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	This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on January 1, 2005.
Article milestones Date Process Result January 19, 2004 Refreshing brilliant prose Not kept November 12, 2004 Peer review Reviewed November 28, 2004 Featured article candidate Promoted July 14, 2007 Featured article review Demoted Current Status: Former featured article

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Contents 1 Link for symbols 2 "A Twenty-First Century Look:" Original Research? 3 New changes 4 Father of Chemistry? 5 Greek origin for alchemy 6 In fiction... 7 major changes? 8 New External Link 9 RE:"Alchemy as a philosophical and spiritual discipline" 10 Alchemy's transmutation into chemistry 11 Nuclear Transmutation is not Alchemy.

[edit] Link for symbols

Here is a link for symbols of the elements. I think it would be a good add. Its a .org so I don't think it should be a problem. http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visualelements/pages/alchemist/alchemy.html --男らしい冬 03:02, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] "A Twenty-First Century Look:" Original Research?

The section "A Twenty-First Century Look" seems like it might be original research (see WP:OR) to me. It has no sources, and talks about how alchemical ideas "can be" interpreted. It doesn't say whose (person, group, or work) interpretation it is. If it is only the writer's interpretation then it doesn't belong in Wikipedia. If it's some interpretation that's out there, then its existence and currency should be attested to by some reliable source (see WP:RS). (Note: For reference, this is the edit which added the section.) -- Why Not A Duck 07:19, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

[edit] New changes

I have edited the page somewhat, deleted the pointless reference to Baron Reichenbach, and expanded some of the text to explain what was otherwise hidden. I shall add more once I work out how to do references, since the references on here are pretty poor quality. Calcinations (talk) 20:10, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Any chance someone can do something about the horrendous paragraph on modern usage by Chinese medicine practitioners? It's terribly written and completely biased. 86.153.102.65 (talk) 21:49, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Father of Chemistry?

The Etymology section suggests Robert_Boyle as the father of chemistry. However, when I studied chemistry I learned that Antoine_Lavoisier is the father of chemistry. Kageskull (talk) 19:28, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

I concur it would deserve correction. --Xyzt1234 (talk) 20:56, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Greek origin for alchemy

Mentioned here: [1] Faro0485 (talk) 00:43, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Actual Alchemy, the type we all know (trying to turn metals into gold), had actually more to do with Muslim chemists. The notion that it came from either Egypt, Alexandria, Greece, India or China has little to no basis (although Renaissane Alchemists would swear on their mothers that it came from either of those places). While It's true that all of these cultures practiced a sort of Alchemy, in reality they all just practiced a proto-science, based on first hand observations in a time were adequate instruments were lacking (such as telescopes or microscopes). To say it was "Alchemy" is to push it a little too thin there. Also, not because it originated with muslim chemists it means it came from "Persia" (Persia in what point of time exactly?).--99.192.73.64 (talk) 17:38, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Someone needs to either make a decision as to where the term 'alchemy' originated or to remove the 'arose from the Persion Empire' from the second paragraph. The first paragraph under the 'history' of alchemy states that it is from ancient Egypt. Although, the Egyptians probably were more interested in the spiritual aspect than the chemical. So someone needs to clear this up or not have such a definitive statement in the second paragraph. It is misleading. V. Warren —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.235.225.179 (talk) 22:23, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

I'm a bit mixed up here. Are we talking about the origin of alchemy, or the origin of the word "alchemy"?

On the other hand, the egyptians were very interested in the spiritual aspect, but also had lots of technology to go with it, see the Leyden Papyrus X, for instance; although that could be more "ancient chemistry" than alchemy. --Xyzt1234 (talk) 20:23, 21 October 2009 (UTC)

[edit] In fiction...

It might be good to mention The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson in the "Modern connections" section. The series deals heavily with alchemists (especially Isaac Newton) and their search for elicit substances. Also, are there any recent works that discuss how human stem cells are treated in the popular press in a manner reminiscent of the panacea? SharkD (talk) 08:22, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

[edit] major changes?

A few months back (possible close to a year ago) I was reading this article, back then the page refered to alchemy as the ancient study of various sciences, now the page states that alchemy is a philosophy and practice of achieving wisdom and immortality? I'm confused, I have always interpreted alchemy to be the ancient study of science combined with various magical and spiritual such things(due to widespread belief of such things in ancient times) but the apparently major changes that have occured since I've last been on here are confusing to say the least, can anyone inform me as to what has occured and why the article has changed so much, thanks (72.60.191.238 (talk) 15:05, 3 July 2009 (UTC))

Yes, the focus has been greatly lost, now it's focused more in Esoterica rather than in reliable sources. To put it bluntly, there's more evidence pointing to Alchemy as the proto-science that tried to turn common metals to gold than there is to this notion that Alchemy was "wisdom" or "philosophy".--99.192.73.64 (talk) 17:29, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Do you happen to have a source for that statement? Because most research I've read on the topic suggests that the mystical aspects of alchemy are in fact present in even the earliest texts, and form the basis rather then a later interpretation of or addition to the alchemical tradition. See especially the articles on early chinese and greek alchemy in Debus' 'Alchemy and early modern chemistry: papers from ambix'; in both cases it is argued that the mystical aspects are in fact present in even the earliest traditions, although in the case of greek alchemy the mystical and physical aspects tend to be more rigidly divided then in chinese alchemy. Concluding that alchemy is foremost a pseudo-science seems to me to go far beyond the scant evidence that we have; it is an expression of modern bias rather then actual research. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.50.0.86 (talk) 13:20, 27 August 2009 (UTC)

It must be remembered that Alchemy is a pre-cartesian activity and divisions like Philosophical, Mystical and Scientific are almost meaningless.--Alchemist Jack (talk) 21:38, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

I concur with the above. Alchemy never pretended to be science or proto-science - when alchemy began there was no such thing as science, just technologies, recipes to achieve this and that, passed from master to apprentice and kept in secret. Considering it an "ancient study of science" or a pseudo-science is, at least, weird and self-contradictory. Alchemists called themselves philosophers, and although the term might loosely mean "one who studied bodies of knowledge before science (the scientific method) existed", they were always quite careful in stating that even their metals had little to do with the common metals -- they were more interested in the metal's souls than the metal's dead bodies (the common metal). Yet this is a difficult matter to present, due to alchemy's double nature, a practical manipulative one and a meditative one. It's not a "either-or" situation. Both attitudes, the technology and the wisdom, occured at least since Zosimos; although Marie-Louise von Franz states that it occurred long before him, as the practical execution of the technologies would be accompanied by religious chants (Egypt mummies) or the melting of ores done at an astrologically selected time. It's as if you selected an appropriate day and put up a ceremony to change your engine's oil or do a PET scan. --Xyzt1234 (talk) 11:39, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Fulcanelli made a strong distinction, in Dwellings of the Philosophers, between alchemy, with its double nature, and archemy, consisting of primitive chemical and metalurgical manipulations for strictly pragmatic purposes. No accompanying philosophy, no alchemy.--Xyzt1234 (talk) 21:06, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

[edit] New External Link

I would like to add a new external link to the page. The Beinecke Library at Yale University had a great exhibition on alchemy a while back. The exhibition is available online now. BOOK OF SECRETS: ALCHEMY AND THE EUROPEAN IMAGINATION 1500-2000 Selahobadiah (talk) 16:01, 9 July 2009 (UTC)Selahobadiah

[edit] RE:"Alchemy as a philosophical and spiritual discipline"

The third paragraph of this section inappropriately seems to focus on alchemy in a medieval context, and very negative connotations ring through.......

"It is a popular belief that Alchemists made mundane contributions to the "chemical" industries of the day.......In reality...... they did little for any known industry. Goldsmiths knew long before Alchemists appeared how to tell what was good gold or fake, and industrial technology grew by the work of the artisans themselves, rather than any Alchemical helpers."

"Mundane contributions"????? "Little for any known industry"???? "Alchemical Helpers"??????

...should we not remind the readers that "any known industry" and every "known industry" was founded from prior "alchemical" endeavours, and "the artisans" were more often than not the "Alchemical helpers". (i don't believe there was any considerable amount of contribution to any known industries within this period(dark ages) by "artisans" either"..in fact the next major advances occurred within the "age of enlightenment" and the pivotal contributors were known alchemists...

Presents as a bitter attack on fraudulent alchemist within medieval Europe... certainly does not offer a perspective on "Alchemy as a philosophical and spiritual discipline"

May this not find a better place under HISTORY or a new subheading........If there are no interjections i will visit the page and edit it in the near future... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Catalystman (talk • contribs) 13:25, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Alchemy's transmutation into chemistry

"During the seventeenth century the change of name from Alchemy to chemistry took place"

This is incorrect. Alchemy didn't transmutate into Chemistry. It gave birth to Chemistry in the 17th century and just kept on as it was.

I'll rephrase this when possible. If I remember to. --Xyzt1234 (talk) 20:54, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Nuclear Transmutation is not Alchemy.

The Nuclear Transmutation section seemed to have nothing whatsoever to do with alchemy, and I decided to be bold in fixing it, and remove the section. However, someone named momofusan reverted my edit and said I need to get consensus here. I disagree that something this obvious needs discussed at all, especially with that whole thing about "being bold" to improve articles, but undoing his undo would be an edit war, which is bad, so here I am. So, "Get consensus" about fixing it so work can finally get done. So inefficient... 63.3.9.129 (talk) 04:11, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Both are about changing one element to another. Nuclear Transmutation is how one of the mundane stated goals of alchemy can be achieved with SCIENCE! It is relevant for that reason. Ian.thomson (talk) 04:13, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

I don't get it. It took place 200 years after real chemistry was invented. EDIT: Oh, I see what you mean. In that case, it needs rewritten to say that specifically, instead of looking out of place. The section needs to clearly explain that nuclear transmutation takes the place of alchemy or whatever. I didn't get it, and the reason I didn't get it was because it was not written as it should have been. It doesn't need removed, as I thought, but it does need fixed.63.3.9.129 (talk) 04:15, 1 January 2010 (UTC)