Materiarius
The human inclination to spread memory on the surface of objects reached unrivaled heights in the Baroque age, when cabinets of curiosities were a mixture of museums of the absurd and reservoirs of knowledge. There, libraries with manuscripts hidden for centuries were opened to those who had something to reveal, and the craze for esoteric erudition began, perhaps comparable only to the Alexandrian period. Having replaced the architectural elegance of the Renaissance with the compulsive accumulation of ornaments and details, the Baroque mentality could only add object to object in the hope of obtaining the essential. For them, building a machine was drawing a thought, or rather, a memory.
Of the true alchemical machines created at the dawn of time, only the memory remained. Indeed, they could be nimbly shaken by whispers from the earthly depths, and then, with a returning breath, move the sky. Provided they were reduced to the form of a toy, as was prescribed for all that was sacred.
1. Physics at the Neolithic Gate
All the science of the ancients was necessarily within the reach of the Neolithic, that’s to say, without modern equipment and devices. Today we would say that they could only count on themselves and nature. One of the main processes employed was to induce, or exploit, changes in the state of raw matter. In fact, if we look carefully, alchemical processes all involve changes in the state of matter, either subtle and continuous or sudden and violent.
Something arcane happens in the state changes of matter
2. Light in Alchemy soon became the Arcane of Arcana
It was during the Baroque age, and with the support of new discoveries in optical science, that light in Alchemy began to be openly discussed and treated. Light became the arcane of arcana, the secret of the ancients, the reason for Alchemy existence, the hidden message, the private channel, the communication between the world of the living and the world of the dead, the meeting point between spirit and matter, the knowledge of oneʼs archetype, the origin, the beginning of the immortalsʼ chain, the legacy as well as memory. In short, everything.
Don’t take the concept of light in Alchemy for granted
3. Rays and Optics according to the Ancient Authors
The concept of alchemical light expands in unexpected rivulets. Not only stellar rays striking everywhere, creating ripple effects, but also sounds, objects, voices, and writing. The cosmic emissions penetrating the Earth’s crust go far beyond not only our current understanding of energy, but also the alchemists’ definitions of spirits and entities. For optics scholars from the Middle Ages to the Baroque era, the primary imperative was to construct lenses, mirrors, and devices capable of collecting and enclosing everything that unknowingly streamed into or penetrated us.
Rays Everywhere. Light as Spark, Image, Sound, Object.
4. Alchemy is Physics, not Chemistry. But we can’t figure out what it is.
It was Fulcanell who wrote (or rather Canseliet for him): “Alchemy is physics, not chemistry, which should become very evident in the final stages of the Great Work”. Many know what he meant, but no one has understood why. If you have noticed, every new discovery in science fits beautifully with the inadaptability of Alchemy. What if we were mistaking the means for the end? I have a suspicion.
Particles, quasi-particles, wave functions, spintronics, and fields. Apparently, everything goes.
- A Neolithic-Proof Private Channel
- Physics in Alchemy, Particles and Wave Functions
- Physics in Alchemy, the Theory of Fields and Baits
- Physics in Alchemy, the Relevance of Sound
- Physics in Alchemy, Time and Memory
- Physics in Alchemy through its Symbolism
- A few notes on the importance of gravity in Alchemy
- Hands emerging from the Clouds
5. Destruction and Immortality in Alchemy
In Construction