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what were the alchemists up to?

what were the alchemists up to?

Spirituality

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does anyone know what the term squaring the circle meant for an alchemist?

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Originally posted by skywalker red
does anyone know what the term squaring the circle meant for an alchemist?
did you know the symbol for Ouroboros dates to 3000 B.c. in Sumer

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Originally posted by frogstomp
did you know the symbol for Ouroboros dates to 3000 B.c. in Sumer
well, i knew it was an ancient pagan symbol, but i didnt know it was that old? how much do you know about the uroboros?

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Originally posted by skywalker red
well, i knew it was an ancient pagan symbol, but i didnt know it was that old? how much do you know about the uroboros?
very little except it seems to come from the Enuma Elish ,,,

info on what Alchemist were doing , is found here...

http://www.denverspiritualcommunity.org/Wisdom/Alchemy.htm

seems a bit Masonic to me

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Alchemists looked for the Philosopher Stone. Possession of one won't turn lead into gold, water into wine, but may turn crappy vodka into not so crappy vodka.
http://www.ohmygoditburns.com/wordpress/index.php?p=4

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Originally posted by KneverKnight
Alchemists looked for the Philosopher Stone. Possession of one won't turn lead into gold, water into wine, but may turn crappy vodka into not so crappy vodka.
http://www.ohmygoditburns.com/wordpress/index.php?p=4
Didnt most alchemists go insane because of mercury poisoning?

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Wheren't the alchemists the first modern chemistry scientists ?

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Originally posted by ivanhoe


Wheren't the alchemists the first modern chemistry scientists ?
more like pre-modern chemist ,, too much mysticism to be considered chemists.

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Originally posted by frogstomp
more like pre-modern chemist ,, too much mysticism to be considered chemists.
the mysticism is what im interested in . most people think of gold-making or something like that. but there is a spiritual/psychological aspect to their endeavors as well. Carl Jung was the person who first saw that alchemy was really the bridge between gnosticism and the psychology of the unconscious and that there were amazing parallels between the symbols of alchemy and the individuation process (as Jung called it)"the step by step devolopement of the self from an unconscious state to a conscious one".

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Originally posted by skywalker red
the mysticism is what im interested in .
Perhaps it is something akin to the Zen philosphy in traditional Japanise Arts like sword making, archery or the tea ceremony.

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One of the alchemists was, in his spare time, developing the calculus and systematising much of classical physics.

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Originally posted by skywalker red
well, i knew it was an ancient pagan symbol, but i didnt know it was that old? how much do you know about the uroboros?
in alchemy the uroboros sybolized the union of opposites and the circular distillation process of the opus.

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what were the alchemists up to?

Whatever they were up to might still be a mystery, but I know one thing: the part of their legacy that is still valid will be labeled "Science" by the modernists and the part that is utter nonsense will be labeled "religion".

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Originally posted by frogstomp
Didnt most alchemists go insane because of mercury poisoning?
many did

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Originally posted by ivanhoe


Wheren't the alchemists the first modern chemistry scientists ?
yes, thats true they provided the rudimentary foundation , so , i guess they were the precursors to modern chemisty.