The Seven Elements of Alchemy

Whereas the Periodic Table of the Elements in modern science classifies elements according to atomic weight and atomic number the various alchemical classifications from around the world use a different system of classification which is based on the changing state of matter and the division into organic or inorganic.

Firstly let’s look at the elements which are mostly or usually solid and inanimate. These are Earth and Metal. Of course it all changes with temperature.

The categorisation begins with states of matter, graded by level of FLOW. So we place the least flowing materials first, as a solid foundation. In these two categories we have things like granite, quartz, soil, sand, chalk etc. classed as examples of “Earth” and things like iron, sodium, potassium, calcium, silver, gold, tin, copper as examples of “Metal”.

Next we move up to “Water” as the general classification for any substance which is mostly water and mostly in its liquid form. So biologically produced liquid materials such as saliva or urine would count as water but in a tainted form. Untainted water would include spring water, sea water, tap water, river water or any similar source of water unless very polluted.

Following the idea of “FLOW” the next element up is the one which flows even more freely than water. This would be “Air” and means normal air but also includes isolated gasses such as bottles of oxygen or nitrogen.

The next even more freely flowing element is “Fire” and includes everything from normal fire to atomic fire or to ionised plasma gas.

After these five elements the remaining two are the organic ones: Plant and Animal. These are generally referred to as “Wood” and “Spirit”.

The element called “Wood” really refers to all of plant life and the element called “Spirit” really refers to all of animal life (including humans).

So now we can see the overall pattern of changes within the planetary environment.

There is solid, liquid, gas and combustion and there are plants and animals. The “solid” elements are divided into those which do not easily melt (non-metallic) and those which do easily melt (metallic).

There is a difference between Western Alchemy which tends to usually refer to Earth, Water, Air and Fire as “The Four Elements” and to “Spirit” as a fifth and more magical part of the system and, by contrast, Eastern Alchemy which tends to speak of Earth, Metal, Wood, Water and Fire as “The Five Elements” and to Air and Spirit as the invisible functioning of “Chi”.

Western alchemy does refer to wood and metal but the classifications of “Wood” are spoken of in terms of herbal classification corresponding to the “Four Elements”. For instance so-and-so herb is of a fiery nature or so-and-so herb is of an airy nature or a watery nature or and earthy nature. Meanwhile the references to metal are about transforming one metal into another.

We ask ourselves “Is there any truth in any of these systems?”

We wonder “Should we think of these lists in terms of symbology and Jungian psychology? Or is there a genuinely physical usage for any of these patterns of elements?”

We notice, perhaps, that the seven elements listed are arranged in a similar way to the classical music scales.

A-B,

C-D-E,

F-G

In the arrangement: 2, 3, 2.

Like Earth-Metal, Water-Air-Fire, Plant-Animal.

Perhaps we wonder what the notes G-sharp, B-flat, C-sharp, D-sharp and F-sharp would be in this system.

Perhaps we might also wonder about apparent anomalies such as liquid mercury or life which is neither animal nor truly plant. These range from micro-organisms to fungi. Then there are crystals and long chain molecules. Where do they fit in?

To me it seems that all of these conjectures are stemming from the mind’s ability to find patterns and attribute meaning. Something which Salvador Dali referred to as “The Paranoid-Critical Method”.

Over the past few thousand years humans have found various mathematical and molecular patterns within nature and have interpreted these patterns through mythology. Numerology can be understood as “Mythological Mathematics” which combines genuinely occurring natural patterns with storytelling.

When I was a little boy at school our Religious Education teacher suggested that the “Feeding of the Five Thousand”, where Jesus is supposed to have fed the crowd with only five loaves and two fishes, was perhaps about feeding the minds of the people with five ideas and two other ideas.

In other words he might’ve been amazing the crowd with descriptions of patterns in nature. Something of the harvest and something of the water.

Perhaps.

It’s all conjecture.

Maybe it was a

“shave and a haircut.

—-Two bits”.