Alchemy: The Basis Of Chemistry During The Renaissance

Alchemy was the basis of Chemistry during the Renaissance. There were three goals that the Alchemists strived for; transforming lesser base metals into gold, producing an exilir of life that enabled humans to live forever, and changing solids into gas without going through the state of liquid. These goals were the main concepts of Alchemy. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Alchemy was the main science, similar to a superstition, and it was taught in three stages. Alchemists believed that God used four key elements to create the world in a magician-like way. The four elements are fire, earth, air, and water. They not only believed that certain elements created the world, they also had elements to symbolize the human body. Sulfur represented the soul of all living things, salt symbolized the physical body, and mercury represented the body and soul combined that was thought of as a spirit. They used those three elements because they were the first elements they found. Alchemists believed that their beliefs were a spiritual map of the mind and universe. Paracelsus was one of the most famous Alchemists during the Renaissance. He was born in Switzerland in 1493 and died in 1541. Theophrastus Aureolus

Doctors use flu shots to prevent illness. Isaac Newton, an Alchemist in the 1600s, studied alchemy and was influenced by it to create his three laws of motion. The “Harry Potter” series was also influenced by Alchemy. The Catholic Church was not happy with the study of Alchemy because it went against its teachings. Therefore, they revoked it. There are still Alchemists around the world today but it is not as common as it was during the Renaissance. “Alchemy, astrology, and magic were considered, during the Renaissance, not to be a superstition but a logical system that helped them gain understanding of life and the universe”