Alchemy

Alchemy symbols and meanings

Metals, operations, and a soul described as a furnace.

16 marks in the lexicon. A symbol can sit in more than one tradition. The page says which use is which.

• OuroborosThe serpent that eats itself, and so has no outside.
• SulfurWhat burns, and what gives a thing its character.
• SaltWhat the fire cannot talk out of staying.
• FireHeat that rises, and the temper called choleric.
• AirHeat that does not scorch: blood, spring, thought.
• WaterWhat sinks, gathers, and is felt before it is argued.
• EarthWeight, melancholy, and the body that remains.
• SunThe center, and the metal that does not tarnish.
• MoonWhat changes on a schedule, and still returns.
• MercuryThe go-between. Metal, planet, principle, and a god who travels.
• VenusCopper’s mark, long before it was a gender icon.
• MarsIron’s mark: a blade’s metal, and later a sex.
• JupiterTin, kingship, and the god who enlarges.
• SaturnWeight, time, and the stage of the work you cannot skip.
• PhoenixA bird that burns and is the same bird after.
• Philosopher’s stoneNot a rock. The name of the goal, and a diagram of a problem.