The Philosopher's Stone

A Study in Stellar Alchemy

Of all the alchemists known, the greatest are not human. (University of Bristol School of Chemistry)

Alchemy (or in modern terms, chemistry) is the study of matter’s properties and how substances combine to form other substances. The art was born in ancient Egypt, and has continued on and advanced for centuries. In ancient times, the Greeks viewed matter as the four elements of nature - fire, earth, air and water. They merged this philosophy with Egypt’s sacred science, resulting in “Khemia”, the Greek word for Egypt. This was during the time of 332 BCE.

In the seventh century, Egypt was occupied with the Arab people. The Arabs added “al-” to the word Khemia, which translated to ‘the Black Land’ and is seen as a possible origin for the word alchemy. Alchemy was developed also in China and India. Both of their unique methods toward chemistry involved purifying the body, and prolonging life. In the 8th century, alchemy traveled to the west when the Arabs brought it to Spain. After that, the rest of Europe knew of the art.

Eventually, during the time of the Magnum Opus (“Great Work”), the thought came that you could turn base metals such as mercury into gold or silver, through the use of a legendary alchemical substance known as “the philosopher’s stone”. Mention of this stone can be found as far back as c. 300 AD, and some alchemical writers claim it was Adam himself who was told of the stone directly from God. There is, in fact, an essence of spirituality and religion within the philosopher’s stone. The English philosopher Sir Thomas Browne identified this religious aspect in his quote,

The smattering I have of the Philosophers stone, (which is something more than the perfect exaltation of gold) hath taught me a great deale of Divinity.” (R.M.Part 1:38)

Over time, the philosopher’s stone became more than just turning base metal into gold and silver. It became a spirituality; something internal and external, like a star. It’s evolved into a very deep and meaningful spiritual practice, in some cultures and beliefs of the world.

Alchemy itself is sometimes referred to as the Hermetic Art, after Hermes the messenger of Greek gods, and in Hermetic tradition there is a most revered tablet known as “the Emerald Tablet”, said to have been written by the god himself.

The tablet reads,

Truly, without Deceit, certainly and absolutely -

That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, in the accomplishment of the Miracle of One Thing. And just as all things have come from One, through the Mediation of One, so all things follow from this One Thing in the same way.

Its Father is the Sun. Its Mother is the Moon. The Wind has carried it in his Belly. Its Nourishment is the Earth. It is the Father of every completed Thing in the whole World. Its Strength is intact if it is turned towards the Earth. Separate the Earth by Fire: the fine from the gross, gently, and with great skill.

It rises from Earth to Heaven, and then it descends again to the Earth, and receives Power from Above and from Below. Thus you will have the Glory of the whole World. All Obscurity will be clear to you. This is the strong Power of all Power because it overcomes everything fine and penetrates everything solid.

In this way was the World created. From this there will be amazing Applications, because this is the Pattern.

Therefore am I called Thrice Greatest Hermes, having the three parts of the Wisdom of the whole World.

Herein have I completely explained the Operation of the Sun.

The philosopher’s stone is also linked with the elixir of life, a medicinal or magical potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. It was said to cure all diseases, and alchemists from all over the world sought forming and perfecting the elixir. Featured below is the White Hair from East Asian mythology, making the elixir of life on the moon.

After the years of the Magnum Opus had passed, the general society disregarded the legend of the philosopher’s stone. It is simply not possible for such a thing to exist, and we have stopped our soughting for it. Historic figures such as Nicolas Flamel, a french scribe believed to have achieved immortality and discovered the stone, or Sir Isaac Newton and his said recipe for the stone - are seen as tricksters, or misguided questers.

However, if the greatest alchemists known could speak, they would tell us that the elemental transfusion of base metals into gold - is quite simple.

It is the stars of which have completely mastered the concept of elemental transmutations, capable of producing all elements in the universe from hydrogen. When a star is born, it is composed of mainly hydrogen and helium. In what’s called Nuclear Fusion, gravity compresses the core of the star under high temperature and pressure. Two protons fuse, one of the protons breaking down to give a deuteron (a nuclei heavy with hydrogen). A second proton fuses with the deuteron, and two of the end products fuse together to make an alpha particle (helium-4 nucleus). Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together.

When all the hydrogen is used up, fusion stops. Pressure in the core ceases and because of gravity, the star contracts. When a star has less than 0.5 solar masses, the collapse has no further effect and the star cools off. But if it’s between 0.5 and 8 solar masses, the gravitational contraction is strong enough to heat up the core to 100 million Kelvin. To put this in perspective, a single Kelvin is equivalent to -272.15 degrees Celsius. This temperature allows the star to fuse two helium nuclei into beryllium, and the beryllium nuclei with another helium nucleus to form carbon, which is known as the triple alpha process.

The star then sheds its outer helium and hydrogen shells, because its gravitational contraction is not strong enough to cause what’s called ‘carbon fusion’. The end result is a white dwarf.

The stars with a solar mass higher than eight are able to begin the carbon fusion process. At the end of the triple alpha process, the gravitational contraction heats the core to 1 billion Kelvin, and the temperature will continue to increase. When it reaches 6 billion Kelvin, the core fuses silicon to iron.

Like an onion, the star develops dense shells of previously fused elements. Because iron is at the center, the fusion of iron takes energy instead of producing it. This upsets the balance between the contracting gravitational force and radiative pressure (energy transfer in the form of electromagnetic radiation). Gravity continuously contracts the core, and because the pressure is no longer present there is no resistance. It forces electrons into iron nuclei, producing neutrons and neutrinos, and the material rushes up to the core at quarter the speed of light.

The core rebounds violently, resulting in a supernova.

The fusion of the core and the huge amount of neutrinos is great enough to cause fusion within them. All the elements are made from the many different fusion pathways available. A star, on the edge of exploding into an infinite density of which not even light can escape, is truly the master of all alchemy. Some might even say that the stars have mastered immortality, living millions of years past the age of humanity.

Is the elixir of life knitted throughout the heavens? I like to believe so. Men such is Nicolas Flamel, Sir Thomas Browne and Sir Isaac Newton spent a portion of their lives seeking the great alchemical substance that would transform mercury to gold, in the enlightening time of the Magnum Opus.

Meanwhile, sailors followed the vast, boundless light of the philosopher’s stone across the seas.