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/)

Say what? The principles of who? Hannah was completely lost and she looked around the room to see if she was the only one. Some had the same look as she did on her face so that made her feel a little bit better. It was the ones who looked like they actually got it that worried her a bit. Granted they were older so surely that counted for something right?

She decided her best bet was to keep her mouth closed. The last thing she wanted was to make herself sound ignorant. Hannah may be a lot of things, but she was not ignorant. She pulled out her notebook and took some major notes. Pffft. It didn't make any more sense on paper either. She just might have to sidle up to an older student after the lesson and ask them to make sense of it all.

Lana smiled softly to herself as she began to jot down the notes. She wasn't completely sure about her answer, but it turned out that she did retain something in her reading. The time spend buried in random books had helped her after all.

SPOILER!!: Lana's notes

Introduction to Alchemy
…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. - Professor Schirmer
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.

Glancing back up from her notes, she bit her lip in thought and tried to remember anything else that she had read before. The mention of cardinal principles sounded familiar at least. There had to be something else she could remember about it if she thought a bit harder.

Thinking for a few moments, she raised her hand again. "Aren't those three cardinal principles considered the working units of the system. The holy trinity of the universe? Mercury, salt and sulphur. They all have primal alchemical properties and represent certain thing when talking about spagyric remedies. Mercury would be a water element, representing the life essence of a plant; the very alcohol extract of the plant-the carrier of life essence. Salt is the earth element, the vegetable salt from the plants body. Sulphur the fire element, the virtue of plant. The volatile oil essence of a plant." Lowering her hand, she bit her lip again. After speaking, she thought back about what she had said and frowned before raising her hand again. "When you think about each principle in relation to their alchemical properties, they really aren't just one element. Some think of them more of a harmony of two elements. Mercury is more a harmony of water and air. It's like a mediator of sorts and compared to being the spirit, an animating life force. Sulphur is harmony of the air and fire element. It's moveable and diffusive. Like the soul. And Salt, it's the harmony of water and earth. The body and the most dense and very complex." Lowering her hand, she blinked and looked back down slightly.

She had just rambled off what she could remember and only part of it made sense to her, but there really wasn't a completely wrong answer; right? She just hoped that she picked up on a glimpse of what was asked. This all was a bit confusing, but it was interesting all the same.

SPOILER!!: lots of long words xD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11056389)

"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.

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?"

Did he just.... get a question right?! Well, kinda right... Theodore thought Alchemists were just scientists with a cooler name. Apparently, they did more than just mix medicines.

The boy stared blankly at the professor as she began explaining.

What?

After mulling it over in his brain for a few seconds, Theo could only really grasp the 'find the panacea, find the alkahest' stuff. Okay.... so what the heck was panacea and alkahest? He copied everything that was on the board to his notes.

Panacea was the medicine stuff. HE WAS RIGHT!!!!!!

As for the next question, he didn't have a clue, which bothered him. Cos Theo liked being in the know. Instead, he got his quill at the ready to copy whatever the other kids had to say.

Bit of catch up! ^_^

After thanking, Louisa and introducing herself to this new guy, Vickers, the red head sat down and focused on what the Professor was talking about. It was really all confusing. Nessie didn't understand a thing that was going on. There were all these new complicated terms she had never heard before like 'chrysopoeia'. What in the world was that word supposed to mean? All the Hufflepuff did was listen to each person talk and begin pouting as she tried to understood what any of them were talking about.

This all seemed just way to difficult.

The red head looked at the board and watched as in an instant it was filled with plenty of information to write. She blinked a bit. There was so much to write and clearly if Ness had any intention of doing this subject later on, she'd have to get used to all the writing. Ness stared at the board for a few more seconds and then without further or do, she took out some parchment and a quil and began out her writing.

She was middway, when she heard Vickers, the boy next to her speak. She looked up from her parchment and just stared in amazement and he spoke a whole lot on sciency things. How did he know all of this he must have been a pure genious, or something like that. If only she had their brains..maybe then she wouldn't have to stress so much about her school work and marks.

The Hufflepuff looked up at the Profesor again. "You people are too clever." Ness mumbled quietly more to herself then anyone else in the class. She then looked back at her parchment and finished off with her notes.

By now her hand felt like it would fall off at any moment. It was just so much.

Text Cut: Notes

Sarah was thinking. She had written down all the notes, yet she could not think of the answer. She had done little background reading on the subject as she never thought she would take alchemy yet. Maybe it was time to get reading. She looked down at her notes again, hoping rather hopelessy for answer.

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.

Playing MAJOR catch up here.

SPOILER!!: Professor

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?"

Alyssa quickly wrote down the complicated names that the Professor had mentioned in her journal.

Text Cut: Alchemy Seminar Journal

She had to shake her writing hand to get back circulation into her hand after having to write that fast.

Then she sat back and tried to figure out what the cardinal principles were and what they meant. Her eyes basically crossed just thinking what they actually meant. Cardinal? 'It can't have anything to do with the Catholic Pope...or maybe it did...' Alyssa thought to herself.

So she opened up her textbook to see what she could find out about it. When she found what she was looking for she raised her hand and answered.

"Professor basically salt, mercury and sulfur are considered the alchemical trinity. Salt is the principle for fixity and in-combustibility, mercury is the principle of fusibility which is the ability to melt and flow, and volatility; and sulfur is the principle of inflammability."

"Salt is the earth element, representing the vegetable salts extracted from the ashes of a plant body, Mercury the water elements, representing the life essence of the plant, and Sulphur is the fire element, and virtue of plant. It represents the volatile oil essence of the plant."

Alyssa blinked. She actually understood what she was talking about.

Oakey's mind was all a jumbled mess now. Alkawasits, Azodozies, and Chrysomatopoeia? He rubbed his temple with all this crazy talk going on. Alchemy seemed really fun, until these words popped up out of nowhere. The most he got from it all was you could turn simple metals into noble metals. and that Alchemy can heal things. He quickly put his quill to parchment in hopes that if he wrote down the confusing information and read it over ten times he'd finally understand it. So he wrote down the notes from the blackboard while everyone else answered her questions.

SPOILER!!: Oakey's Notes

Eh? Emmanuelle hadn't understood any of that. Maybe a good rereading of her notes later would make something click? She pondered this while scribbling down the writing that appeared on the board.

Text Cut: notes (thanks :))

And then they moved on to topics that she did understand. Salt, sulphur, and mercury. "Well, salt is
mineral that is a result of a chemical reaction, sulphur is a result of fire, and mercury is a metal that is liquid at room temperature." One problem. She didn't know how to tie all that into alchemy. So, blushing a little, she left it at that.

Text Cut: Professor Schirmer

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.

"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?"

Stella let out a breath as her first answer at least got what came close to a compliment. Close enough that she felt like she wasn't completely off base attending this lesson, and it also felt nice knowing she'd remembered what she'd read years ago correctly, even if she didn't really understand a lot of the subject. She made sure to copy down the notes, either way, as she spent a moment watching Professor Scabior sneaking into the lesson. Even if she still didn't quite understand it all, she had a feeling Professor Schirmer was going to explain it the best she could. If there weren't any interruptions. That was usually what happened the last couple of terms, after all, but alchemy was way more complex than Charms. At least what they learned of Charms in classes.

Text Cut: notes

After that, things started getting even more complicated in the discussion, with cardinal principles and spagyrics taking the focus, and she frowned a little as she underlined the word in her notes. It seemed like everyone else had answers, but she wasn't sure if she could say the same. Other than the obvious connection to the four basic elements of ancient studies, and that connection had been made more than once already. She didn't need to just repeat what everyone else had said. Instead, she'd just listen to everyone else and copy everything down. Maybe then she could use the notes later and study on her own.

Gideon had been doing his best to follow along with what both students and professor had to say about alchemy. But he'd be the first to admit that it was a stretch to not have it go completely over his head. Even his two Hufflepuff group members were actively and vocally contributing while he simply wrote on what he caught as well as what he didn't. Perhaps they had thought to look things up before the seminar...something perhaps he should have thought of but then again...they were supposed to learn stuff not be fully prepared before hand.

SPOILER!!: Notes

As for the latest question posed to the gather students, their thoughts on salt, sulfur and mercury, there was only two things he could come up with. They were all elements and while salt was harmless most of the time unless it was in extremely large doses, the other two were a bit more dangerous. So Gideon continued to simply listen and muse silently.

O...K...

So Lily now knew that she had almost no chance of understanding all of the big fancy terms at this point. She also knew that charms class was way easier than this. But she tried her best, paying attention to the professor when she was speaking, as well as listening to her classmates, and occasionally taking notes on the topic.

But thinking about the question...Salt..Sulfur..and Mercury. What did she know about all three. Raising her hand, Lily decided to take a wild guess. After all, it was a new topic... "Well, aren't sulfur and mercury elements on the periodic table... and salt... isn't that a compound made of two elements on the periodic table?" You know...like back from chemistry classes...

I'm LOST. Just throwing that out there. :P

Errr, ....WHAT?!

Schirmer had been such an easy professor. Well, maybe not easy, just definitely easy to follow. Since she'd gone and come back again, she'd gotten...well, a lot more detailed, one could say. Sierra found herself just staring and giving the occasional nod as she tried to decipher what the woman was saying.

...nope. She couldn't decipher, but she could guess. "Professor? Are those the components? Maybe, things that are prepared separately and then added together to get the...errr, desired result?" she asked. "Or...something." Pause. "I don't know," she finally said.

Umm...what? The little information that Jezzabelle knew did not extend into that territory and she was rather confused now. SO instead of trying to answer the question she jotted the notes down and waited for the Professor to continue and actually supply her with the needed answers. That way she'd have them for future reference.

SPOILER!!: Jezzabelle's Notes

SPOILER!!: PARTNERS

They all could have been speaking gobbledegook, and Isidora wouldn't have known the difference with all the big words that were thrown around. She knew the professor SAID it would be difficult, but really. REALLY.

This was more than difficult.

She had shrugged at Lily's question about which of her names she preferred. It didn't bother her really. For the other girl Ira she scribbled her name down and a YOUR NAME IS PRETTY on a scrap piece of parchment, and slid it over. But when the lesson really got started, she wasn't paying them any attention.

SHE COULDN'T.

Her small hand was moving as fast as it could to take down all the notes. There were also lists. Lists with words that already had definitions, and lists for words she'd have to look up later, and a special note find a book on Alchemy. AND how to pronounce all these big words.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz (Post 11056389)

[spoiler=answers and elaborations. There's like, actual informationz in here guys XD]

"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."

"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?"
[/COLOR][/INDENT]
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 :)

Nerida was right, yay her extra reading had done something for her, but the oddest thing was she couldnt remember what she was doing, or where she was or even what time of day it was actually she didnt even know what month it was... Odd maybe she should go talk to someone about that, later though, right now it was Alchemy time! She wrote down the notes, all of them... She thought cardinal principles, salt,sulfur and mecury.. Erm doesnt sulfur give flammability or combustion, um mercury gives volatility and stability, and salt gives solidity? And arent they part of the eight elements thing of Alchemy I think it used to be seven but it got changed somewhere...

SPOILER!!: Nerida's amazing notes

A bit for Anna/Sierra

Kennedy tried to keep up. He really did, but this was all just mind boggling. Although his brain was all confused his expression was that of a student paying the utmost attention. Alchemy was definitely out the window and off his list of possible careers.

He jotted down notes which consisted of what everyone was saying...well, the smart stuff he thought was smart stuff. His quill actually stopped when Sierra spoke. For the first time she didn't seem to know the answer. This reminded him of their conversation.

*smirk*...*smirk*

Hello, Prefect Greingoth.

Jory copied down the notes on the board then went over the question in his head. "I haven't got the faintest answer to the question,'' he thought wishing he'd read a bit more before he came to class.
So the Puff just listened to the others and trying to make sense of it all.

Yes she could see the looks of confusion some of them sported. What did they expect? There was a reason this was usually a subject only offered to NEWT level students, and only the very best of them at that. Good thing she was keeping it simple then, hmmm?

SPOILER!!: responses to those of you that answered/spoke/needed some kind of acknowledgement

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Marilyn (Post 11056392)

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.

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

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

More sense than he realised perhaps. Althea nodded encouragingly and even smiled as he continued. Yes.

"The Midas touch is also an example of chrysopoeia." Althea answered. "And many believe that in fact Midas was an Alchemist and the story of his golden touch is a metaphor for the Alchemical pursuit of chrysopoeia and that the moral lesson in his story was directed at those who were consumed with the lure of Gold, and with the desire to create it."

She responded to the rest of what the young Slytherin had said, deviating a little from the lesson plan in order to do so.

"Actually Astrology and Alchemy are interrelated in many ways. Each of the planets has an Alchemical sign, and is associated with a different metal. The Sun rules Gold, The Moon rules Silver, Mercury rules Mercury Venus rules Copper, Mars rules Iron, Jupiter rules Tin and Saturn rules Lead. Additionally, the zodiac signs are divided into something called Quadruplicities, which are Fixed, Mutable and Cardinal: which in turn reflects the Cardinal principles by nature, as I hope you'll see as we go on. Likewise the four elements which the zodiac signs fall under, are very relevant to Alchemy and symbols exist for those too, and each is related to an Alchemical process, which we'll talk about shortly."

She should probably add this to the board. Hmm. Or come back to it and address it for the whole class to consider. Yes, she'd do that.

"And as for the wine-making, that's good. Hopefully you'll see some more similarities and concepts which you can associate with more mundane pursuits." Though Althea would hardly call a good glass of wine mundane.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga (Post 11056397)

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.

Nod.

"Yes, they are Miss Wheatborn. With Salt as Sodium. Its useful to know their chemical properties."

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie (Post 11056406)

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?

The professor listened to Kurumi and nodded. "That's right, Miss Hollingberry."

Quote:

Originally Posted by natethegreat (Post 11056423)

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.

"Mr Jones, do not trial my patience. 5 points from Hufflepuff for talking in class and distracting others. You will not talk in this lesson unless it is to discuss the topic at hand or to ask me questions about the topic of Alchemy." Althea said sternly. Really. It was bad enough when people had done so in her Charms lesson. She was busier now and hadn't just come along for fun.

Much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow (Post 11056430)

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.

"That's right, it does. Its the connection to the fire element." Professor Schirmer answered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meizzner (Post 11056496)

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.

"Yes, very." The professor nodded at the Ravenclaw boy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen (Post 11056697)

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.

"Right, Mr.Vickers. Perhaps you can see the connection between Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt, and the Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable Quadruplicities found in Astrology? Those and the elemental representations of course. And yes, they are broken down and recombined as required, that is the essence of the Alchemical process." Just to confirm. Clearly this was a Ravenclaw who had done a bit of reading.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverDragon (Post 11056723)

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.

"Simplified but correct. Everything can be reduced to those three alchemical principles, all else is considered waste. The salt, the mercury, and the sulphur of any one substance is what the Alchemists use." Althea said.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaos.Doodles (Post 11056757)

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.

Teaching at Hogwarts wouldn't be complete without Dash Scabior invading her lesson at least once a term. And since this was the only lesson she was to teach this year, it wasn't such a surprise. And too she'd made sure he'd known about it, since after all much of what would be discussed was a particular portion of magical history. So that made sense and all. And she'd expected him to come.

But still... he should have come on time. At least he had the sense to be quiet when he came in. He wasn't going to sit down? Well he could suit himself, as long as he kept his mouth shut and didn't interrupt student learning.

Possibly, she returned his smile and continued on with addressing the student responses, without missing a beat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpfan18 (Post 11056771)

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.

"Yes that's right." Althea assured the girl.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DH Vixen (Post 11056787)

Thinking for a few moments, she raised her hand again. "Aren't those three cardinal principles considered the working units of the system. The holy trinity of the universe? Mercury, salt and sulphur. They all have primal alchemical properties and represent certain thing when talking about spagyric remedies. Mercury would be a water element, representing the life essence of a plant; the very alcohol extract of the plant-the carrier of life essence. Salt is the earth element, the vegetable salt from the plants body. Sulphur the fire element, the virtue of plant. The volatile oil essence of a plant." Lowering her hand, she bit her lip again. After speaking, she thought back about what she had said and frowned before raising her hand again. "When you think about each principle in relation to their alchemical properties, they really aren't just one element. Some think of them more of a harmony of two elements. Mercury is more a harmony of water and air. It's like a mediator of sorts and compared to being the spirit, an animating life force. Sulphur is harmony of the air and fire element. It's moveable and diffusive. Like the soul. And Salt, it's the harmony of water and earth. The body and the most dense and very complex." Lowering her hand, she blinked and looked back down slightly.

She had just rambled off what she could remember and only part of it made sense to her, but there really wasn't a completely wrong answer; right? She just hoped that she picked up on a glimpse of what was asked. This all was a bit confusing, but it was interesting all the same.

Althea nodded. "You're right and that is some good thinking. It sounds as if you have a strong understanding of this aspect of Alchemy already. Maybe you can help some of your classmates review afterward, if they are still having trouble grasping it."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88 (Post 11056931)

Then she sat back and tried to figure out what the cardinal principles were and what they meant. Her eyes basically crossed just thinking what they actually meant. Cardinal? 'It can't have anything to do with the Catholic Pope...or maybe it did...' Alyssa thought to herself.

So she opened up her textbook to see what she could find out about it. When she found what she was looking for she raised her hand and answered.

"Professor basically salt, mercury and sulfur are considered the alchemical trinity. Salt is the principle for fixity and in-combustibility, mercury is the principle of fusibility which is the ability to melt and flow, and volatility; and sulfur is the principle of inflammability."

"Salt is the earth element, representing the vegetable salts extracted from the ashes of a plant body, Mercury the water elements, representing the life essence of the plant, and Sulphur is the fire element, and virtue of plant. It represents the volatile oil essence of the plant."

Alyssa blinked. She actually understood what she was talking about.

That was good thinking, turning to a textbook. Althea nodded. "Yes thank you Miss Potter."

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty (Post 11057013)

Eh? Emmanuelle hadn't understood any of that. Maybe a good rereading of her notes later would make something click? She pondered this while scribbling down the writing that appeared on the board.

And then they moved on to topics that she did understand. Salt, sulphur, and mercury. "Well, salt is
mineral that is a result of a chemical reaction, sulphur is a result of fire, and mercury is a metal that is liquid at room temperature." One problem. She didn't know how to tie all that into alchemy. So, blushing a little, she left it at that.

"A good start." Althea answered. Knowing those things helped understand the more difficult concepts after all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermione Lily Potter (Post 11057185)

But thinking about the question...Salt..Sulfur..and Mercury. What did she know about all three. Raising her hand, Lily decided to take a wild guess. After all, it was a new topic... "Well, aren't sulfur and mercury elements on the periodic table... and salt... isn't that a compound made of two elements on the periodic table?" You know...like back from chemistry classes...

"You know a bit about chemistry I see." Althea nodded encouragingly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana (Post 11057375)

"In a way yes. Actually if you took.... say some sprigs of rosemary, you'd separate out the three components that represent the mercury, the sulfur and the salt, and then, having acquired the pure form of each of these, they are recombined as needed so that you have the the essential value of the rosemary sprigs, the most magical and medicinal part of the whole." So she wasn't wrong, and hopefully she'd leave with a more thorough understanding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luna_Midnight (Post 11057898)

Althea listened and nodding. "Yes they are, but the expansion to seven and then eight is related to Abu Mūsā Jābir ibn Hayyān, a Persian Alchemist often referred to as Geber. We'll touch on some famous historical Alchemists soon."

Althea addressed the class as a whole again, though she hoped they'd been paying some attention to what their classmates had been saying, and what she'd said in response too.

"In alchemical terms, all things are composed of three parts- Sulphur , Mercury, and Salt. The alchemist separates and recombines these three cardinal principles as often as necessary until they are in perfect proportion and harmony, and the raw material has been reduced to its purest essence."

The words appeared on the board as she spoke.

"Mercury is the principle of fusibility and volatility. It represents water element and the life force of the raw material." This went up on the board too.

Salt is the principle of fixity and incombustibility, it represents earth element and the physical body. Sulphur is the principle of flammability, it represents fire element and represents the soul or individualized essence of being."

She waited some to give a chance to copy the notes.

"Working with plants, or Spagyrics, is known as the Lesser Circulation, while pursuing Alchemical mastery of metals and minerals is called the Greater Circulation. The word 'Spagyrics' itself, comes from the Greek spao 'to tear open', and ageiro 'to collect'. It basically means 'separate and recombine'. Paracelsus first coined the term." Well and they were used to hearing about words that came from Greek, from incantations. Greek and...

"Another term is 'Solve et Coagula', which is Latin for 'dissolve and coagulate'. The meanings are clearly related." And they weren't stupid. No. They weren't.

It went up on the board.

"Mr. Montmorency brought up some good points and we'll touch on that now. There is a relationship between Alchemy and Astrology.The classical planets, those visible to the naked eye, provide a link between Alchemy and Astrology. These seven planets are linked to particular metals used in Alchemy. The Sun rules Gold, The Moon rules Silver, Mercury rules Mercury Venus rules Copper, Mars rules Iron, Jupiter rules Tin and Saturn rules Lead."

She'd add that to the board soon.

"The symbols for each of those planets appear in Alchemy too. I need a volunteer to hand out some worksheets please." Althea requested.

"Given what we've already discussed, and what you personally know, what other connections can you think of between Astrology and Alchemy? And, if anyone has any questions on the information presented so far, now is the time to ask."

OOC: Eeek that took longer than I intended to post 'cos you guys are awesome and all that. I'll take the FIRST person to volunteer to hand out the worksheets - not something that will earn points by the way, so don't fret if it isn't you.

If you can think of some other connections between Astrology and Alchemy, do share them with professor Schirmer. I'll continue the lesson properly as soon as I've judged enough people have responded, but I will be posting again to reply to the volunteer in the meantime.

The Astrology/Alchemy relationship stuff will be added to the notes after this round of answers! Have fun and can't wait to see more O_O faces and hear some interesting answers. ~~As usual if I missed you while writing this, I'll edit you in :)~~ edit in done :)

Uh....Questions? Like...could Professor Schirmer say that all again and pause after every sentence? Kurumi took down notes as carefully as she could, but there was just far too much to process right now and Kurumi settled for just jotting down a general outline of the points that had been addressed. All those specifics...yeah, she would just do like what some younger students were doing and read it in a textbook. For now, Kurumi would just rely on what she knew and what she was hearing...which was mostly just confusing her, but so be it.

Still, Kurumi DID perk up a little bit when Professor Schrimer acknowledge her answer and used that glorious word 'right' when addressing her. Made her not feel AS subconscious about all this as she really was.

"I can help, professor," Kurumi said as she raised her hand. Because her questions, yeah, she would just get a stern look for asking the woman to repeat everything.

SPOILER!!: Professor Lady

[INDENT]Yes she could see the looks of confusion some of them sported. What did they expect? There was a reason this was usually a subject only offered to NEWT level students, and only the very best of them at that. Good thing she was keeping it simple then, hmmm?

More sense than he realised perhaps. Althea nodded encouragingly and even smiled as he continued. Yes.

"The Midas touch is also an example of chrysopoeia." Althea answered. "And many believe that in fact Midas was an Alchemist and the story of his golden touch is a metaphor for the Alchemical pursuit of chrysopoeia and that the moral lesson in his story was directed at those who were consumed with the lure of Gold, and with the desire to create it."

She responded to the rest of what the young Slytherin had said, deviating a little from the lesson plan in order to do so.

"Actually Astrology and Alchemy are interrelated in many ways. Each of the planets has an Alchemical sign, and is associated with a different metal. The Sun rules Gold, The Moon rules Silver, Mercury rules Mercury Venus rules Copper, Mars rules Iron, Jupiter rules Tin and Saturn rules Lead. Additionally, the zodiac signs are divided into something called Quadruplicities, which are Fixed, Mutable and Cardinal: which in turn reflects the Cardinal principles by nature, as I hope you'll see as we go on. Likewise the four elements which the zodiac signs fall under, are very relevant to Alchemy and symbols exist for those too, and each is related to an Alchemical process, which we'll talk about shortly."

She should probably add this to the board. Hmm. Or come back to it and address it for the whole class to consider. Yes, she'd do that.

"And as for the wine-making, that's good. Hopefully you'll see some more similarities and concepts which you can associate with more mundane pursuits." Though Althea would hardly call a good glass of wine mundane.

Althea addressed the class as a whole again, though she hoped they'd been paying some attention to what their classmates had been saying, and what she'd said in response too.

"In alchemical terms, all things are composed of three parts- Sulphur , Mercury, and Salt. The alchemist separates and recombines these three cardinal principles as often as necessary until they are in perfect proportion and harmony, and the raw material has been reduced to its purest essence."

The words appeared on the board as she spoke.

"Mercury is the principle of fusibility and volatility. It represents water element and the life force of the raw material." This went up on the board too.

Salt is the principle of fixity and incombustibility, it represents earth element and the physical body. Sulphur is the principle of flammability, it represents fire element and represents the soul or individualized essence of being."

She waited some to give a chance to copy the notes.

"Working with plants, or Spagyrics, is known as the Lesser Circulation, while pursuing Alchemical mastery of metals and minerals is called the Greater Circulation. The word 'Spagyrics' itself, comes from the Greek spao 'to tear open', and ageiro 'to collect'. It basically means 'separate and recombine'. Paracelsus first coined the term." Well and they were used to hearing about words that came from Greek, from incantations. Greek and...

"Another term is 'Solve et Coagula', which is Latin for 'dissolve and coagulate'. The meanings are clearly related." And they weren't stupid. No. They weren't.

It went up on the board.

"Mr. Montmorency brought up some good points and we'll touch on that now. There is a relationship between Alchemy and Astrology.The classical planets, those visible to the naked eye, provide a link between Alchemy and Astrology. These seven planets are linked to particular metals used in Alchemy. The Sun rules Gold, The Moon rules Silver, Mercury rules Mercury Venus rules Copper, Mars rules Iron, Jupiter rules Tin and Saturn rules Lead."

She'd add that to the board soon.

"The symbols for each of those planets appear in Alchemy too. I need a volunteer to hand out some worksheets please." Althea requested.

"Given what we've already discussed, and what you personally know, what other connections can you think of between Astrology and Alchemy? And, if anyone has any questions on the information presented so far, now is the time to ask."

Absorbing everything the prudy lady was saying, Dylan nodded. It made sense for the most part...Jotting down the things she was explaining to him, his hand and quill flew over the notebook parchment. Due to the fastness of his writing, it wasn't coming out too legible...but enough so that he'd understand it later during study.

And...as a response..."The muggle story that I'm familiar with talked about King Midas turning his daughter to gold. I suppose that could relate back to it being a metaphor, showing these other alchemists that greed will only leave you empty...since Midas couldn't drink or eat properly, something else that leaves you empty...?" Perhaps she hadn't meant for him to be that literal.

Nodding his head...Dylan was surprised that his reasoning had been close to the mark. Feeling more than a little stunned, he blinked back at the Professor, adding these planet / metal comparisons to his notebook. "Erm..." *cough* "...So, I'm thinking this would be most true for Potion-making, yea?..." Maybe?..."I mean, I understand that for certain potions, they have to be brewed at certain times...Maybe brewing them during a particular month would give them different magical properties? Or maybe make them...stronger? as opposed to other months that might make them weaker?" That would relate to the Zodiac...Okay, he was going off on a tangent. He probably wasn't even on the right track of thinking...

Oh, and to reference another Professor..."...Talking about that plant alchemy, I know that some plants must be harvested during certain months to work right."

SPOILER!!: Dylan's Notebook

The Goals of the Alchemist

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

"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."
-- Professor Althea Schirmer

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.

The Cardinal Principles of Alchemy
The Alchemical trinity of principles.

"In alchemical terms, all things are composed of three parts- Sulphur , Mercury, and Salt. The alchemist separates and recombines these three cardinal principles as often as necessary until they are in perfect proportion and harmony, and the raw material has been reduced to its purest essence."
-- Professor Althea Schirmer

Mercury
- principle of fusibility and volatility
- represents water element
- represents the life force

Salt
- principle of fixity and in-combustibility
- represents earth element
- represents the physical body

Sulphur
- principle of flammability
- represents fire element
- represents the soul or individualized essence of being

The Alchemy / Astrology Relationship

Sun - Gold
Moon - Silver
Mercury - Mercury
Venus - Copper
Mars - Iron
Jupiter - Tin
Saturn - Lead

Lana nodded slightly and looked back down at her notes. She vaugely understood what she had said, but deep inside it kind of made sense to her. Reading it was one thing, completely understanding it was another. Kind of like the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Making a mental note to herself to pick up those books she had read before about Alchemy, she continued to add to her notes.

SPOILER!!: Lana's notes

Introduction to Alchemy
…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. - Professor Schirmer
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.

Solve et Coagula - 'Separate and Join Together' (or dissolve and coagulate')

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.

The Cardinal Principles of Alchemy
The Alchemical trinity of principles.
In alchemical terms all things are composed of three parts- Sulphur , Mercury, and Salt. The alchemist separates and recombines these three cardinal principles as often as necessary until they are in perfect proportion and harmony, and the raw material has been reduced to its purest essence.
Mercury
principle of fusibility and volatility

represents water element

represents the life force

Salt
principle of fixity and in-combustibility

represents earth element

represents the physical body

Sulphur
principle of flammability

represents fire element

represents the soul or individualized essence of being

Listening to the question, she thought for a moment and bit her lip in thought. She didn't really understand all that much about Astrology but she did kind of understand on what level it dealt on. "They both deal with different realms of the same thing, the movement and manifestation of spirit. One is more celestial, when the other is more sub-terrestrial." she offered with a raised hand. "The purpose of both alchemy and astrology is to purify and align the soul in order that the spirit can be wholly reflected."

Information just kept coming and coming, and Stella kept writing notes down as fast as she could. She was starting to worry that her hand would cramp up before she'd be able to stretch it out, but she wasn't about to miss anything that was mentioned in the lecture. It was information, and even if she wasn't planning on going into anything that would likely need knowledge of alchemy, she wasn't about to turn the knowledge down. Besides, it was interesting, even if it was extremely confusing. Plus, so far it didn't look like any interruptions were likely, which made her that much more comfortable just writing everything down.

She'd wanted to raise her hand to suggest why dissolution and coagulation were related, but the discussion had skipped over that for now and she tried to file that away for later. Her hand did raise when it came to the question of how Astrology could be connected to alchemy, though. "Perhaps certain alchemical processes work better when we're under the influence of the linked planets. For exapmle, is it possible the traditional idea of alchemy being able to turn lead into gold is easier when there's a convergence of the sun and Saturn?," she suggested. "If that convergence is even possible at all." And she found herself unable to not go back to the discussion of spagyrics and the Latin phrase that had been brought up as well. "Regarding the Greek and Latin, spagyrics would be relating to solids, plants as the case seems to be. Solve et Coagula would relate more to liquids, or what liquids can do to solids, but the actual translations basically are the same. Destruction and creation." Her hand went down quickly after that, though, worried that she'd get reprimanded for giving too much information that wasn't related to the current topic.

Zhenya had filled a LOT of parchment by the time Professor S started talking again. Everyone seemed to know so much about Alchemy, she started feeling even stupider. But, how was she supposed to know about Alchemy? Was she? Oh well.

She continued writing madly as the Professor spoke, and now she vaguely understood how Alchemy and Astrology linked together. Well, she was thinking it must be something like that. Elements of the planets with whatever elements Alchemists use. Was that right? She wasn't sure she FULLY understood it enough to be able to make strong connections, but she was learning to connect what the Professor was saying.

Anything else to add to the linking between Astrology and Alchemy, no not Zhenya. She was, however, still very interested in learning what other links were there. She was sure her classmates would be able to give plenty of examples, and she had her quill ready to scribe on her parchment for when they started talking. It was probably best she kept her mouth shut during this, but if she DID know anything as it came along she would definitely try and answer.

Michelle racked her brains, trying to remember everything she could about astrology and trying to relate it to alchemy. As far as she was concerned, astrology was weird and didn't interest her.

"Uh, Professor, perhaps it can be said that alchemy combines different kinds of studies, and astrology is one of them. Also, I think both are quite spiritual, and can be used for self-discovery and self-transformation..."

Chelle sat down, thoroughly embarrassed. She couldn't make head or tail of whatever she had said. If anyone else could, well and good. Otherwise she had just made a fool out of herself in front of everyone.

Ira just stared at Professor Schirmer and blinked. And blinked again. What was going on? Huh? Mercury... Salt... Lesser circulation.. greater circulation...Spagyrics?!?!?! Okay.. she knew what were mercury and salt, but how were they related to alchemy?

No idea what all these things were and what they meant. Ira's face was like a big white blank blackboard!

She had now completely tuned out everything said by the professor. Yawning a bit, but quickly covering her mouth hoping that professor hadn't noticed her, she began doodling. Yeah, doodling was much more better and fun.

And then remembered of notes. Yeah.. taking notes would be much better. So she started scribbling more information into her parchment, much opf which she couldn't even understand.

Text Cut: Ira's long notes...

There, she had written down everything.

So back to doodling for now.