{"product_id":"the-first-alchemists-the-spiritual-and-practical-origins-of-the-noble-and-holy-art-9781644116838","title":"The First Alchemists: The Spiritual and Practical Origins of the Noble and Holy Art","description":"\u003cb\u003eExplores the origins and practices of early alchemy\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- Examines the oldest surviving alchemical texts, the original purpose of the \"Royal Art,\" and the first alchemists, showing how women dominated early alchemy \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- Looks at the historical setting for the first alchemists, with detailed accounts of their apparatus, recipes, chemical processes, and the ingredients they used \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- Reveals how changing the color of materials was more important in early alchemy than transmuting base metals into gold \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInvestigating the origins of alchemy and the legend of the Philosopher's Stone, Tobias Churton explores the oldest surviving alchemical texts, the original purpose of the \"Royal Art,\" and the first alchemists themselves. He reveals the theories and philosophies behind the art and how early apparatus and methods were employed by alchemists through the ages. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eShowing how women dominated early alchemy, Churton looks at the first known alchemist, the Jewess Maria the Prophetess, inventor of the \u003ci\u003ebain marie\u003c\/i\u003e, still in use worldwide today. He also looks at early alchemist Cleopatra (not the well-known Egyptian queen) and 3rd-4th century Egyptian female artisan Theosebeia, who had a guild of adepts working under her. He examines in depth the work of Zosimos of Panopolis and shows how Zosimos's historic work inspired the medieval view of alchemy as an initiatory path whose stages follow the transmutation of base metals into gold. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eExploring the latest research on early practices in Upper Egypt, the author discusses the political and industrial realities facing the first alchemists. He examines the late antique \"Stockholm\" and \"Leiden\" papyri, which offer detailed knowledge of the first known Greco-Egyptian chemical recipes for gold and silver dyes for metal and stone, and purple dyes for wool. He emphasizes how \u003ci\u003echanging color\u003c\/i\u003e in early alchemy was misinterpreted to imply transmutation of one metal into another. He reveals how the alchemical secrets for working with the \"living statues\" of the Egyptian temples was jealously guarded by the priesthood and how secrecy helped to reinforce beliefs that alchemical knowledge came from forbidden, celestial sources. He also investigates the mysterious relation between alchemy, spiritual gnosis, Hermeticism, and the \u003ci\u003eBook of Enoch\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRevealing the hidden legacy of the early alchemists, Churton shows how their secret workings provided a transmission line for ancient heretical doctrines to survive into the Renaissance and beyond.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Inner Traditions International\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/07\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781644116838\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.66lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.80d","brand":"Tobias Churton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43150376829109,"sku":"9781644116838","price":22.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_5a236c14-d001-492b-baad-11f1ef0c8d45.jpg?v=1696347061","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-first-alchemists-the-spiritual-and-practical-origins-of-the-noble-and-holy-art-9781644116838","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}