Alchemical symbol

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Alchemic symbols in Torbern Bergman's 1775 Dissertation on Elective Affinities.

Alchemic symbols, originally devised as part of the protoscience of alchemy, were used to denote some elements and some compounds until the 18th century. Note that while notation like this was mostly standardized, style and symbol varied between alchemists, so this page lists the most common.

1 Three Primes
2 Four basic Elements
3 Seven Planetary Metals
4 Mundane Elements
5 Alchemical Compounds
6 12 Core Alchemical processes
7 External links

[edit] Three Primes

According to Paracelsus, the Three Primes or Tria Prima are:

Sulfur (omnipresent spirit of life) Image:Sulphur.svg
Mercury (fluid connection between the High and the Low) Image:Mercury symbol.svg
Salt (base matter) Image:Line within circle.png

[edit] Four basic Elements

[edit] Seven Planetary Metals

Main articles: Classical planets in Western alchemy and Planets in astrology

Image:Astrological Glyphs.svg

Astrological symbols/glyphs representing the Sun, Moon, Pluto and planets, along with the Earth, in Western astrology.

Planetary metals were "dominated" or "ruled" by one of the seven planets known by the ancients. Although they occasionally have a symbol of their own (denoted by also:), they were usually symbolized by the planet's symbol. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were not yet discovered while Alchemy was commonly practiced, though many modern alchemists consider them representative of Uranium, Neptunium and Plutonium, respectively.

Gold dominated by Sol ☉ ☼ ( Image:Sun symbol.svg )
Silver dominated by Luna ☽ ( Image:Crescent.svg )
Copper dominated by Venus ♀ (also: Image:Copper symbol.svg )
Iron dominated by Mars ♂ ( Image:Mars symbol.svg )
Tin dominated by Jupiter ♃ ( Image:Jupiter symbol.svg )
Mercury (Quicksilver) dominated by Mercury ☿ ( Image:Mercury symbol.svg )
Lead dominated by Saturn ♄ ( Image:Saturn symbol.svg )

[edit] Mundane Elements

Image:Squaredcircle.svg

"Squaring the Circle": an alchemical glyph (17th c.) of the creation of the Philosopher's Stone.

[edit] Alchemical Compounds

Sal ammoniac *
Aqua Fortis A.F.
Aqua Regia A.R.
Spirit of Wine S.V.
Amalgama
Cinnabar (Mercury sulfide) Image:Cinnabar Symbol.svg
Vitriol

Image:Alchemytable.jpg

A table of alchemical symbols from Basil Valentine’s The Last Will and Testament, 1670 ce.

[edit] 12 Core Alchemical processes

The 12 Alchemical processes are considered to be the basis of modern Chemical processes. Each of these processes is "dominated" or "ruled" by one of the 12 Zodiac signs.