Alchemy symbols were used to help keep the practitioner's work a secret from non-practitioners who did not have the knowledge to recognize the illustrations and would not be able to translate the alchemist's work and use it for nefarious purposes. Alchemists were also persecuted during medieval times and invented secret symbols in order to protect their work. Alchemical symbols usually contain elements or qualities of the substance they were referring to, as well as astrological information referencing celestial occurrences or planetary alignment. Alchemy symbols and meanings include illustrations of the Three Primes, the Four Elements, the Seven Planets, and other mundane elements such as the Arsenic Circle.
The Three Primes
The Three Primes of Alchemy are known as Paracelsus Tria Prima, which refer to the geometric logic of the triangle, in which two elements combine to produce a third. In alchemical knowledge, the three primes are known as sulfur, mercury, and salt. In addition to the alchemy element of fire, air, earth, and water, each of the three primes has a metaphorical meaning which correlates with the aspect of matter, human nature, the aspect of the psyche, and the existential realm. Alchemists worked with the three primes to dissolve and coagulate the elements in a process known as Solve Et Coagula. Materials were broken apart and combined again to purify the elements through crystallization, which created matter of greater purity.
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Sulfur is a fire element that represents both the human spirit and the Holy Spirit. Also known as the brimstone symbol, it is flammable and refers to the superego of the psyche, which reflects one's inner conscience. Within the existential realm, the sulfur symbol represents the spirit symbol and is the male element to the female element of mercury. The use of sulfur has been traced back to ancient China and Egypt and is mentioned in both the Bible and the Torah, which describe Hell by the smell of sulfur.
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Mercury is an air element which is a volatile compound, representing the mind, the Father of the Holy Trinity, and the ego of one's psyche, as well as the mental aspects of the existential realm. Mercury is a planetary metal and its ability to evolve from solid to liquid states represents the possibility of transcending death and the transformation between life and death. The symbol of mercury contains the sign of the feminine, detailing the cosmic womb. Mercury is also depicted as a snake or serpent.
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Salt is a solid compound that represents earth and water, the human body and physical matter, the Son of the Holy Trinity, and the id of the human psyche as it is manifested in the physical realm. Salt is purified through chemical processes which can reflect the purification of the human spirit through alchemical workings.
The Four Elements
The Four Elements refer to Greek classical beliefs of the ancient world that depict fire, water, air, and earth as the elements that reflect all matter that comprises the world. Ancient Greek physicians and philosophers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle utilized alchemy element symbols to represent the elements of the human body as well as the physical principles of the atmosphere, including dryness, moisture, cold and heat.
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The alchemy fire symbol is a simple triangle, representing the fiery emotions of love and hate, anger and passion. Fire is also known as a masculine element. The fire symbol was noted as hot and dry by Greek philosophers, represented by the colors of orange and red.
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The alchemy water symbol is an inverted triangle and the opposite of the fire symbol, associated with the color blue and human intuition. Water is known as a feminine element and affiliated with mercury and was believed by Greek philosophers to be the first substance birthed into the world.
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The symbol for air (or wind) is represented by an upward triangle bisected by a horizontal bar. Greek philosophers associated air with hot and wet qualities that derived from the vapor of water, and the colors white, blue, and gray were coupled with this element. This symbol can be affiliated with life, and Hippocrates aligned the air symbol with the life-granting force of blood.
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The elements of Earth were noted by Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato as dry and cold. The symbol of earth is the inverse of air, represented by a triangle pointing downward with a bisecting horizontal line. The Earth elements are associated with the colors brown and green.
Seven Planets
There are seven classical planets and their associated alchemy symbols. Though our solar system is known to have eight planets and a dwarf planet (Pluto), early alchemists were only able to identify the planets visible to the naked eye before astronomy tools were invented like the telescope. Each planetary metal is associated with a celestial object, an organ in the body and a day of the week. The sun was considered a planetary object, while Uranus and Neptune were not included. The seven planetary elements include the sun, moon, Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus.
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The symbol for lead represents the celestial body of Saturn, corresponds to Saturday, and is representative of the spleen in the human body. The lead symbol depicts a cross underlaid with a crescent, or a stylistic ''h'' overlaid with a cross.
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There are various alchemical symbols for gold, which represents the sun. This corresponds to the day Sunday, and the human organ of the heart. Gold was an important elemental symbol in alchemy as it represented the ultimate perfection. Many alchemists sought to ultimately transform lead into gold, and the symbol is also represented as a circle surrounding a center dot.
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The symbol for silver is reflective of the crescent moon as a planetary element. It represents Monday and indicates the human brain. The crescent figure can be depicted facing left or right.
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The symbol for iron corresponds to the planet Mars and the day Tuesday, representing the gallbladder as the organ in the human body. This is also the symbol for ''male''.
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The symbol for mercury corresponds to the planet Mercury of the same name, reflecting the day Wednesday and representing the human organ of the lungs. Mercury is also an element of the Three Primes, which represents the ''cosmic womb''.
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The symbol for tin represents the celestial planet Jupiter, corresponds to Thursday, and represents the liver in the human body. The symbol reflects a stylized ''4'' and includes a crescent and an inverted cross.
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The symbol for copper represents the feminine celestial body of the planet Venus, corresponding to Friday and the human organ of the kidneys. The symbol for copper can also be represented by a set of horizontal lines crossed with an ''x''.
Mundane Elements
The remaining alchemy element symbols are known as mundane elements. Mundane elements generally became known to alchemy in later times than the preceding elements discussed in this essay, and not as much information is known about their representation. Examples of mundane elements include the arsenic symbol, as well as the elements platinum, phosphorus, magnesium, bismuth, and zinc.
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One of the mundane elements of alchemy is arsenic, represented by a symbolic swan or numerous swans depicted by connecting triangles with a diamond shape in the middle. Arsenic is an element that can transform its appearance just as swans evolve from a cygnet, which is a young swan.
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There are numerous alchemical symbols for zinc. Zinc was burned by alchemists to create zinc oxide, also known as nix alba, or ''white snow''. Zinc was also commonly called ''philosopher's wool''.
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One of the main goals of alchemy is to create the Philosopher's Stone, a substance of great legendary myth that granted practitioners eternal life through the process of turning lead into gold. Also known as the squared circle, or ''squaring the circle,'' the Philosopher's Stone is a legendary symbol created in the nineteenth century to represent the elixir of life. Believed to be the ultimate goal of alchemy, many great works of literature explore elements of the Philosopher's Stone, and the alchemical quest for immortality transcends history.
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