Pseudo Science | Bella Scherer (11)

Although alchemy is a pseudo science, after more research into the topic, it makes

sense why our predecessors believed in it. The laws of life seem to be woven into the ancients

philosophies. I believe our Earth is mystical. It has to be. We are on a floating rock in space,

which is incomprehensibly never ending, where everything is made up of little units of life, we

are all stardust, and destruction is the base for all creation. So of course those who lived before

us looked at this and made alchemy. Our very existence is magic, just not the way they thought.

Throughout time alchemy changed, but some themes have stayed consistent. Which

upon reflection is because with time most can see that life aligns with certain codes. The Greek

Alchemists believed everything was made up of four elements with certain ideals attached;

Earth with the principles of solidness and stability, water associated with fluidity and adaptability,

air ruled by light and movement, and finally fire, the element of transformation and energy. The

conclusion was that to achieve material and spiritual purification one had to balance these

elements faultlessly. This of course is false. Everything is made up of atoms, there are 118

elements, and the amount of matter stays the same, even when matter changes form. But I

think the alchemists were right, but about the wrong thing. I think life, the time an organism has

on this earth, is ruled by these things. Not directly, but the principles. In a world of many

scientific unknowns, those who came before us would pull on what they know and understand.

Life.

Paracelsus, a Swiss alchemist, contributed a key idea to alchemy: the Tria Prima. This

stated that there were three key substances in alchemy: sulfur, which was said to be the soul. It

represented fire, transformation, the very essence of a substance. Next was mercury, the spirit,

which was ruled by change fluidity, and the ability to transcend physical limits. And the final

element was salt, or the body. Salt exemplified, solidity, stability, and the material form. To be

clear, it wasn’t truly about the physical substances themselves, but what alchemy meant for the

alchemist: to reach what seemed the true goal of alchemy, an achievement of self

enlightenment and a purity of mind, body, and soul. In it’s own way alchemy reflects how we

should move through life. A balance of all these things will set you free. It’s not a science, and

that's the whole point. Alchemy imitates life, and life imitates alchemy.

I have always wanted to grow older, restless when I younger for the next thing. And for a

while I was unhappy, I was always yearning for the future. For the uncertain and unachievable

ideals of what I wanted my future to be, that inevitably would only exist in my head. My spirit

was restless, to an alchemist of old, it would seem I was made up of too much water. While my

tears flowed, made up of salt, I seemed to lack the very principles the element stood for: solidity

and the enjoyment of my material form. I needed to stop looking to the future to solve my

problems, my unhappiness, as I took no current steps to alleviate it.

The final integral work of alchemy was the “Great Work” or The Magnum Opus. Again,

the parallels of alchemy to life, should draw your attention. It was said that alchemy wasn’t just

about metals, it was also about the spiritual journey of the alchemist. This work has no direct

origin but has been found throughout history in books on alchemy, some of the first mention of

these principles tracing back to the first century. The Magnum Opus describes the stages of

transmutation, another substantial focus in the art of alchemy. It involved the transformation of

one material into another, and the Magnum Opus depicts the steps both physical and personal.

They are as follows, in chronological order: Nigredo, or Blackening, which was the breaking

down of impurities representing death and decay. Albedo, or Whitening, correlated with purification and enlightenment. Citrinitas, or yellowing, the awakening of wisdom. And finally,

Rubedo, or Reddening, the achievement of completion, transformation, and perfection. After all

this, your lead would now be gold, and you, the alchemist, would have achieved self-purification.

I have gotten to the age that younger me wanted to be so bad. It did not solve all my problems,

only brought about many new ones. I spent so much time wanting to get older I never fully

appreciated my youth. Now I write poems about nostalgia and all my childhood friends that have

come and gone. I had a freedom back then and an innocence of mind I cannot get back

because even in alchemy you cannot turn back time. Now I have a new age I want to be, and at

the same time I am very scared of getting older. I can admit I am at an imbalance in many

aspects of my life, but I also find myself appreciating parts of life and reaching a level of

understanding. I know what I don’t know, I understand that for every action there is an equal and

opposite reaction, and that my happiness is in fact up to me. And in my current stage of

enlightenment I try to set myself up for moments of satisfaction. How good my favorite song

sounds through the speakers of my car, how cute my outfit is, how nice the world looks coated

in snow, and how happy my dog is when I get her a new toy. For my next stage in life, where I

hope to be wiser, I will take this past growth with me. For I am on my way to transforming from

one thing to another, the betterment of myself and my life. In my own way I am on a journey of

self-enlightenment, to allow myself the life my younger self always wanted, but never truly

understood how to get. If you grow up expecting yourself to do it in the future, your time will run

out. Time guarantees change, but not necessarily the one you want.

Now the world is not made up of elements, and they do not control your life. But what

they represented in the lost art of alchemy does, in arcane ways. Alchemy may not be real but

that doesn’t mean the principles that make it up aren’t. We all say that life imitates art, but in

ways it also imitates science, albeit a pseudo one.