8 of the most famous alchemists

Paracelsus
Although the Theophrastus von Hohengem invented Parzels invented himself, his merits in the field of medicine and chemistry are beyond any doubt. It can be said that he made the revolution in medicine of the beginning of the Renaissance, choosing the principles of Hippocrates as a methodological basis for his research, as opposed to the views of Aristotle and Avicenna that prevailed before. He is considered the founder of pharmacology. In general, his philosophical views are close to the ideas of Democritus, and his few alchemical works are so rare that much more rumors have spread about them over time than reliable information. But thanks to this circumstance, the figure of Paracelsus became very popular in modern fiction and cinema.

Nicolas Flamel
The public clerk, who later became the owner of the bookshop, somehow acquired the old papyrus, the secret meaning of which he had been trying to unravel for twenty years. For the sake of solving the mystery of the Aramaic text, he travels from France to Spain, where he visits forbidden Jewish communities in his homeland. So in 1377 the myth about the creation of the philosopher's stone and its owner Nicolas Flamele was born. Soon, he quickly gets richer, buying real estate and becoming a patron of the arts. It is believed that all his possessions, childless Flamel, left his nephew along with the secret of the Great Work, which was allegedly given to him by the Lord himself and written in encrypted form. The text entitled "Flamel's Testament," which appeared only at the end of the 18th century, is considered to be a transcript of the knowledge that he passed on to his nephew. According to this text, the “true stone of life” is intended to bring health to the human body.

Hermes Trismegist
It is difficult to say something definite about Hermes the Thricefull at the moment, except that if he was a real historical person, he is much older than Plato and Aristotle. Most medieval authors identified him with the Greek god Hermes, the Egyptian Thoth, or the Islamic Idriss. Anyway, the authorship of the Emerald Tablet, the list of fundamental principles of the universe, and the work Asclepius, which contains the description of the process of creation of the world, is attributed to him. Perhaps it was the latter that formed the basis of the Zogar Kabbalistic treatise. Several other manuscripts are also attributed to Trismegistus, which received the general name "Hermetic case". However, it cannot be excluded that the image of Hermes was collective and personified all the pagan wisdom of the ancients. One way or another, the beginning of all alchemical traditions and principles is raised to his works.

Jabir ibn Hayyan
Arabian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan was known in medieval Europe under the nickname Geber, and in his native Yemen was a famous mathematician, astronomer, doctor and pharmacist. He left several works on alchemy, in which he describes the properties of substances, especially metals and minerals, and gives descriptions of some scientific experiments. He paid special attention to the properties of sulfur and mercury, which he considered the embodiment of two basic alchemical principles. He believed that gold, as the most perfect metal, was formed from the best combination of sulfur and mercury and matured for a long time in the ground. He also believed that the process of maturation can be accelerated with the help of a special "elixir".

John dee
The only son of the court fabric merchant, John Dee, received an excellent education and was well-versed in various fields of Renaissance science. His main passion was mathematics, and during the reign of Maria Tudor he was even arrested for “calculations,” which were considered something akin to magic. Dee traveled a lot, lectured at various universities and colleges in Europe, maintained close contacts with modern scientists from different countries, and his home in Mortlake, where an extensive library was assembled and various instruments for scientific experiments were stored, became the abode of enlightened youth. In 1561, he published the kabbalistic treatise Hieroglyphic Monad, and 20 years later, in collaboration with the medium Edward Kelly, he developed a system of magic, later called Enochian. At the beginning of the XX century. John Dee became the main character in Gustav Meyrink’s book “The Angel of the West Window” about how a keen alchemist comprehends the principles of transmutation.

MacGregor Mathers
From a young age, Semuel Liddell was actively interested in magic and Kabbalah, he was initiated into Freemasonry at the age of twenty-three, and five years later he was admitted to the Rosicrucian College. He worked extensively on translations of books on magic and Kabbalah, making available to the English-speaking reader many ancient Greek, Latin, Coptic and Jewish manuscripts. At the end of the 19th century, taking the name MacGregor Mathers, he became one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, where he studied esoteric philosophy, tarot, astrology, astral travel, alchemy, etc. According to the structure and principles of work, the Order was similar to the Masonic Lodge, with the difference that women studied there on an equal basis with men. Since 1891, Mathers directs him alone. Here Alista becomes one of his students.

Count Saint-Germain
Alchemy was probably surrounded by a halo of charlatanism, fraud and buffooning precisely because of this man. Count Saint-Germain, as he himself preferred to call himself, although he often used other pseudonyms, possessed remarkable knowledge, devilish charm and enormous energy. It is likely that he had the talent of a hypnotist, otherwise how to explain the enthusiastic reviews of him contemporaries, in a different state are very skeptical? It is said that he struck the kings' imagination by “correcting” diamonds, increasing the pearls and turning copper coins into gold in a matter of minutes. From diplomatic, financial and political to personal medical care and rejuvenation, Saint-Germain was ready to offer his services to any of the ruling houses from Persia to Russia and Denmark. And, although it is authentically known the place and time of his death, some claimed that they saw him much later.

Alessandro Cagliostro
Giuseppe Balsamo also liked to change names and predominantly engaged in fraud, forgery of drugs and documents, for which he was repeatedly detained by the authorities. During his studies at the Benedictine monastery, he acquired some knowledge of chemistry, and meeting by chance in Paris with a rival Saint-Germain, Cagliostro adopted some of his fraudulent practices. All of these, as well as the charms of his young wife, he had no particular success in his adventures until he thought of organizing an advertising campaign of himself, which the English Masonic Lodge had funded. Since then, Alessandro Cagliostro began to travel around Europe with sessions of “animal magnetism,” “exorcism of the devil,” multiplication of gold, and various foci. However, he ended his days in prison when he was accused of black war and fraud by the sentence of the Inquisition.