was believed that diseases would be cured. Know the poison, cure the illness!
He also believed that the tria prima is about humans, therefore, he assigned each symbol to a characteristic human have.
1. Mercury
Since mercury shifts between liquid and solid state, it was believed that it's a meaning for life and death, the age between the two. It also represents feminity.
2. Salt
Although salt is a mix of two different elements, alchemists believed it was one single element. It represents the body for humans and also physical matter in general. Since salt can be purified, they compare it to what bodies go through.
3. Sulfur
If mercury is female, then what is male? Sulfur! Sulfur is a representation of masculinity. It's properties are dryness and heat. With that, it represents evaporation, expansion and dissolution. With the tria prima, Sulfur is said to be the one connecting the other two elements. In of humans, Sulfur represents the soul.
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Next up, we have the four, classic natural elements. Water (left), air (top left), earth (top right) and fire (right). In the world of Alchemy, those are the only elements that cannot be found on a regular periodic table. All the other ones appear in it.
Alchemists believe that these elements are very powerful and are used to create new elements.
Detailing each one of them can be long, but basically, each one of them is associated with their characteristics and also connected to the human body.
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When I mentioned elements being connected to planets and stars, this is what I was talking about. The seven planetary metals are seven different metals and each are associated with a planet.
It was believed that the position of certain planets and how close they are to others affect different type of metals
An interesting fact is that they're also connected to a day in the week and an organ in our body.
Here they are :
1. Lead
Planet : Saturn
Day : Saturday
Organ : Spleen
2. Tin
Planet : Jupiter
Day : Thursday
Organ : Liver
3. Iron
Planet : Mars
Day : Tuesday
Organ : Gallbladder
4. Gold
Star : Sun
Day : Sunday
Organ : Heart
5. Copper
Planet : Venus
Day : Friday
Organ : Kidneys
6. Mercury
Planet : Mercury
Day : Wednesday
Organ : Lungs
7. Silver
Celestial body : Moon
Day : Monday
Organ : Brain
For their symbols, instead of detailing each one of them, I'm adding a picture here for you to see which one is what!
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The mundane elements are the rest of the elements used in alchemy and are newer additions. That means that much less is known about them and their history than the other symbols.
Here is a list :
- Antimony (wild characteristics of humans)
- Arsenic
- Bismuth
- Magnesium (eternity)
- Phosphorus (spirit)
- Platinum (combination of silver and gold)
- Potassium
- Zinc
And more!
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Alchemy is truly fascinating and there are so much more symbols! I presented to you the main ones, but I strongly encourage you to research them and find out more!
I hope you all enjoyed!
Comments (1)
It was my ghosty symbols :poop: