Critical Essays Symbols in The Alchemist
Cobra: The cobra is a symbol of danger and strength, especially male potency.
Crystal Glassware: Fragility and clarity are the characteristics represented by the crystal merchant's crystal glassware.
Desert: The desert is symbolic of all the obstacles and hardships that stand between people and their dreams. In The Alchemist, characters learn to accept the desert, even listen to it.
Gold: Gold represents the knowledge, work, and time necessary to achieve something desired.
Hawks: Hawks are symbolic of aggression, which can be tamed.
Horse: The horse is a symbol of strength and passion; like hawks, horses can be tamed.
Oasis: The oasis symbolizes life, love, and domesticity.
Pyramids: The pyramids represent the ancient and inscrutable.
Sacristy: The sacristy represents conventionally sacred things, which often must be abandoned to achieve true spirituality.
Shepherds and Sheep: These are symbolic for Coelho of the less-than-extraordinary; for Santiago, the alternative to pursuing his Personal Legend is a return to his life as a shepherd.
Stones Named Urim and Thummim: These stones stand for the characters' needs to respond to omens, which are essential motivating factors.
Sycamore Tree: This tree represents Egypt, the place where sycamores come from.
Thieves: Thieves represent everyone who tries to find a shortcut to his or her Personal Legend; the journey is necessary, according to The Alchemist.
Water: Life is synonymous with water in the novel, and perhaps for love too.
Well: A symbol of unconditional love, the well, it is there that Santiago meets Fatima.
FAQs
Gold: Gold represents the knowledge, work, and time necessary to achieve something desired. Hawks: Hawks are symbolic of aggression, which can be tamed. Horse: The horse is a symbol of strength and passion; like hawks, horses can be tamed. Oasis: The oasis symbolizes life, love, and domesticity.
What are the symbolic archetypes in The Alchemist? ›
The Alchemist has many archetypal themes and symbols including wise old men, women, and the nature around him. Throughout this novel, Coelho uses archetypal men. The men he uses are the Alchemist, his father, and the King of Salem. Wise old men symbolize the 'savior', 'redeemer', and the 'guru'.
How is gold a symbol in The Alchemist? ›
Gold is one of the seven metals of alchemy (gold, silver, mercury, copper, lead, iron & tin). For the alchemist, it represented the perfection of all matter on any level, including that of the mind, spirit, and soul. The symbol for gold could also be used to represent the sun in astrology.
What does the Emerald Tablet symbolize in The Alchemist? ›
' According to the alchemist, the Emerald Tablet is a portal to the Soul of the World. The Soul of the World is a positive, unifying force that leads all things to their destiny.
How many symbols are there in alchemy? ›
Although notation was partly standardized, style and symbol varied between alchemists. Lüdy-Tenger published an inventory of 3,695 symbols and variants, and that was not exhaustive, omitting for example many of the symbols used by Isaac Newton.
What does the horse symbolize in The Alchemist? ›
In The Alchemist, the black-clad alchemist appears to Santiago on a white horse which a symbol of mystery, power, independence, adventure, loyalty, devotion and a strong sense of self. All these qualities are visible in one person who is the alchemist. In the Bible, the horse is known as a symbol of intelligence.
What do the stones symbolize in The Alchemist? ›
What do the two stones symbolize in The Alchemist? The two stones known as Urim and Thummim represent objective knowledge. Santiago relies on his ability to make decisions which teaches him lessons he cannot earn from "yes" or "no" questions.
What do sheep symbolize in The Alchemist? ›
These sheep symbolize the characters in the book like the baker and the crystal merchant who do not pursue their Personal Legends. Like the sheep, these characters content themselves with their material desires and social acceptance.
What does the snake symbolize in The Alchemist? ›
The alchemist identifies the cobra in the desert as a symbol of life. Traditionally, snakes also are emblematic of male potency. The cobra's power may give Santiago the strength to return to Fatima and declare his love for her.
What does the desert symbolize in The Alchemist? ›
The first symbol in The Alchemist is the desert. A major theme of the story is overcoming obstacles, and Coelho shows us through the metaphor of traversing the hostile desert that perseverance in the face of obstacles is crucial in following one's calling.
Melchizedek gives Santiago two stones from the breastplate. He says the stones are called Urim and Thummim and they represent “yes” and “no.” They will help Santiago to read omens.
What is the symbol of mercury in The Alchemist? ›
Therefore, in alchemy, mercury was believed to shift between life and death. Mercury is often represented by a serpent/snake, and its symbol is said to resemble a cosmic womb. Mercury is also sometimes said to represent the passive female principle, as well as wetness and cold.
What is the symbol of dreams in The Alchemist? ›
In The Alchemist, dreams represent not only an outlet into one's inner desires, but also a form of communication with the Soul of the World. Santiago's dream of a treasure in Egypt, for instance, reveals to him his Personal Legend and sets the entire plot of the Alchemist into motion.
What are the five elements in alchemy symbols? ›
The classical elements in alchemy are that of the planet: aer (air), terra (earth), ignis (fire), and aqua (water), with some scholars including a fifth element aether and quintessentia, known in some ancient Tibetan, Indian, and Greek cultures as “void”, representing the balance and unity of all that is.
What is the symbol for air in Alchemist? ›
The alchemical symbol for air is an upward-pointing triangle, bisected by a horizontal line.
Why did alchemists use symbols? ›
The seven planets known in antiquity were linked to the seven known metals. Alchemy employed a systematic set of symbols and technical terms, commonly recognized by laboratory technicians and natural philosophers alike, to indicate and record scientific operations, formulas, and ingredients.
