Chapter 3: Famous Alchemists

Chapter 4

The advancements in the field of alchemy today would not have been possible without the contributions of brilliant alchemists throughout history. In this chapter, you will learn about these famous wizards and how their research has shaped our understanding today.

I. Zosimos of Panopolis

c. 300 AD, dates unknown, Byzantine Egypt

Panopolis, Egypt

Zosimos was one of the great pioneers of the art of alchemy. As an Egypt-born Greek, he learnt from both the Egyptian and Greek traditions of magical art. Integrating the insights he gained, his groundbreaking work led to the birth of the new magical discipline of alchemy. Many of the oldest alchemical texts are attributed to Zosimos, most of which were first translated into Arabic and kept in the Bait-al-Hikmah, or House of Wisdom (c. 8th to 13th century AD), the great repository of knowledge of the ancient Middle East. Wizards from around the world travelled to Bait-al-Hikmah in search of furthering their own magical knowledge, and they helped translate Zosimos’s work into many other languages.

In his texts, Zosimos gives an early definition of alchemy as 'the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying and disembodying, drawing the spirits from the bodies and bonding the spirits within the bodies'. He also posits that the origin of alchemical knowledge was the divine and even explains the origin of the name 'alchemy':

'The ancient and divine writings say that the angels became enamoured of women and descending, taught them all the works of nature. From them, therefore, is the first tradition, chema, concerning these arts; for they called this book chema and hence the science of chemistry (alchemy) takes its name'.

Zosimos strongly believed in the divine source of magical knowledge and was even recorded to have dreams in which he received insights and messages from a spiritual being named Ion. In some translations, Ion is a god. In others, he is a powerful supernatural being. Nevertheless, the inspiration he received from his dreams would translate into many pioneering alchemical works. His legacy was a great number of alchemists in Egypt and the Middle East who furthered his experiments and ultimately set up the Egyptian Centre for Alchemical Studies. The Centre for Alchemical Studies is the legacy of Zosimos’s genius and remains one of the world’s largest centres for alchemical academia until today.

II. Kanada (कणाद)

6^th century BC, dates unknown, Vedic Period

Gujarat, India

While most of the alchemical traditions of Europe ultimately stem from the work of Zosimos of Panopolis, the art of alchemy also independently developed in other Eastern civilisations. In ancient India, the wizard Kanada was a prominent alchemist who contributed to Rasavadam, a version of Indian alchemy.

The most significant of Kanada’s work concerned the nature of substances, which was pivotal in shaping the understanding of alchemy’s transformative processes. Kanada postulated that all substances are made of indivisible constituents, or anu, very much like the Greek idea of atoms. He argued that anu were indestructible and eternal and can be combined to form larger constituents (e.g. dvyanuka is two anu combined, tryanuka is three anu combined, and so on). Based on this concept of anu, he went on to say that alchemical transformations such as heating and distillation are simply the rearrangement of the combinations of anu. This fundamental concept was one of the great dogmas of Indian alchemy, which pushed Rasavadam into new areas of experimentation and discovery.

Kanada also believed that the world consists of five different elements, as opposed to the four classical Aristotelian elements. Kanada’s five elements were water, fire, earth, air, and aether. Aether was not only the material of the celestial but also that of intellect, time, and space. Kanada also postulated that there was a hierarchy of the elements: vegetables only consisted of water, insects of water and fire, birds of water, fire, earth, and air, and humans (as the most superior) of all five. Interestingly, while Kanada’s concept of anu was very well received, his hierarchy of five elements faced much resistance from fellow alchemists and was not adopted much in even Indian alchemical texts. The elements, or tattvas, were, however, integrated into many philosophical texts and played more important roles in magic beyond the scope of alchemy.

III. Dzou Yen (邹衍)

Alternatively transliterated as Zou Yan

305 BC – 240 BC, Zhou Dynasty

Qi (齐), Ancient China

Besides Byzantine Egypt and Vedic India, a third, independent discovery of alchemy took place in ancient China. Alchemist Dzou Yen was not only a pioneer of Chinese alchemy but also a legendary wizard of immense magical knowledge. He is credited to be possibly the first alchemist who succeeded in transmuting base metals into noble metals, a highly advanced process that was only surpassed by Nicolas Flamel’s great work at least a millennium later.

Dzou Yen’s alchemical skill was revered as being insurmountable, and his alchemical methods were difficult to reproduce. This was especially evident in the story of another Chinese alchemist, Lu Hsiang, who lived two hundred years later. Lu Hsiang was ordered by the Emperor to perform transmutation using Dzou Yen’s formulae. His efforts were unsuccessful. Although he even sought divine inspiration from the Chinese goddess of the stove, who reigned over cooking, medicine, and alchemy, Lu Hsiang ultimately failed and was unfortunately imprisoned.

Dzou Yen's work greatly contributed to Eastern alchemy and magical thought. Most notably, his writings systematically explore the five Chinese elements (or Wu Xing, which are metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) and their relationship to the opposing forces of yin and yang. Dzou Yen’s element-yinyang permutations formed the basis of the various Eastern alchemical processes that are still used today. This also laid the foundation for many other Chinese magical arts, including Chinese healing and geomancy.

IV. Nicolas Flamel

1327 AD – 1992 AD, Medieval and beyond

Paris, France

Probably the most famous alchemist throughout all history is Nicolas Flamel. He is perhaps the only known maker of the legendary Philosopher’s Stone (or Lapis Philosophorum), and his secrets of making the Stone have been extremely well guarded. Nevertheless, his other less secretive alchemical works have vastly changed the theoretical and experimental approaches of the discipline. His creation of the Philosopher’s Stone has also since been regarded as the gold standard (quite literally) of alchemical experiments.

Nicolas Flamel received his early magical education at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, where he first met Perenelle, who would later become his wife and frequent collaborator in alchemy. But it was only a few decades after his graduation that he finally succeeded in his great work. Reportedly, Flamel first transmuted silver in 1382 and then gold. This was achieved by first creating the Philosopher’s Stone. Applying the principles of physical transmutation into spiritual transformation, Flamel was subsequently able to use the stone to create the elixir of life, which when imbibed prolongs the drinker’s life. It was the elixir of life that allowed Nicolas and his wife to live up to the ages of 665 and 658, respectively. Flamel’s elixir did not prolong life indefinitely, and regular consumption was required to achieve what we understand as immortality.

Another frequent collaborator of Flamel’s was the great Albus Dumbledore, who was also a gifted alchemist. Their collaborations furthered the field of alchemy in many ways, and it was during their collaboration that Dumbledore was able to discover the twelve uses of dragon’s blood. (Two more interesting uses of the substance are as an oven cleaner and a spot remover.) Somewhat ironically, it was reported that the Philosopher’s Stone was destroyed by Dumbledore himself (with Flamel’s consent), which led to Nicolas and Perenelle's deaths in 1992.

V. Paracelsus

Born Philip von Hohenheim

Later adopted Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim

1493 AD – 1541 AD, Renaissance

Early modern Europe

Almost two centuries after Flamel’s birth, yet another brilliant alchemist by the name of Philip von Hohenheim was born in Switzerland. He is, however, better known by his adopted name, Paracelsus, a much shorter name than his previous one, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus. Paracelsus was responsible for discovering and applying the medical and curative properties of alchemy. His advancements also led to the improvement of Renaissance healing magic. It is said that many wizards would go to Paracelsus not only to heal the body but also to balance the spiritual aspect. Paracelsus’s insights on the relationship between alchemy, body, and spirit were groundbreaking ideas and set the foundations for modern alchemy, which involves both spiritual and physical transmutation.

One of Paracelsus's most notable works on alchemy is the Harmony of Elements and Organs, which discusses the human body. This work is often summarised into a chart that relates important body organs to the seven main celestial bodies and the seven planetary metals.

Paracelsus was also a widely travelled man and never stayed in the same country for more than a few years. This helped him to learn from many different wizards and witches, which led to his many insights and discoveries. It is also believed that he came close to creating an alchemical substance called alkahest, a discovery that would rival Flamel’s Stone. It is unknown if Paracelsus was successful; if he was, he would have created the universal solvent, a substance that dissolves any matter.

Paracelsus was also a man of many talents. Besides being a prominent alchemist and Healer, he also contributed to the field of magical philosophy, understanding of the balance of the mind (or what Muggles call psychotherapy) and the field of potions (specifically poisons). More interestingly, he discovered Parseltongue (perhaps in large part due to his Slytherin ancestry) and gave the metal zinc its name.