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basics of alchemy

Basics of Alchemy - Second Class - Period Five - Monday, 9/8

As today was mostly going to be a lecture class, there hadn't been much of anything to set up. Abby Irene sat at the front of the class, leaning against her desk, and the students filed in as they would. There was nothing on their desks but a number of papers and nothing on the board for the moment. That would soon change, of course, as she launched into the lecture... but they should enjoy it for the meantime.

"I certainly hope you came into class today prepared for a bit of work. I know a few of you will have it somewhat easier for having been in my last class, but for all I know the others might have some passing familiarity with beastiaries which could provide them the same advantage. That said, let's dig into this, shall we? I promise, this should be the least explosive class of the semester."

[ocd ~~coming~~ up!]

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If you can.

Cimorene

Tony Foster

Savannah Levine

Andrew Wells

Sam Winchester

Hyuuga Hinata

Ronan Nolan

Seregil i Korit

Harry Dresden

If you daaaaaaare.

Tony was trying to take notes, but it didn't stop him from looking around a bit.

Hinata was, of course, taking notes.

Andrew was leafing through the handouts. A few of the symbols seemed very familiar, and he had a sudden desire to go over all his notes from Prophecy.

Harry was attempting to take notes while giving the handouts a dirty look. Large piles of handouts always deserved dirty looks.

The various (http://www.alchemywebsite.com/hermhera.html) and (http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/9-2/obrist.htm) assorted (http://www.alchemywebsite.com/prink-ma.html) handouts (http://www.alchemywebsite.com/toad.html) certainly made a tall stack at each desk, but Abby Irene worked to cover some of the basics from each one.

"Alchemy" she wrote on the board as she spoke, "from the Arabic 'al-kīmiyā' refers to a philosophical and spiritual discipline, combining elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, spiritualism, and art all as parts of one greater force. Alchemy has been practiced in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Japan, Korea and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, in the Muslim civilizations, and then in Europe up to the 19th century—in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.* (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy)

"Today, we will be covering alchemical symbology, and this study is expansive for two reasons: the first is that the study works in both directions, with outside forces shaping the symbology as well as the symbology shaping the use of certain objects and representation in other forms... and because not everyone was working from the same influences and as such there has been quite a lot of hobbing about to make it all fit in the same general system. That said, as most remaining texts can be found from medieval sources at one point or another, we will be focusing on this system specifically if only to keep our brains from exploding outside of our heads.

"You might wonder why we're covering this at all, since most of the lessons and practicals will be given in plain English. The reason is because it is an important part of the study and because I will not always be here to translate for you. Knowing how to read music is as important as knowing which keys to press and it would be a disservice not to teach such to you.

"I'll go over things somewhat for the time being, however..."

And so she got to.

Cimorene was taking very detailed notes.

"I should like each of you to find a partner and discuss one of these questions I will be putting on the board. If you should have any trouble, please do feel free to ask me or see if one of the teaching assistants can help you. We actually do have two of them despite the size of the class."

In regards to this handout (http://www.alchemywebsite.com/hermhera.html), do you think that Hermetic symbolism and Christianity led to heraldic symbolism or that the two grew from the same basic stock of social ideas?

In regards to this handout (http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/9-2/obrist.htm), do you believe that something might have been lost with the change from a preference in writing things out to symbolism? Which do you prefer and why?

Tony stared at the handout, wondering if there was a spell on Arra's laptop that would help cram all this stuff into his brain. Because he was beginning to think he was in way over his head. As the terrified expression on his face might suggest.

She leaned over and smiled at him gently.

"I promise it's not as terrifying as it looks. It's not even a real question of alchemy so much as a question of preference."

She considered that.

"Do you use a computer?"

...yes, the woman in getup from 1900 is asking him this.

"Yeah, I do," Tony said.

She smiled.

"Right then. Well, in a browser, for instance, there are some things that are written across the top, such as File and Edit and so, using words. And then there are symbols, those used to go backwards or fowards, or to reload a page.

"Which one do you prefer? And why do you think some are words and others are symbols? Do you think something is lost by using only symbols for certain things?"

"I like the symbols," Tony said. "But not everyone does. Some people like the words, instead. They think it's clearer. So I think... maybe something is lost if there's just symbols." He chewed on the end of his pen. "Because symbols don't always mean the same thing to different people."

She positively beamed.

"And think of how positively upsetting that can end up being to an alchemist as opposed to someone idly using a computer?"

Tony smiled. "And if he got things mixed up, it could really f- ah, mess things up. Possibly be dangerous."

"But, on the other hand," she pointed out with a wider grin, "if you were trying to keep your knowledge to only a select few, horde it, or you were concerned about someone doing something to it... symbols might seem like a very good idea. Especially, say, when paper is scarce and they use much less of it than words."

"Yeah, I guess you couldn't password-protect stuff in the old days," he smiled.

She laughed.

"Not really, no. So... is the question a little less daunting now?"

"Yeah, it is," Tony said, a little surprised. "Thanks."

She nodded.

"You're very welcome. Do feel free to ask for assistance if you require it. That is what I'm here for."

"The meaning of the symbols could get lost eventually too," Harry pointed out. "Enough years down the line and nobody's going to know which squiggle means what anymore and even if stuff was written down symbolically it won't do anybody any good."

"I guess the choice of writing or symbols would depend a lot on who you're writing for," Tony said. "If it's your private personal notes, you'd do it differently from if you're writing a book for the next generation."

"Yeah," Harry said. "There is that. Of course, sometimes I can't even understand all my own notes when I write everything down, so I'd be doomed if it were all symbols and I forgot some of them."

In regards to this handout (http://www.alchemywebsite.com/prink-ma.html), what do you think the purpose of these cards might have been? Do you think they were merely an alternative to the tarot, or that something else might have been going on here?

"Well, from what I have read about Tarot history, the cards were believed to be a way of passing information about knowledge. Perhaps these are somewhat similar?"

"Very likely," she agreed with a faint smile.

"And yet, both cover the progression of life in different ways. Are you familiar at all with cartomancy?"

"Not as much, no."

She held up a finger before going to her blue velvet bag and opening the top. After a moment's consideration, she reached in and brought out a small leather bag. A bundle wrapped in silk was pulled from that and finally the cards were visible.

"I've recently cleansed them, so they are in order, thankfully. Now, I would ask you not touch them but I would like to show you, in contrast, the Major Arcana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Arcana)."

Cimorene leaned in a little closer to see better. "So, a different system of symbology?"

"They share some similarities," she pointed out, nodding to a couple of snakes in different cards, "but perhaps the point of the message, the journey was different."

In general, how do you feel about the many broad subjects dealt with by alchemy? Do you think it would be more fruitful to study them individually, or do you, as many ancient scholars did, feel that there is a certain sort of knowledge only attainable by studying all of these in a cohesive science?

Once they ping in.

Savannah had indeed arrived early as requested and she was here to help anyone that needed it.

Sam was here early as well, and was also around in case anyone needed help.

Who's there at the front all during class even when she's not lecturing should anyone have questions. She's even there after for the same.

And I know it looks like lots, but she didn't ask anything but what you should get from skimming the beginnings of those articles, hopefully. And, you know, just what you might know.

Hope you enjoy class. I know I'm learning a lot.

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Basics of Alchemy - Second Class - Period Five - Monday, 9/8

Sign In - Second Class - Basics of Alchemy

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Listen to the Lecture / Chat Amongst Yourselves

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Abby Irene

OOC