Egyptain Alchemy

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Egyptian Alchemy
by Michael Poe

There are some definite misconceptions expressed on Alchemy. Alchemy is not about transmuting lead into gold, does not involve using electricity, and is not part of tantric. Alchemy is a spiritual experience that is a combination of two things, the transmutation of the workers spirit with the transmutation of physical substances; which creates the Elixir of Life. While in the broad sense that Alchemy is a transmutation.

The source of the word "alchemy" has had a lot of discussion among alchemical writers and alchemists. The most agreed upon definition of the term Alchemy is this: "Al" an arab word meaning THE and "Khemia" meaning Egypt, which comes from the ancient Egyptian word for Egypt meaning "black land" thus: "The Black Land".

The physical and metaphysical process has always been described in allegories, hence the confusion of work with metals. Gold of a Thousand Mornings is a non-fiction book describing alchemy by a man and wife team in France. It dwells on both the spiritual and physical aspects and describes the work that they did. An Alchemists Handbook has a brief description of the meaning and the "Great Work describes in great detail how to do the physical work.

In order for alchemy to work, you need to do both at the same time as you need self transformation to work in order for the physical transformation to work. The chemical side of work delves mainly into herbs, and if you use herbs in your regular work, then you will have real use with alchemy.

In the chemical aspect, the herb's essence is extracted (the gold from the dross), as well as yourself (your essence is purified). To do so, you usually need chemical glassware such as a condenser, or soylent extractor. This is a typical operation when making perfume from flowers or making an herbal extraction. The main difference is that the extraction takes place with a magical bent to it. Rituals are done during the extraction process, timing is essential (astrological, lunar, and solar, and seasonal timing) .

One of the aspects in alchemy is to gather certain herbs, minerals to produce an elixir that will extend life. Before ingesting it, an alchemist would sometimes test it by adding a pinch of it to lead, and if it turned into gold, then the elixir is finished and can be used. However, turning lead into gold was never the end product for the work, but merely a test. Other useful herbal/concoctions can be made without achieving the 'Elixir of Life.'