SnitchSeeker.com - Introduction to Alchemy

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- Term 31: May - August 2012 (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-31-may-august-2012/)

- - Introduction to Alchemy (https://www.snitchseeker.com/term-31-may-august-2012/introduction-to-alchemy-89842/)

I read all your posts! Even if you didn't have your charrie speak :)

SPOILER!!: answers and elaborations. There's like, actual informationz in here guys XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogoodforyou (Post 11056014)

Whaaat? She came back just for todaaaay? Why?

...

So Nora could be sad about it. That's why.

Focusing on Ms Schirmer's question, Nora raised her hand to answer. Or at least attempt to. "Isn't it something like... medicine and chemistry from a very long time ago?" Wait... didn't the alchemists make the Philosopher's Stone? Hmmm?

"Alchemy has been around for a very long time. But yes, you could certainly equate it to medicine and chemistry -if you were taking it from a purely Muggle perspective."

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOPEendures (Post 11056028)

Jezzabelle raised her hand in the air, "Isn't the goal of an Alchemist to reach a perfect spiritual state of being?" She didn't know much if anything at all on Alchemy but what little she did know, or thought she knew, she was going to speak up about.

Althea nodded. "Spirituality has been considered a large part of Alchemical pursuits - the oneness with nature, and the very essence of being."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meizzner (Post 11056037)

Nigel was even more confused after the Professor answered his question. Well he thought he might have the answer at the end of the seminar. So he listen to the question and thought he remember something about alchemy in a book he read. Oh what was it, it had something to so with gold he thought. Oh he remembered "Professor, Professor isn't to turn metal into gold". Nigel wished he could do that.

"Gold is one of the noble metals which Alchemists do indeed work to transmute baser metals into. Its called chrysopoeia , from the Greek khrusōn or 'gold' and poiēin 'to make'." Althea answered the first year, giving him an encouraging smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen (Post 11056046)

The purpose of Alchemy? There was one thing he remembered about it which likely caught his interest in the fist place. Up goes his hand. "Ancient alchemysts had a goal-- its to create what they call the Philosopher's Stone-- its said to make any base mineral like lead into precious metals like gold or silver and even hold the secret to rejuvenation and immortality."

"Yes, that is a succinct summary of the alchemical goals. The concept of chrysopoeia, which I just mentioned, also refers to that pursuit for the Philosopher's Stone." Althea said.

"And silver is certainly one of the noble metals." Which is why she'd worked with it a few terms back for their projects, it had qualities which made it suitable for magical manipulation. "And yes, rejuvination and immortality are goals."

Quote:

Originally Posted by DH Vixen (Post 11056047)

Thinking about what she had read, she slowly raised her hand. "Simply isn't the purpose to transmute common metals to more noble metals like gold and the creation of a panacea?" She had remembered there being a mention of something else in her past reading, but she didn't want to risk sounding like she was a know-it-all or being complete wrong as well.

"Yes! Transmutation into the noble metals, and the creation of a panacea. The panacea, also called the pancrest, or Panakeia in Greek, is named for the Greek Goddess of universal remedy, she supposedly had a magical medicinal substance which could cure all ills."

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie (Post 11056050)

Turning her attention back to Professor Schirmer, Kurumi was cocking her head to the side again and rubbing the back of her neck nervously. She didn't like not knowing anything about a subject. It felt weird. Slowly, she raised her hand and ventured to go the route of her books and comics...which may or may not have any real fact to them. "I've read....that some of the objectives of Alchemy, and Alchemists, were to turn base metals into noble ones...as well as sought to make the Elixir of Life...or the Philosopher's Stone." She lowered her hand slightly and felt rather sheepish about her answer since, well, she really just didn't know anything. "Alchemists seem, at least from what I understand," which was very little, "to have a great deal of knowledge in many fields and sort of wanted to bring the universe together, unite it, with knowledge."

Her hand? Yeah, it was all the way back on the table. In fact, it was UNDER the table now and on her lap.

She listened to Kurumi and then nodded. "You're right, base metals into noble metals, and the pursuit for the Elixir of life are particular goals of the Alchemist. And Alchemy very much is an area of study which combines various fields. Non-magically speaking, we're looking at chemistry and medicine, magically speaking we're looking at magical metallurgy, charms, potions and transfiguration. And the magical relationship of numbers as found in Arithmancy is also relevant to the field of Alchemy."

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpfan18 (Post 11056061)

Belle listened to the Professor's question. She wasn't really sure what Alchemy was but at least she can guess. "Professor isn't Alchemy a study of some type of science used back in the medieval times?" She asked unsure if she was right.

"It was prevalent in the Muggle World in an incomplete form during medieval times, but in the Magical World it is still studied today." She answered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoseMalfoy (Post 11056085)

Desiree was in.. Charms? No this was Alchemy. Professor Schirmer had thrown her off, plus she wasn't really all that use to going to class after her term home-schooling in New Zealand.

The third year had smiled at her former Charms teacher and was now sitting at a table with Zhenya. "Hey!" she said quietly as class was about to start. She was actually glad to be back in class, which was surprising, even for her. She had had enough surfing, swimming, and tanning. Wow had she really just thought that?

She focused her attention back on the Professor, eager to start learning. But unsurprisingly the first thing was a question. Great. Which was fine except she had almost no clue what Alchemy was. Really she should know.. but as the Professor said, this was an advanced course.
Soo what was the purpose of Alchemy? She took out a quill and parchment scribbling it down. She looked over at Zhenya with a questioning look. She'd feel better if her friend was as lost as her.

But suddenly her hand raised almost of its own will, seemingly eager to pitch in after so many months. She was shocked when the teacher called on her, as she hadn't planned on answering, but quickly threw out something, "Oh, um, the purpose of Alchemy is generally to change ordinary metals into more extraordinary ones, right?" where did that come from, and why did she rhyme? Eh, well apparently she knew something.

ooc: wooo New Zealand represent!

"Yes that is right, The goal is to change the base metals into the noble metals."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luna_Midnight (Post 11056172)

Nerida sat in awe, she knew tons of things about alchemy but it was like the fairytale Alchemy. Should she say those things even though it would make her look weird...But then again she did read that book out of curiosity in the library on Alchemy. What did it say the purpose was again? oh yes, thats right. She raised her hand and said Erm, the purpose of Alcehmy is to turn base metals into one of the noble metals most likely gold or silver.

Now the goals, it said something like that in the book right? Something about a panacea. Think Nerida, you know this, your a Ravenclaw, be smart! She spoke once more a bit more confident then the first time she answered the Professor's question A alchemist goals are to create a panacea, which will cure all diseases and to also create a universal solvent, and to turn base metals into the noble metals.

She quickly put her hand back down, right then and there every one could tell Nerida was a nerd.

"Yes, the base metals into noble metals, the panacea," She had elaborated a bit on those already but... ah yay! "The universal solvent. Right you are." That was something she'd been looking for. "The universal solvent, or the Alkahest as Paracelsus called it, is a substance which is reputed to have the power to dissolve all other substances, or more correctly, it dissolves composed material into their elemental parts."

Quote:

Originally Posted by nups21 (Post 11056181)

Ira beamed brightly. Yes! This was going to be an interesting seminar.

But hr smile waned a bit as Professor Schirmer began. Purpose of alchemy? Huh? Meaning why was alchemy practiced? Of course it was done to turn metals to gold right? That is.. to make things more valuable. And she had also read something about the elixir of life being prepared, but Ira didn't know the details.

Still, not wanting to just sit back all quietly, she raised her hand up and answered, "Professor... the purpose of Alchemy is.. I think, to make things more valuable" That was what Ira thought at least, "I mean, in Alchemy, common metals are turned into precious metals like gold right?" That was the materialistic gain at least.. "Generally Mercury is turned into gold I think."

Saying so, Ira was about to sit back again, when she suddenly remembered something she had vaguely read before, "And Professor, it is focused on perfection, immortality and liberation" If seen on the spiritual or non-materialistic side. She had read alchemy being useful in preparation of herbal medicines and such, but didn't know much about it herself.

Yep, that was it.

"Well some define Mercury -also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum- as a noble metal itself, but it is a metal which is transmutable into Gold. However, a noble metal and a precious metal isn't the same thing. Precious metals are economically valuable whereas noble metals are resistant to corrosion and oxidation, though most noble metals are precious." She responded with an encouraging nod. "There is more significance to Mercury as an Alchemical concept than just as a metal however."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 (Post 11056219)

"This is going to be interesting,'' Jory thought. He pondered on the question first, not wanting to say anything stupid, then raising his hand, he said "The goal of alchemy is to change base metals to gold, silver or even the Elixir of Life so there can be immortality.''

"Right." She agreed. Althea had already elaborated though, so didn't repeat herself yet. She'd summarize after.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Marilyn (Post 11056262)

Dylan was beyond pleased at seeing their old Charm's Professor upon arrival...but he was even more excited about what she was going to be teaching them.

Alchemy.

*mental fist-pumping*

He'd been curious about the particular field for years...but had somehow always let it slip his mind whenever he had a free minute to look something up or properly research. This was not to say, however, that he didn't know anything at all...He'd read a few things, nothing too enlightening, of course.

So, sitting here now, the Slytherin would offer what he did know and remember. *some hand-raising going on* "The only thing I can remember about the subject was that Alchemists wanted to reach Spiritual Perfection..." Dylan wasn't 100% comfortable with the answer. It had been a few years since he'd read that book in his mother's office...but bleh.

It was something to contribute to the discussion...

Althea nodded. "Yes, Mr. Montmorency, for many Alchemists -particularly Muggle Alchemists- spirituality is a large part of pursuing Alchemical goals. The concept of unity with the universe, and a symbolic representation of wholeness and personal purification. This concept helps with the focus required to be a successful Alchemist, and aids in interpreting some of the allegorical representations present in Alchemical art and symbolism."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanillasweetheart (Post 11056273)

What was the purpose of Alchemy?

Soooo many books had been written about Alchemy and Alchemists in the Muggle world. So many of Chelle's favourite books, indeed. This was one question Chelle had no problem answering. Her hand shot up in the air.

"Professor, Alchemy has varied uses. It can be used to convert stuff into precious metals such as gold and silver. Alchemists also spend a lot of time looking for ways to make the Elixir of Life through Alchemy," Chelle replied. After a short pause, she continued, "Many years ago, a famous Alchemist, Nicholas Flamel, was known to be in possession of the Philosopher's Stone and was a few hundred years old, or so I have read."

Althea nodded at the first part and then smiled at mention of Nicholas Flamel. "That's right, he's the only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone -his achievement has never been repeated- and he and his wife Perenelle were more than 650 years old at the time of their death."

Quote:

Originally Posted by verbain (Post 11056288)

SPOILER!!: Sophieeee and Professor Schirmer

He really wasn't sure about what Alchemy was. Only small things he had heard here and there.

The boy sheepishly raised his hand, "I always thought Alchemists made medicine?" Like, in the olden days, though. Obviously they had scientists for all of that now, so Alchemists totally lost all their jobs.

He was totally right. The boy was sure.

"Yes, medicine is a very important goal of an Alchemist and many of the ingredients used in medicinal potion-making are produced via Alchemical techniques." Althea told the first year, giving the small boy a smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cedric (Post 11056299)

Aha, and now the lesson was beginning. Paulie reached down into his bag and, after grabbing a few sheets of parchment, he retrieved his quill and ink as well. He subconsciously traced circles onto his table with the feathery tip of his quill while he listened to Professor Schirmer pose her first questions: what was the purpose of alchemy? the goals of alchemists?

He raised his quill into the air slightly, and when the student before him was finished speaking, he put in his two cents. "Alchemy is used to cure diseases, I think. And, uh.. if I'm not mistaken, I think it's involved in the whole 'elixir of life' thing." He paused a moment for thought, then added. "I think Dumbledore had a bit of interest in Alchemy, didn't he?" Seeing as some other students had mentioned Nicolas Flamel. At least, he thought he read somewhere that Dumbledore was an alchemist of sorts..

Nod. Curing disease. Nod. Elixir of life.

"Yes, Dumbledore was a good friend of Nicholas Flamel the Alchemist and creator of the Philosopher's stone."

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverTiger (Post 11056325)

"The goal of the alchemist is to separate objects or even themselves from what connects it to the world, elevate whatever it is to the purest and most perfect state. Creating the philosopher's stone to turn base metals to gold, creating the elixir of life to gain immortality, or even gaining spiritual perfection through enlightenment," she said as the question was posed, raising her free hand even as she started writing with the other. At least the books she'd read had told her that much, although she wasn't entirely sure how it was accomplished. Or exactly why gold was considered the purest metal, but then perhaps that was going to b e what they were going to learn in this lesson.

"A good summary, Miss Gardiner. Yes." Althea nodded.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88 (Post 11056326)

When she thought that she had a possible answer, Alyssa raised her hand and answered,"Professor I think that the purpose of Alchemy is not only to change an ordinary metal into something more valuable like gold or silver but also to find ways of mixing substances in order to extend life or for healing "

Alyssa paused to think before answering the second part of the question. "As for the goals of an Alchemist, I guess that it would be the same as the purpose. " Alyssa paused to think how she could phrase it without going all long winded like she usually did in all her classes she attended.

"That is to not only change common metals into precious ones but also to find a cure for all diseases even death."Alyssa finished.

"The mixing of different substances is very much a part of Alchemy, yes Miss Potter. Be careful though not to confuse precious metals with noble metals." She smiled at the Hufflepuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lislchen (Post 11056361)

Instead Lewis reached for her hand which was on her lap and gave it a soft squeeze while throwing her a slightly confused look. Was something wrong? He left his hand there for the time being but raised his other one to answer the professor's question. "Well, one of the main goals was to find...like the ultimate cure for all diseases. So people can live longer...or forever even." Which sounded like quite a weird concept to him. Living forever. He wasn't sure he would want to do that. "L-like Nicolas Flamel made the Philosophers Stone." They would all know what that did, right? And how it was connected to what he said before.[/COLOR]

"Absolutely right. The cure for all diseases, and the pursuit of immortality are Alchemical goals." Althea nodded at the Hufflepuff prefect, gave him a quick smile, and then moved on with the lesson.

Once she'd addressed all the student answers, Althea began to speak, providing more information.

"I think you can all see already that there is much within the pursuit of Alchemy, that even simplified it is complex field. Aside from the detailed symbolic meanings, which must be studied in order to gain an understanding of the processes involved in Alchemy, there are a lot of new words and terms that you'll come across too which have meanings specific to Alchemy. For instance we've already mentioned The Panacea, The Alkahest, and chrysopoeia, the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life, and that is just in response to the simple question of the purpose of Alchemy." As Althea spoke, the charmed blackboard provided a few notes.

SPOILER!!: The blackboard

"So, to recap, the goals of the Alchemist are to find the panacea, find the alkahest and to transmute base metals into gold or other noble metals. Philosophical and spiritual concerns are often important to the Alchemist while pursuing these goals." But they weren't actually necessary.

"Another term which you should familiarise yourself is 'Azoth'. The Azoth is another term which combines the Panacea and the Alkahest in that it is a possible universal medicine, universal solvent, or Elixir of Life. It serves as the essential agent of alchemical transformation, and embodies the concept of all of these main goals in Alchemy. It is arguably the quintessence of Alchemy."

"One of the specific subfields of Alchemy is that of Spagyrics, or plant Alchemy. Spagyrics is the production of herbal medicines using alchemical techniques such as fermentation, distillation and the extraction of mineral components from the ash of a plant. Spagyric remedies rely on the three cardinal principles of Alchemy: salt, sulfur and mercury." Althea paused for people to catch up on notes and glanced towards the door.

"What do you all know about these cardinal principles? What are they? What do they mean?"

OOC: Will continue the class in around 12 hours. Remember if your charrie doesn't know an answer that is just fine, just RP them taking notes and reflecting on the given information - you won't be penalised for that. Questions are welcome TOO. You're all doing so awesome so far! ~~If I've missed you while I was writing this, I'll edit you in soon!~~ edited :)

SPOILER!!: Jon Jon XD

Turning his attention briefly from the Professor, Dylan glanced around the room. It was pathetic that he didn't recognize many of the faces.

*SIIGH* He really needed to socialize more. No one wanted to be THAT guy...The loner.

Wait! Wasn't that the guy Bee was really good friends with? The older one...that was always posting things about food on that website. What had his name been? James?...

No, no...Jason...Jonathan? Yea, yea...Jonathan. Perhaps he could team up with the older Slytherin a bit later...

SPOILER!!: Teh Professor

Then their answers and questions were being addressed. The Slytherin listened carefully to the Professor's words, hardly taking his eyes from her face. This was why Dylan enjoyed the female teachers more.

They commanded his attention better...and were able to keep it, at that.

Musing his hair a bit, Dylan moved to bring his notebook closer, copying down everything on the blackboard. It was interesting stuff, that much he could say. All this talk about living forever and turning things to gold...It reminded him of something.

*hand-raising in progress* "You know, Professor...I'm oddly reminded of the Hand of Midas." It was basically like this Sorcerer's Stone everyone was talking about. You touched something with it and it immediately turned it to solid gold...

...And Dylan vaguely remembered something about Cardinal Principles... UGH, why couldn't he piece it together? Yet, the Slytherin raised his hand anyway..."When you say Cardinal principles, it makes me think of the Zodiac...and how each sign is classified under one of the four main elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and Air...Although, that probably has nothing to do with what we're talking about." He gave her an apologetic look for his rambling and coughed, attempting to clear his throat. "If I had to guess, I'd say the Principles just define how certain...erm...raw materials? go together when broken down..."

Was he making any sense?

Feeling a tad...embarrassed, dare he think it, Dylan leaned his head down, continuing his notes.

SPOILER!!: Dylan's Notebook

"You know," He added, remembering something else. "Fermentation...distillation...It sounds like the process of wine-making."

Okay, Dylan...just shut up, now.

Cardinal Principles?

Zhenya's wrist was aching from the writing she had been doing. She was so confused with all the new things that were being discussed. Where had she been hiding that she knew nothing about Alchemy? She looked at everyone in shock as they were saying more and more about things they knew, whilst Zhenya just sat there in horror. Honestly, how did she not know any of it? At first she thought Alchemy was a branch of Defence against the Dark Arts, but now... well, she didn't know what it was now. She mentally made a note to find a good textbook on Alchemy so she could study it and add it to the list of things she DID know. She hated having things on her DO NOT know list. It drove her bonkers.

She twisted her wrist, and heard a few cracks, as she prepared herself to write down everything that people started to say. She had already written most of what Professor Schirmer had written on the board, which was a lot. She definitely found it fascinating though, so even if she couldn't participate in the discussion, she knew she was gaining a looooooooooot!

Chelle's eyes widened as Professor Chirmer wrote a number of terms on the blackboard that she had not heard of in her entire life. She felt a pang of annoyance because she didn't have any answers to the questions, but she was determined to learn each and everything properly. She took out her quill and ink and started taking notes religiously.

Quote:

The Goals of the Alchemist
--find the panacea
--find the alkahest
--turning things into gold (chrysopoeia) and other noble metals

Definitions
Alkahest - Believed by Paracelsus to be the Philosophers Stone, or an element of its creation. This is a hypothetical universal solvent, having the power to dissolve every other substance, including gold.

Azoth - This serves as the essential agent of alchemical transformation, and embodies the concept of the main goals in Alchemy it is a possible universal medicine, universal solvent, or Elixir of Life. It is a name for Mercury as cardinal principle of Alchemy.

Chrysopoeia - A symbolic representation of the Philosophers Stone, chrysopoeia means transmutation into gold, from the Greek khrusōn, 'gold', and poiēin, 'to make'.

Panacea - also called the pancrest, or Panakeia in Greek, is named for the Greek Goddess of universal remedy, she supposedly had a magical medicinal substance which could cure all ills. It is a remedy that is supposed to cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely.

Spagyrics -the production of herbal medicines using alchemical techniques such as fermentation, distillation and the extraction of mineral components from the ash of a plant.

Spagyric remedies rely on the three cardinal principles of Alchemy: salt, sulfur and mercury

Quote:

Originally Posted by DH Vixen (Post 11056047)

"Nice to meet you, Chris," Lana smiled politely before looking back toward the front of the room. The lesson was to start soon and she didn't want to miss anything. Having her parchment ready, she picked up her quill.

Thinking about what she had read, she slowly raised her hand. "Simply isn't the purpose to transmute common metals to more noble metals like gold and the creation of a panacea?" She had remembered there being a mention of something else in her past reading, but she didn't want to risk sounding like she was a know-it-all or being complete wrong as well.

Chris was glad he had decided to sit next to Lana; she obviously knew what she was doing! He had never even heard about a panacea!

He thought about the professors next question, but he didn't remember reading anything about cardinal principles in any of the books he had read. This may be the first time he didn't have the answers... So instead of thinking to hard about how to answer, Chris started copying the notes instead...

Minerva had no clue what the first answer was so she listened and took as many notes as she possibly be could. This seminar seemed to be harder then last terms, at least more confusing. As she listened she felt more and more confused and as much as she loved her old charms professor wasn't sure if she should have come.

Then the second question came up, but would the answer she was thinking even be close to what she was looking for. This was the wizard world, what she knew about these items didn't go with that world, right? Well that was how it was in many of her other classes at least. She placed her hand up "Well those three items are science terms that are on the periodic table and are all solids." She shrugged not sure if that's what she wanted, but her mom was a high school teacher and had that chart hanging in her room.

Kurumi was sort of just staring blankly and a little confused by some student's answers simply because the Gryffindor had next to zero background in all this besides what she read in fantasy novels. While she waited for Professor Schirmer to respond, Kurumi was a bit surprised when she felt someone's hand on her's, giving it a gentle squeeze. Her eyes dropped for a moment, but she really didn't need to look to know whose hand it was. Her gaze met Lewis' for a moment and she managed a meek smile. Nothing was wrong...besides feeling like she knew absolutely nothing for the first time in her Hogwarts' career.

A few moments later, however, Professor Schirmer gave her a little bit of a confidence boost when she addressed her response and said...she was right!? Merlin, Kurumi could have begun bouncing in her seat she was so pleased. So, it seemed like what she had read in her comics was actually based on real alchemy. That was a relief.

After giving Lewis' hand another squeeze, Kurumi ~~reluctantly~~ removed her hand from his so that she could pick up her quill and write down what had to be a billion and one notes on her parchment...or two parchments. Kurumi was back to cocking her head and furrowing her brow a little at the following terms that were written on the board, along by the explanation that came with everything. Oh Merlin did she feel lost again... So Kurumi leaned back in her seat to try and let it all sink in a bit and try to sort through it all until it made sense.

Which it sort of did. Ish.

However, Kurumi was back to furrowing her brow a little bit with the salt, sulfur, and mercury elements...the cardinals as Professor Schirmer had put them. What did she know about them? Erm...she knew their chemical properties, but what else was there? Kurumi was suddenly reminded of her Ancient Runes assignment where she had used salt to represent the element of Earth. Did that also tie into alchemy? Did salt represent the element of Earth here too? Which would probably mean mercury was....water? Sulfur could be...

Venturing a guess, Kurumi raised her hand. "Sometimes salt can represent the earth element, and mercury the water element, and sulfur the fire element," she said in a rather unconvincing tone. No telling if this had any correlation to alchemy or not. But they were asked to say what they knew...so...points for trying?

Kerri you here too, plus Professor.

SPOILER!!: let's pretend he's already sitting next to him??? LOL!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Marilyn (Post 11056392)

SPOILER!!: Jon Jon XD

SPOILER!!: Teh Professor

SPOILER!!: Dylan's Notebook

"You know," He added, remembering something else. "Fermentation...distillation...It sounds like the process of wine-making."

Okay, Dylan...just shut up, now.

Jonathan scouted the room as people were still answering the Professor and spotted a familiar guy. Wait! Where has he seen him before, other than the fact that he is a Slytherin. Yes, he has seen him around the common room and the dorm room but he has never spoke to the lower year snake nor have even made eye contact to him. Jonathan starred at him for awhile, still wondering where he has seen....

OH!!!

Jonathan finally got it. A friend of Beezus but the Ravenclaw never talks about him, except for Mordred. Beezus mentioned him once to Jonathan but not this guy. What's his name again??? Uhmmm.... He totally forgot about it too. Jonathan is very bad at memorizing names. Hey, maybe later when they get to have some kind of activity then they could get to know each other. Who knows, they'll be good friends.... but let's save this plan for later. Professor Schirmer is still lecturing and she doesn't like to be bothered when she's lecturing.

He just gave him a friendly smile and then started copying the notes for Alchemy.

SPOILER!!: professsooooorrrr

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11056389)

Once she'd addressed all the student answers, Althea began to speak, providing more information.

"I think you can all see already that there is much within the pursuit of Alchemy, that even simplified it is complex field. Aside from the detailed symbolic meanings, which must be studied in order to gain an understanding of the processes involved in Alchemy, there are a lot of new words and terms that you'll come across too which have meanings specific to Alchemy. For instance we've already mentioned The Panacea, The Alkahest, and chrysopoeia, the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life, and that is just in response to the simple question of the purpose of Alchemy." As Althea spoke, the charmed blackboard provided a few notes.

SPOILER!!: The blackboard

"So, to recap, the goals of the Alchemist are to find the panacea, find the alkahest and to transmute base metals into gold or other noble metals. Philosophical and spiritual concerns are often important to the Alchemist while pursuing these goals." But they weren't actually necessary.

"Another term which you should familiarise yourself is 'Azoth'. The Azoth is another term which combines the Panacea and the Alkahest in that it is a possible universal medicine, universal solvent, or Elixir of Life. It serves as the essential agent of alchemical transformation, and embodies the concept of all of these main goals in Alchemy. It is arguably the quintessence of Alchemy."

"One of the specific subfields of Alchemy is that of Spagyrics, or plant Alchemy. Spagyrics is the production of herbal medicines using alchemical techniques such as fermentation, distillation and the extraction of mineral components from the ash of a plant. Spagyric remedies rely on the three cardinal principles of Alchemy: salt, sulfur and mercury." Althea paused for people to catch up on notes and glanced towards the door.

"What do you all know about these cardinal principles? What are they? What do they mean?"

0__________________________0

WHAT THE---??? Is this gibberish? Jonathan has no idea what Professor Shirmer was suddenly talking about. At first he can understand but then as she tried to further explain some details to the alchemy stuff, Jonathan just felt and looked lost. He's so lost, it's even written on his face. He tried to catch up with the writing with the notes but looking at them, they just all look a bunch of words that didn't make sense at all.

After copying, Jonathan was still listening to the professor about .... uhmm... ugh.... pffff....??? uggg... Yeah, pretty much what is written on the board. She's explaining more about it but Jonathan is still lost as ever.

Still no answer with the next question. He's still trying to figure out what he was copying.

Nate heard the class begin so if he needed to talk with the people at his table he had to whisper. "No I don't have a ghost in my room. It's normally just the fact that their might be something strange in the basement." He whispered to Ella. Then he copied down notes.

Quote:

Now that he copied down his notes he listened to the question. Then he thought he knew the answer. He wanted to say it, but he knew it sounded a bit dumb. SO he didn't answer this question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CassiopeiaAKTF (Post 11056306)

Waiting was boring. Especially now that he had checked out almost every thing on his desk. Daichi let out a small sigh before moving his head to look somewhere else. As he looked around the classroom, his eyes landed on the guy with the many names. What was his name again? Although he couldn't hear them from where he was seated but judging by the way the other boy with the Gryffindor badge walked away and Daichi had the feeling that the older Slytherin was without a partner again. Following his hunch, the fourth year stood up from his place and walked towards him.

"Got ditched didn't you?" he grinned playfully as he looked down at the Snake from behind his glasses "You want to partner up with us?" he asked, pointing his finger towards ~~his future girlfrie--whatthe?~~ Indy.

OOC: This's supposed to be before Professor Schirmer started the class.

João was nearly done looking around when some other short person approached him, in green robes this time. Instead of making a face at him though, he actually smiled broadly. Daichi. Merlin. For some reason João couldn't identy, he never failed to make him smile. And this time, instead of being depressed at his harsh words, he actually laughed out loud, because with Daichi, you just couldn't get angry.

"Let's say we seperated our ways," he said with the same grin, before nodding at his offer. Not that he died to partner up with people younger than 5th year, but he didn't have any other choice. Plus, he knew Daichi and he was decent enough to sit with at Alchemy.

"Thanks for the offer," he said once he moved at their table and turned at the professor who was starting the lesson.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11056389)

"What do you all know about these cardinal principles? What are they? What do they mean?"

Cardinal principals? Which cardinal principles? João frowned, trying to remember what he had read, though he had never taken alchemy lesson before. All he could remember was some important people for alchemy and their theories, but his thinking couldn't go beyond that. In the end, he just shrugged to himself and readied himself to take down some notes.

Ella had been taking notes feverishly, trying to follow along with what her classmates were saying. This was quite a complicated subject so the more notes she took, the better. As she listened to the professor's next question, a lightbulb went off in her head. She had read something about sulfur and alchemy though she couldn't quite think of what it was...Something involving the sun? Was that right? Well, even if it wasn't exactlly correct, it was something to add. "Professor, does sulfur have any connection to the sun? I think I read that somewhere." Shrug.

Nigel jotted down all the definitions on the piece of paper in front of him because it looked important and who knows when Nigel will need these definitions again. Nigel was happy that he got the first question correct and the professor even elaborated on his answer.

He thought about the cardinal principles and basically knew nothing about them. But he did know something about mercury. "Professor, isn't Mercury poisonous?" Yes that is all he knew and now he waited with a quill in his hand to take notes when the professor answered the question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11056389)

"Alchemy has been around for a very long time. But yes, you could certainly equate it to medicine and chemistry -if you were taking it from a purely Muggle perspective."

Okaaay. The muggle perspective. Right. All she needed to do now was think... the wizarding way. Nora felt like her head was spinning, but she waited patiently for everyone to answer, in the hope that Ms Schirmer would give them more details and make everything clear, or at least for Nora. She hated it when she didn't understand stuff.

SPOILER!!: o___O

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11056389)

Once she'd addressed all the student answers, Althea began to speak, providing more information.

"I think you can all see already that there is much within the pursuit of Alchemy, that even simplified it is complex field. Aside from the detailed symbolic meanings, which must be studied in order to gain an understanding of the processes involved in Alchemy, there are a lot of new words and terms that you'll come across too which have meanings specific to Alchemy. For instance we've already mentioned The Panacea, The Alkahest, and chrysopoeia, the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life, and that is just in response to the simple question of the purpose of Alchemy." As Althea spoke, the charmed blackboard provided a few notes.

SPOILER!!: The blackboard

"So, to recap, the goals of the Alchemist are to find the panacea, find the alkahest and to transmute base metals into gold or other noble metals. Philosophical and spiritual concerns are often important to the Alchemist while pursuing these goals." But they weren't actually necessary.

"Another term which you should familiarise yourself is 'Azoth'. The Azoth is another term which combines the Panacea and the Alkahest in that it is a possible universal medicine, universal solvent, or Elixir of Life. It serves as the essential agent of alchemical transformation, and embodies the concept of all of these main goals in Alchemy. It is arguably the quintessence of Alchemy."

"One of the specific subfields of Alchemy is that of Spagyrics, or plant Alchemy. Spagyrics is the production of herbal medicines using alchemical techniques such as fermentation, distillation and the extraction of mineral components from the ash of a plant. Spagyric remedies rely on the three cardinal principles of Alchemy: salt, sulfur and mercury." Althea paused for people to catch up on notes and glanced towards the door.

"What do you all know about these cardinal principles? What are they? What do they mean?"

...

They lost her. Nora was completely lost. As all sorts of names were said, her eyes went wider and wider. She couldn't even pronounce them! As for the cardinal... what? Errr... Since she didn't want to say something stupid - not that she had any idea, stupid or not - Nora decided to stay quiet and just write down everything that was on the board. If she couldn't really follow the lesson, she might as well take notes and study everything later. Yup, that sounded like a good idea.

Selina knew that literally nothing about alchemy. The redhead was always surprised at how her peers always knew so much about every subject in school. She never knew there was so much time in the day to learn everything that they all knew. It was amazing to her, but she continued to take notes and listen to learn from the teacher.

Errr..Cardinal whaaaatttt?

o_______O

Okay. He didn't know what's Professor Schirmer asking about. Who's he kidding, he didn't know nothing about Alchemy in the first place. So Messer just sat there taking some notes and listen to the other students answers. How come they know about this stuff anyway?

Elise's wrist hurt. Like seriously hurt from all the writing she was doing. She'd never heard of alchemy before and actually came up here thinking it was some kind of Defense Against the Dark Arts or something. Not something as totally confusing as Ancient Runes and things like that.

She groaned inaudibly as another question was presented. She didn't know this one, never having bothered to look it up in the library so for once, she simply sat and took notes. And studied other people's answers and loooked intently at Professor Schirmer.

Anyone wanna socialize in class with this guy? VM Me

While Professor Schirmer was writing on the blackboard, Jordan begun writing notes while listening to other kids socialize and discuss the question asked by the Professor. He was more of the kid that liked listening to other students, than voice his own opinions. Definitely didn't want to speak out, unless it was something he knew about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessiqua (Post 11056362)

Zhenya looked up and saw someone who needed a group, by the looks of it. She smiled and waved her over, hoping she might join in with her on her... single table.

Zhenya didn't raise her hand or say anything. She had absolutely no idea what Alchemy was, what it was used for, HOW it was used... she was totally clueless. She pulled out some parchment and her quill with some ink and started writing down everything people were saying. Whether they were right or wrong, it didn't matter, she would cross it off. She was interested in just learning WHAT it was, and she knew she would leave the class knowing that much at least.*

Charlti saw another girl from Slytherin smile at her from another table, shyly sitting down at the table she said "Hey I Charlit! Im dont think we were even supposed to make groups yet, but if we do have to make partners we will be in a group. I saw some people at the next table making a group and thought I would join in"

Oh boy! complicated words to memorize. Charlit coppied the achemy notes onto her parchement, she was beguinning to undetstand the basis of alchemy now and found it quite interesting. She wondered why that third year Slytherin guy who she couldn't remember the name of wasnt in this class, alchemy seemed like it would be right up his ally!

Justin was still a little confused by the information given by the proffessor. So, he busied himself with taking down every word and every note. He may even have to ask the proffessor for extra help wrapping his head around this lesson....

SPOILER!!: Awesomeness

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11056389)

SPOILER!!: answers and elaborations. There's like, actual informationz in here guys XD

"Alchemy has been around for a very long time. But yes, you could certainly equate it to medicine and chemistry -if you were taking it from a purely Muggle perspective."

Althea nodded. "Spirituality has been considered a large part of Alchemical pursuits - the oneness with nature, and the very essence of being."

"Gold is one of the noble metals which Alchemists do indeed work to transmute baser metals into. Its called chrysopoeia , from the Greek khrusōn or 'gold' and poiēin 'to make'." Althea answered the first year, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Yes, that is a succinct summary of the alchemical goals. The concept of chrysopoeia, which I just mentioned, also refers to that pursuit for the Philosopher's Stone." Althea said.

"And silver is certainly one of the noble metals." Which is why she'd worked with it a few terms back for their projects, it had qualities which made it suitable for magical manipulation. "And yes, rejuvination and immortality are goals."

"Yes! Transmutation into the noble metals, and the creation of a panacea. The panacea, also called the pancrest, or Panakeia in Greek, is named for the Greek Goddess of universal remedy, she supposedly had a magical medicinal substance which could cure all ills."

She listened to Kurumi and then nodded. "You're right, base metals into noble metals, and the pursuit for the Elixir of life are particular goals of the Alchemist. And Alchemy very much is an area of study which combines various fields. Non-magically speaking, we're looking at chemistry and medicine, magically speaking we're looking at magical metallurgy, charms, potions and transfiguration. And the magical relationship of numbers as found in Arithmancy is also relevant to the field of Alchemy."

"It was prevalent in the Muggle World in an incomplete form during medieval times, but in the Magical World it is still studied today." She answered.

ooc: wooo New Zealand represent!

"Yes that is right, The goal is to change the base metals into the noble metals."

"Yes, the base metals into noble metals, the panacea," She had elaborated a bit on those already but... ah yay! "The universal solvent. Right you are." That was something she'd been looking for. "The universal solvent, or the Alkahest as Paracelsus called it, is a substance which is reputed to have the power to dissolve all other substances, or more correctly, it dissolves composed material into their elemental parts."

"Well some define Mercury -also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum- as a noble metal itself, but it is a metal which is transmutable into Gold. However, a noble metal and a precious metal isn't the same thing. Precious metals are economically valuable whereas noble metals are resistant to corrosion and oxidation, though most noble metals are precious." She responded with an encouraging nod. "There is more significance to Mercury as an Alchemical concept than just as a metal however."

"Right." She agreed. Althea had already elaborated though, so didn't repeat herself yet. She'd summarize after.

Althea nodded. "Yes, Mr. Montmorency, for many Alchemists -particularly Muggle Alchemists- spirituality is a large part of pursuing Alchemical goals. The concept of unity with the universe, and a symbolic representation of wholeness and personal purification. This concept helps with the focus required to be a successful Alchemist, and aids in interpreting some of the allegorical representations present in Alchemical art and symbolism."

Althea nodded at the first part and then smiled at mention of Nicholas Flamel. "That's right, he's the only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone -his achievement has never been repeated- and he and his wife Perenelle were more than 650 years old at the time of their death."

"Yes, medicine is a very important goal of an Alchemist and many of the ingredients used in medicinal potion-making are produced via Alchemical techniques." Althea told the first year, giving the small boy a smile.

Nod. Curing disease. Nod. Elixir of life.

"Yes, Dumbledore was a good friend of Nicholas Flamel the Alchemist and creator of the Philosopher's stone."

"A good summary, Miss Gardiner. Yes." Althea nodded.

"The mixing of different substances is very much a part of Alchemy, yes Miss Potter. Be careful though not to confuse precious metals with noble metals." She smiled at the Hufflepuff.

"Absolutely right. The cure for all diseases, and the pursuit of immortality are Alchemical goals." Althea nodded at the Hufflepuff prefect, gave him a quick smile, and then moved on with the lesson.

Once she'd addressed all the student answers, Althea began to speak, providing more information.

"I think you can all see already that there is much within the pursuit of Alchemy, that even simplified it is complex field. Aside from the detailed symbolic meanings, which must be studied in order to gain an understanding of the processes involved in Alchemy, there are a lot of new words and terms that you'll come across too which have meanings specific to Alchemy. For instance we've already mentioned The Panacea, The Alkahest, and chrysopoeia, the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life, and that is just in response to the simple question of the purpose of Alchemy." As Althea spoke, the charmed blackboard provided a few notes.

SPOILER!!: The blackboard

"So, to recap, the goals of the Alchemist are to find the panacea, find the alkahest and to transmute base metals into gold or other noble metals. Philosophical and spiritual concerns are often important to the Alchemist while pursuing these goals." But they weren't actually necessary.

"Another term which you should familiarise yourself is 'Azoth'. The Azoth is another term which combines the Panacea and the Alkahest in that it is a possible universal medicine, universal solvent, or Elixir of Life. It serves as the essential agent of alchemical transformation, and embodies the concept of all of these main goals in Alchemy. It is arguably the quintessence of Alchemy."

"One of the specific subfields of Alchemy is that of Spagyrics, or plant Alchemy. Spagyrics is the production of herbal medicines using alchemical techniques such as fermentation, distillation and the extraction of mineral components from the ash of a plant. Spagyric remedies rely on the three cardinal principles of Alchemy: salt, sulfur and mercury." Althea paused for people to catch up on notes and glanced towards the door.

"What do you all know about these cardinal principles? What are they? What do they mean?"

Vickers started to fill his parchment with the Professor's response, to his own answer and to others. As he copied down the lecture on the board, he couldnt help but grin-- this lesson, as complicated as it appeared, was AWESOME!

He pondered the next question. Professor Schirmer kinda mentioned the three main things he remembered about the Principles of Alchemy. He racked his brain on what else he remembered from his readings. Some of these kinda overlapped with certain elements of Divination. Up goes the tentative hand. "Uhm Professor, Sulfur represents the fire element-- the inflammable quality of the plant or item to be extracted, whereas Salt represents the earth element-- which is the opposite of Sulfur in that it represents the non-combustible nature, while Mercury represents the water element-- which is the fusibility...or the changeable nature of the item, sometimes even referred to as the life essence of a plant." if they were extracting stuff from a plant.

There was one other thing he remembered tht resonated with him "An ancient alchemist..." he was forgetting the name as for the moment "...who strongly believed that Alchemy was for the finding of medicinal cures, that nature was for the most part raw and unfinished, and that we have the responsibility to improve things, make something the best it can be. He believed that when a plant is broken down, or purified of things thats not necessary, we will be left with those three basic elements-- the "sulfur" part, the "mercury" part and the "salt" part, then we will be able to recombine them into medicine." Incredibly enough, the guy wasnt far off given what they were now doing with potions in present day.

Wow, Silvia hadn't expected alchemy to be an easy subject, but it sounded even more complex than she had thought at first. A lot of big words to learn too. She copied the notes from the board, as well as wrote down some of the stuff the professor said. It may be a difficult subject, but Silvia was determined to do her best. So she raised her hand, even though she didn't really know the answer. "Are the cardinal principles some of the materials used to make the medicines?" she guessed.

And that was it. Now Ira was totally lost. All those big and almost unknown words used by Professor Schirmer had gone over the top of her head. Of course she hadn't expected alchemy to be easy, but it could have been a bit more interesting, yeah? Or maybe it was, just not for Ira.

Ira just nodded, looking lost. Looking around at others, she wondered if they all too were as confused as herself or if she was the only one. But listening to some answering, Ira felt even more lost!

Sure that she would forget everything soon, Ira hurriedly copied down all the information from the blackboard. Maybe she could read it a bit slowly and calmly later on, that way she could understand it.

Text Cut: Ira's notes

Cardinal Principles? Huh? What was that? Wasn't cardinal a man of the church? So how was he related to alchemy?

Taking a deep breath, Ira just scribbled down everything and waited patiently for Professor Schirmer to explain everything..

Eh??? Sophie blinked a lot of times while professor Schirmer explained a little about Alchemy. Panac-- Alk-- Azoth... SAY WHAT?? She had NEVER heard of any of those freaky names.

And even taking notes of those things was difficult! Merlin! That was probably why Alchemy reminded Sophie of her Ravenclaw dad. This stuff was for neeeeeeerds! She had to look back and forth from the board to her parchment while copying everything down to make sure she didn't misspelled anything.

Cardinal principals... Sophie could guess that one too, but she chose not to this time. She was too busy writing the weird words.

It wasn’t his first time invading a class. More like the third time, or perhaps the fourth. Scabior pulled open the door quietly and slipped inside. The class had already started, but he had expected that, that would be the case. Students were so preoccupied with answering questions from the previous Charms Professor that he wondered if they would even notice he had entered.

Like an abnormally good Slytherin, he walked beside the walls, making his way to the back of the class (at least the back according to how it was set up at the moment, as it was strange to say that the round room actually had a back) where he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

Locking eyes with Althea, Scabior produced a small greeting nod, and possibly a smile.

Alchemy. It couldn’t hurt to learn about it.

Before she kicked him out of course.

SPOILER!!: professor

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11056389)

SPOILER!!: answers and elaborations. There's like, actual informationz in here guys XD

Once she'd addressed all the student answers, Althea began to speak, providing more information.

"I think you can all see already that there is much within the pursuit of Alchemy, that even simplified it is complex field. Aside from the detailed symbolic meanings, which must be studied in order to gain an understanding of the processes involved in Alchemy, there are a lot of new words and terms that you'll come across too which have meanings specific to Alchemy. For instance we've already mentioned The Panacea, The Alkahest, and chrysopoeia, the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life, and that is just in response to the simple question of the purpose of Alchemy." As Althea spoke, the charmed blackboard provided a few notes.

SPOILER!!: The blackboard

"So, to recap, the goals of the Alchemist are to find the panacea, find the alkahest and to transmute base metals into gold or other noble metals. Philosophical and spiritual concerns are often important to the Alchemist while pursuing these goals." But they weren't actually necessary.

"Another term which you should familiarise yourself is 'Azoth'. The Azoth is another term which combines the Panacea and the Alkahest in that it is a possible universal medicine, universal solvent, or Elixir of Life. It serves as the essential agent of alchemical transformation, and embodies the concept of all of these main goals in Alchemy. It is arguably the quintessence of Alchemy."

"One of the specific subfields of Alchemy is that of Spagyrics, or plant Alchemy. Spagyrics is the production of herbal medicines using alchemical techniques such as fermentation, distillation and the extraction of mineral components from the ash of a plant. Spagyric remedies rely on the three cardinal principles of Alchemy: salt, sulfur and mercury." Althea paused for people to catch up on notes and glanced towards the door.

"What do you all know about these cardinal principles? What are they? What do they mean?"

Belle saw all the information on the blackboard and she was copying it into her notebook. It looked like priceless information.

SPOILER!!: Annabelle's notes

After Annabelle copied it all down, she noticed the Professor asking another question. She heard the term Cardinal Principles used. "Huh? I never heard of them." Belle thought to herself. She just took more notes and made an indent in her notebook for the Cardinal Principles. After all she was in the class to learn. But then again she did remember reading about Sulfur. "Professor, i know that Sulfur came from the fire elements representing the oil essence of the plant." Belle said. She only knew one Principle. She didn't know the rest.