From Magic to Science: The Intriguing Ritual and Powerful Work of Alchemy (2024)

Throughout time, history has recorded numerous rituals and magic practices, some more bizarre than others. While alchemists were preoccupied with finding the Philosopher's Stone and the elixir of immortality, some magicians experimented with methods of revealing hidden treasures. It is said that at the great library of Alexandria many experiments, studies, and rituals were conducted, some of which were believed to have resulted in the creation of fantastic creatures like the Sphinx.

A Multitude of Magic Rituals

Magic rituals are not a mere myth. They really existed, and unlike ceremonial rituals that were practiced simply for their symbolic value, magic rituals had a double role: a symbolic one, but also one aimed at inducing a certain result, an intended and desirable change.

Historical evidence of the existence and practice of magic rituals is spread all over the world, from compendiums that gather between their covers numerous magic rituals, practices, and techniques, up to historical texts that describe such practices in context, including inscriptions, temples, sanctuaries and special tools meant to be used for such purposes. Thus, throughout time, a separate branch of archeology has been developed which deals with the discovery, the research and the interpretation of such items.

From Celts to African tribes, from the legendary inhabitants of Atlantis to the ancient Egyptians, from the witches of Europe to the Yin-Yang masters of China and Japan, from alchemists preoccupied with transforming common metal into pure gold to Voodoo priests, from necromancers to the Mayan and Aztec high priests; They all used magic rituals in their desire to obtain certain benefits in order to facilitate daily life.

Person holding an ancient grimoire—a textbook of magic. (Source)

The Great Work and Immortality

The Magnum Opus or the Great Work was the alchemical process meant to create the Philosopher's Stone, the primordial substance represented symbolically in the form of an egg in which resided the answers to all questions, and by which it was believed common metal could be transformed into gold.

By submitting the Stone to certain special procedures, one could obtain the elixir of long life that supposedly made the drinker immortal. Many European, Arab and Chinese alchemists claimed to have discovered it and in Asia, particularly in China, numerous emperors requested that the elixir be brought to them so that they could reign over their kingdoms forever. However, when the elixir was brought to them and they drank it, they dropped dead immediately, the dream of eternal life bringing them nothing but death.

• Mystical Science of Alchemy Arose Independently in Ancient Egypt, China, India
• Abracadabra! The power of spells against the forces of evil
• John Dee: Scholar, Astrologer, and Occult Practitioner that Captivated the Royal Court of 16th Century England

In the Hermetic tradition, the Great Work also referred to the symbolic transmutation through which an individual could evolve spiritually. Still, alchemists regarded the Great Work as a physical and a chemical process resulting from a balanced combination of magic and science.

Page from alchemic treatise, 16 ^th century. (Public Domain)

Initially, the process was linked to four colors that represented the specific transformations resulting during each phase. Nigredo, a blackening, characterized the first phase. The second phase involved albedo, a whitening. The third phase was represented by citrinitas, a yellowing while the last phase involved rubedo, a reddening.

Alchemy and the Great Work were not reserved solely for men. The gnostic writer Zosimos of Panopolis mentions in his works the first historically attested alchemist, a woman known as Mary the Jewess (or Miriam the Propetess). It is said that she was well aware of the four transformations characterized by the fundamental alchemical colors.

How to Live Forever in Four Colors and 12 Stages

The four colors were obtained as a result of certain processes that needed to be implemented. Numerous texts, such as the "Tabula Smaragdina" or the "Mutus Liber", describe these processes the number of which varies between seven and 14, and they offer encoded recipes that can lead to obtaining the Philosopher's Stone.

According to English alchemist Sir George Ripley, the 12 key stages of the Great Work are as follows: calcination, dissolution, separation, conjunction, putrefaction, congelation, cibation, sublimation, fermentation, exaltation, multiplication and projection. Still, the method of obtaining the Philosopher's Stone is not a standard one, as it varied from alchemist to alchemist.

Philosopher's stone as pictured inAtalanta FugiensEmblem 21. (Public Domain)

Throughout history, there have been many alchemists who claimed to have found the Philosopher's Stone, the most important of them being Nicolas Flammel and the Count of Saint-Germain. Flammel had bought at a very cheap price a book written by an Arab alchemist. With the help of an initiate, he managed to decipher the secret of the illustrations from the book and used them for inspiration in the completion the Great Work. It is said that the alchemist is still alive and that he continues his experiments in a secret laboratory. Regardless of whether they discovered the Philosopher's Stone or not, many of the physical, chemical and medical discoveries which are still highly useful today have been made by alchemists.

An alchemicalbalneum Mariae, or Maria’s bath (named for the inventor, alchemist Mary the Jewess), essentially adouble boiler. 1528. (Public Domain)

Clavicula Salomonis – A Multitude of Invocations and Conjurations

Legend has it that King Solomon had managed to submit to his will angels, demons, and jinn to which he then gave various tasks, from the construction of his temple to the protection of his famous diamond and gold mines. The notorious king was said to be able to do all of this with the help of a legendary book remembered over time as the "Clavicula Salomonis", the "Key of Solomon". This book was a collection of rituals, invocations and conjurations by which an initiate could invoke any spirit and submit it to his will.

One of thepentaclesfound in theKey of Solomonmanuscripts. This one is identified as "The Great Pentacle" and appears in Bodleian Library Michael MS. 276, a 17th-century Italian manuscript. The caption reads: “This is the general pentacle, called the Great (or Grand) PentacleIt should be written on sheepskin paper or virgin parchment, the which paper should be tinted green. The circle with the 72 divine letters should be red or the letters may be gold. The letters within the pentacle should be the same red, or sky blue everywhere, with the great name of God in gold. It serves to convene all spirits; when shown to them they will bow and obey you.”(Public Domain)

It was said that, at King Solomon’s court, humans, angels, demons, and jinn were all gathered, organized by positions and ranks. Each had his own role and tasks to fulfill and, if one made a mistake, he had to explain himself to the king. Even the book "One Thousand and One Nights" speaks about the punishment of a jinn who upset the king and who, with the help of magic formulas contained in the book, was imprisoned in a bottle and thrown into the sea.

• Homunculus: The Alchemical Creation of Little People with Great Powers
• Picatrix: The Ancient Arabian Book of Astrology and Occult Magic
• Archaeologists recreate Elixir of Long Life recipe from unearthed bottle

Powerful and Wise King Solomon

According to Rabbinic literature, Solomon had received the right to command both spirits and animals as a result of his modesty, as he prayed only for wisdom instead of material wealth. Thus, the kingdom prospered and demons brought precious gemstones on a regular basis which increased its wealth and glory. Apart from the magic book, Solomon was also the owner of a magic ring known as the "Seal of Solomon". This gave him power over demons and, with the help of this ring, the king was thought able to capture Asmodeus himself, the king of demons, and make him obey his will. The ring is also known as the "Ring of Aandaleeb" and those who have tried to get their hands on it through various means have not been few.

The rich and powerful King Solomon with the Queen of Sheba, oil on canvas painting by Edward Poynter, 1890 (public domain)

According to legend, the temple of Solomon was built by angels and demons, with the stones used in the construction carved by a Shamir—a worm that could cut through stone brought from Heaven on Solomon’s command. Solomon also submitted the two-chained demons to his will, Uzza and Azzazel and forced them to reveal all the secrets he wanted to know. For "educational" purposes, Solomon ordered demons to take some of his friends, including Hiram, on one day trips to Hell.

Thus, one can clearly observe how, throughout history, science has blended with magic, objective research has befriended magic rituals, state politics went hand in hand with invocations and conjurations designed to obtain the service of spirits, all working together in order to help man achieve his goals. Even though the Philosopher's Stone and the elixir of immortality have not yet been discovered, even though the fabulous work “Clavicula Salomonis” has been lost in the mists of time, even though alchemical techniques have been forgotten, all these things have brought along with them new discoveries which still offer benefits up to this day.

Featured image: “The Alchymist, in Search of the Philosopher's Stone” by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1771. (Public Domain)

By: Valda Roric