It's not very wordy, but books like this primarily serve an aesthetic purpose as well as acting as a springboard for further research. This fine little book is an absolute treasure trove of esoteric imagery, complete with accompanying quotes and attributions. My review is of the Bibliotheca Universalis edition that has 500-and-something pages. Otherwise, I'd suggest some preliminary reading before approaching this. If you are well read in mysticism and the history of alchemy, this is the book for you.
We chemical engineers share a common ancestor with phrenologists and palmists - not a very edifying thought! It is interesting to note that mystical ideas about the interconnectedness of mythology, physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and art gave birth to such an unimaginative science. They can only enjoy the beauty of the images, and get some sort of rudimentary understanding, which itself is rewarding enough.Īlchemy is the ancestor of my profession - Chemical Engineering. Those without knowledge of the development of mystical thought and alchemy would not be able to enjoy the wealth of information this book provides. Alexander Roob does not provide a sequential narrative. This is not a book for the beginner (which I am). In the 18th century scientists tried to pry loose the real achievements in chemistry, pharmacology and medicine from this confusing cornucopia of science and magic.This is a magnificent compendium of alchemical symbols and the mystic thought behind them. Charlatans, quacks and cheats took over and alchemy became, along with sorcery and witchcraft, infamous for fraud and extortion.
Then in the centuries of medieval persecution and suppression every alchemist invented his own secret symbols. In the early days of alchemy, the astronomical signs of the planets were also used as alchemical symbols. Gold was the purest of all and silver followed closely. To the medieval alchemist's mind the different elements were but the same original substance in varying degrees of purity. Simplified, the aims of the alchemists were threefold: to find the Stone of Knowledge (The Philosophers' Stone), to discover the medium of Eternal Youth and Health, and to discover the transmutation of metals. Esoterically and hieroglyphically, the word refers to the dark mystery of the primordial or First Matter (the Khem). The Arabic root "kimia" comes from the Coptic "khem" that alluded to the fertile black soil of the Nile delta. The word is derived from the Arabian phrase "al-kimia," which refers to the preparation of the Stone or Elixir by the Egyptians. The art of alchemy was handed down through the centuries from Egypt and Arabia to Greece and Rome, and finally to western and central Europe.
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