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i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For the Great Work in Hermeticism, see <a href="/wiki/Great_Work_(Hermeticism)" title="Great Work (Hermeticism)">Great Work (Hermeticism)</a>. For the Great Work in Thelema, see <a href="/wiki/Great_Work_(Thelema)" title="Great Work (Thelema)">Great Work (Thelema)</a>.</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Splendor_Solis_-_Portion_of_Plate_3.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Splendor_Solis_-_Portion_of_Plate_3.jpg/220px-Splendor_Solis_-_Portion_of_Plate_3.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="393" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Splendor_Solis_-_Portion_of_Plate_3.jpg/330px-Splendor_Solis_-_Portion_of_Plate_3.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Splendor_Solis_-_Portion_of_Plate_3.jpg 2x" data-file-width="392" data-file-height="701" /></a><figcaption>Colors of the magnum opus seen on the breastplate of a figure from <i><a href="/wiki/Splendor_Solis" title="Splendor Solis">Splendor Solis</a></i></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Squared_circle.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Squared_circle.svg/220px-Squared_circle.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Squared_circle.svg/330px-Squared_circle.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Squared_circle.svg/440px-Squared_circle.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="16" data-file-height="16" /></a><figcaption>The Squared Circle: an Alchemical Symbol illustrating the interplay of the four elements of matter symbolizing the philosopher's stone; the result of the "Great Work"</figcaption></figure> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Alchemy" title="Alchemy">alchemy</a>, the <b>Magnum Opus</b> or <b>Great Work</b> is a term for the process of working with the <a href="/wiki/Prima_materia" title="Prima materia">prima materia</a> to create the <a href="/wiki/Philosopher%27s_stone" title="Philosopher's stone">philosopher's stone</a>. It has been used to describe personal and spiritual <a href="/wiki/Chrysopoeia" title="Chrysopoeia">transmutation</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Hermeticism" title="Hermeticism">Hermetic tradition</a>, attached to laboratory processes and chemical color changes, used as a model for the <a href="/wiki/Individuation" title="Individuation">individuation</a> process, and as a device in art and literature. The magnum opus has been carried forward in <a href="/wiki/New_Age" title="New Age">New Age</a> and neo-Hermetic movements which sometimes attached new symbolism and significance to the processes. The original <a href="/wiki/Process_philosophy" title="Process philosophy">process philosophy</a> has four stages:<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Nigredo" title="Nigredo">nigredo</a></i>, the blackening or melanosis</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Albedo_(alchemy)" title="Albedo (alchemy)">albedo</a></i>, the whitening or leucosis</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Citrinitas" title="Citrinitas">citrinitas</a></i>, the yellowing or xanthosis</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rubedo" title="Rubedo">rubedo</a></i>, the reddening, purpling, or iosis</li></ul> <p>The origin of these <a href="/wiki/Humorism" title="Humorism">four phases</a> can be traced at least as far back as the first century. <a href="/wiki/Zosimus_of_Panopolis" class="mw-redirect" title="Zosimus of Panopolis">Zosimus of Panopolis</a> wrote that it was known to <a href="/wiki/Mary_the_Jewess" title="Mary the Jewess">Mary the Jewess</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The development of black, white, yellow, and red can also be found in the Physika kai Mystika of Pseudo-Democritus, which is often considered to be one of the oldest books on alchemy.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> After the 15th century, many writers tended to compress <i><a href="/wiki/Citrinitas" title="Citrinitas">citrinitas</a></i> into <i><a href="/wiki/Rubedo" title="Rubedo">rubedo</a></i> and consider only three stages.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Other color stages are sometimes mentioned, most notably the <i>cauda pavonis</i> (peacock's tail) in which an array of colors appear. </p><p>The magnum opus had a variety of <a href="/wiki/Alchemical_symbol" title="Alchemical symbol">alchemical symbols</a> attached to it. Birds like the raven, swan, and phoenix could be used to represent the progression through the colors. Similar color changes could be seen in the laboratory, where for example, the blackness of rotting, burnt, or fermenting matter would be associated with nigredo. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Expansion_on_the_four_stages">Expansion on the four stages</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Magnum_opus_(alchemy)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Expansion on the four stages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Alchemical authors sometimes elaborated on the three or four color model by enumerating a variety of chemical steps to be performed. Though these were often arranged in groups of seven or twelve stages, there is little consistency in the names of these processes, their number, their order, or their description.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Various alchemical documents were directly or indirectly used to justify these stages. The <i><a href="/wiki/Emerald_Tablet" title="Emerald Tablet">Tabula Smaragdina</a></i> is the oldest document<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> said to provide a "recipe". Others include the <i><a href="/wiki/Mutus_Liber" title="Mutus Liber">Mutus Liber</a></i>, the twelve keys of <a href="/wiki/Basil_Valentine" title="Basil Valentine">Basil Valentine</a>, the emblems of Steffan Michelspacher, and the twelve gates of <a href="/wiki/George_Ripley_(alchemist)" title="George Ripley (alchemist)">George Ripley</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Ripley's steps are given as:<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <table cellpadding="2" style="width: 500px; border: 0px;"> <tbody><tr> <td width="250px">1. <a href="/wiki/Calcination" title="Calcination">Calcination</a></td> <td width="250px">7. Cibation </td></tr> <tr> <td>2. Solution (or Dissolution)</td> <td>8. <a href="/wiki/Sublimation_(phase_transition)" title="Sublimation (phase transition)">Sublimation</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>3. Separation</td> <td>9. <a href="/wiki/Fermentation_(biochemistry)" class="mw-redirect" title="Fermentation (biochemistry)">Fermentation</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>4. Conjunction</td> <td>10. Exaltation </td></tr> <tr> <td>5. <a href="/wiki/Putrefaction" title="Putrefaction">Putrefaction</a></td> <td>11. <a href="/wiki/Multiplication_(alchemy)" title="Multiplication (alchemy)">Multiplication</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>6. <a href="/wiki/Congelation" title="Congelation">Congelation</a></td> <td>12. <a href="/wiki/Projection_(alchemy)" title="Projection (alchemy)">Projection</a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In another example from the sixteenth century, <a href="/wiki/Samuel_Norton_(alchemist)" title="Samuel Norton (alchemist)">Samuel Norton</a> gives the following fourteen stages:<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <table cellpadding="2" style="width: 500px; border: 0px;"> <tbody><tr> <td width="250px">1. Purgation</td> <td width="250px">8. Conjunction </td></tr> <tr> <td>2. Sublimation</td> <td>9. Putrefaction in sulphur </td></tr> <tr> <td>3. Calcination</td> <td>10. Solution of bodily sulphur </td></tr> <tr> <td>4. Exuberation</td> <td>11. Solution of sulphur of white light </td></tr> <tr> <td>5. Fixation</td> <td>12. Fermentation in elixir </td></tr> <tr> <td>6. Solution</td> <td>13. Multiplication in virtue </td></tr> <tr> <td>7. Separation</td> <td>14. Multiplication in quantity </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Some alchemists also circulated steps for the creation of practical medicines and substances, that have little to do with the magnum opus. The cryptic and often symbolic language used to describe both adds to the confusion, but it's clear that there is no single standard step-by-step recipe given for the creation of the philosopher's stone.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Magnum_opus_in_literature_and_entertainment">Magnum opus in literature and entertainment</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Magnum_opus_(alchemy)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Magnum opus in literature and entertainment"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Alchemy_in_art_and_entertainment" title="Alchemy in art and entertainment">Alchemy in art and entertainment</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Magnum_opus_(alchemy)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/11441835/The-Four-Stages-of-Alchemical-Work">The-Four-Stages-of-Alchemical-Work</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Joseph Needham. <i>Science & Civilisation in China: Chemistry and chemical technology. Spagyrical discovery and invention: magisteries of gold and immortality</i>. Cambridge. 1974. p. 23</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Henrik Bogdan. <i>Western esotericism and rituals of initiation</i>. Albany, New York: <a href="/wiki/State_University_of_New_York_Press" class="mw-redirect" title="State University of New York Press">State University of New York Press</a>. p. 197</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFCavendish1967" class="citation book cs1">Cavendish, Richard (1967). <i>The Black Arts</i>. Putnam. p. 150. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780399500350" title="Special:BookSources/9780399500350"><bdi>9780399500350</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Black+Arts&rft.pages=150&rft.pub=Putnam&rft.date=1967&rft.isbn=9780399500350&rft.aulast=Cavendish&rft.aufirst=Richard&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMagnum+opus+%28alchemy%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070912091757/http://www.e-scoala.ro/germana/mihai_stroe26.html">"Meyrink und das theomorphische Menschenbild"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.e-scoala.ro/germana/mihai_stroe26.html">the original</a> on 2007-09-12<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2010-10-25</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Meyrink+und+das+theomorphische+Menschenbild&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.e-scoala.ro%2Fgermana%2Fmihai_stroe26.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AMagnum+opus+%28alchemy%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Stanton J. Linden. <i>The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton</i>. p. 17</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">it is unclear if the text originates in the Middle Ages or in Late Antiquity, but it is generally assumed to predate 1150, when <a href="/wiki/Gerard_of_Cremona" title="Gerard of Cremona">Gerard of Cremona</a> translated it from the Arabic (<a href="/wiki/Mircea_Eliade" title="Mircea Eliade">Mircea Eliade</a>, <i>History of Religious Ideas</i>, vol. 3/1)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">From George Ripley's <i>Compound of Alchymy</i>. (1471)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Stanton J. Linden. <i>The alchemy reader: from Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton.</i> p.17</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mark Haeffner. <i>Dictionary of Alchemy: From Maria Prophetessa to Isaac Newton.</i> p.238</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mark Haeffner. <i>Dictionary of Alchemy: From Maria Prophetessa to Isaac Newton</i>. p.237</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline 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href="/wiki/Chinese_alchemy" title="Chinese alchemy">Ancient Chinese</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fang_(alchemist)" title="Fang (alchemist)">Fang (alchemist)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ge_Hong" title="Ge Hong">Ge Hong</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Master_Geng" title="Master Geng">Master Geng</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wei_Boyang" title="Wei Boyang">Wei Boyang</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Byzantine</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Olympiodorus_the_Younger" title="Olympiodorus the Younger">pseudo-Olympiodorus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stephanus_of_Alexandria" title="Stephanus of Alexandria">Stephanus of Alexandria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Synesius" title="Synesius">Synesius</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Alchemy_and_chemistry_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world" class="mw-redirect" title="Alchemy and chemistry in the medieval Islamic world">Arabic-Islamic</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abu_Bakr_al-Razi" title="Abu Bakr al-Razi">Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (Rhazes)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alphidius" title="Alphidius">Alphidius</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sirr_al-khaliqa" class="mw-redirect" title="Sirr al-khaliqa">pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana (Balīnūs/Balīnās)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Artephius" title="Artephius">Artephius</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Avicenna" title="Avicenna">pseudo-Avicenna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ibn_Arfa%27_Ra%27s" title="Ibn Arfa' Ra's">Ibn Arfaʿ Raʾs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ibn_Umayl" title="Ibn Umayl">Ibn Umayl (Senior Zadith)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ibn_Wahshiyya" title="Ibn Wahshiyya">Ibn Waḥshiyya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Al-Simawi" title="Al-Simawi">al-ʿIrāqī</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jabir_ibn_Hayyan" title="Jabir ibn Hayyan">Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Geber)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Khalid_ibn_Yazid" title="Khalid ibn Yazid">pseudo-Khālid ibn Yazīd (Calid)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Al-Jildaki" title="Al-Jildaki">al-Jildakī</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Picatrix" title="Picatrix">Maslama al-Qurṭubī</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Al-Tughrai" class="mw-redirect" title="Al-Tughrai">al-Ṭughrāʾī</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Al-Zahrawi" title="Al-Zahrawi">al-Zahrāwī (Abulcasis)</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Late medieval</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pseudo-Albertus" title="Pseudo-Albertus">pseudo-Albertus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arnaldus_de_Villa_Nova" title="Arnaldus de Villa Nova">(pseudo-)Arnaldus de Villa Nova</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudo-Geber" title="Pseudo-Geber">pseudo-Geber</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/George_Ripley_(alchemist)" title="George Ripley (alchemist)">George Ripley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guido_di_Montanor" title="Guido di Montanor">Guido di Montanor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hugh_of_Evesham" title="Hugh of Evesham">Hugh of Evesham</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Johann_of_Laz" title="Johann of Laz">Johann of Laz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Dastin" title="John Dastin">John Dastin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jean_de_Roquetaillade" title="Jean de Roquetaillade">John of Rupescissa (Jean de Roquetaillade)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Magister_Salernus" title="Magister Salernus">Magister Salernus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michael_Scot" title="Michael Scot">pseudo-Michael Scot</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ortolanus" title="Ortolanus">Ortolanus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paul_of_Taranto" title="Paul of Taranto">Paul of Taranto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Petrus_Bonus" title="Petrus Bonus">Petrus Bonus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ramon_Llull" title="Ramon Llull">pseudo-Ramon Llull</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roger_Bacon" title="Roger Bacon">(pseudo-)Roger Bacon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Taddeo_Alderotti" title="Taddeo Alderotti">Taddeo Alderotti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Norton_(alchemist)" title="Thomas Norton (alchemist)">Thomas Norton</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Early modern</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Andreas_Libavius" title="Andreas Libavius">Andreas Libavius</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Basil_Valentine" title="Basil Valentine">Basil Valentine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bernard_Trevisan" title="Bernard Trevisan">pseudo-Bernard of Treviso</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/George_Starkey" title="George Starkey">George Starkey (Eirenaeus Philalethes)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gerhard_Dorn" title="Gerhard Dorn">Gerhard Dorn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Giovanni_Mercurio_da_Correggio" title="Giovanni Mercurio da Correggio">Giovanni da Correggio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Heinrich_Khunrath" title="Heinrich Khunrath">Heinrich Khunrath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hennig_Brand" title="Hennig Brand">Hennig Brand</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Isaac_Newton" title="Isaac Newton">Isaac Newton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jakob_B%C3%B6hme" title="Jakob Böhme">Jakob Böhme</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jan_Baptist_van_Helmont" title="Jan Baptist van Helmont">Jan Baptist van Helmont</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Johann_Rudolf_Glauber" title="Johann Rudolf Glauber">Johann Rudolf Glauber</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Dee" title="John Dee">John Dee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michael_Maier" title="Michael Maier">Michael Maier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michael_Sendivogius" title="Michael Sendivogius">Michael Sendivogius</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paracelsus" title="Paracelsus">Paracelsus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pierre-Jean_Fabre" title="Pierre-Jean Fabre">Pierre-Jean Fabre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Boyle" title="Robert Boyle">Robert Boyle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Samuel_Norton_(alchemist)" title="Samuel Norton (alchemist)">Samuel Norton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Vaughan_(philosopher)" title="Thomas Vaughan (philosopher)">Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wilhelm_Homberg" title="Wilhelm Homberg">Wilhelm Homberg</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Modern</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Carl_Jung#Alchemy" title="Carl Jung">Carl Jung</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Canseliet" title="Eugène Canseliet">Eugène Canseliet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Frater_Albertus" title="Frater Albertus">Frater Albertus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fulcanelli" title="Fulcanelli">Fulcanelli</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mary_Anne_Atwood" title="Mary Anne Atwood">Mary Anne Atwood</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Alchemical_documents" title="Category:Alchemical documents">Writings</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Major Works</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Atalanta_Fugiens" title="Atalanta Fugiens">Atalanta fugiens</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Aurora_consurgens" title="Aurora consurgens">Aurora consurgens</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liber_de_compositione_alchemiae" title="Liber de compositione alchemiae"><i>Liber de compositione alchemiae</i> (<i>Morienus</i>)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Book_of_the_Silvery_Water_and_the_Starry_Earth" class="mw-redirect" title="Book of the Silvery Water and the Starry Earth">Book of the Silvery Water and the Starry Earth</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Book_of_Mercy_(alchemical_treatise)" class="mw-redirect" title="Book of Mercy (alchemical treatise)">Book of Mercy</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Books_of_the_Balances" class="mw-redirect" title="Books of the Balances">Books of the Balances</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Buch_der_heiligen_Dreifaltigkeit" title="Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit">Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Cantong_qi" title="Cantong qi">Cantong Qi</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Chymical_Wedding_of_Christian_Rosenkreutz" title="Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz">Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clavis_sapientiae" class="mw-redirect" title="Clavis sapientiae"><i>Clavis sapientiae</i> (<i>Miftāḥ al-ḥikma</i>)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/De_consideratione_quintae_essentiae" class="mw-redirect" title="De consideratione quintae essentiae">De consideratione quintae essentiae</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Emerald_Tablet" title="Emerald Tablet"><i>Emerald Tablet</i> (<i>Tabula Smaragdina</i>)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Leyden_papyrus_X" title="Leyden papyrus X">Leyden papyrus X</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liber_Hermetis_de_alchemia" class="mw-redirect" title="Liber Hermetis de alchemia"><i>Liber Hermetis de alchemia</i> (<i>Liber dabessi</i>)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Liber_Ignium" title="Liber Ignium">Liber ignium</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Liber_lucis" class="mw-redirect" title="Liber lucis">Liber lucis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Mappae_clavicula" title="Mappae clavicula">Mappae clavicula</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Mirror_of_Alchimy" title="The Mirror of Alchimy">Mirror of Alchimy</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Mutus_Liber" title="Mutus Liber">Mutus liber</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Nabataean_Agriculture" title="The Nabataean Agriculture">Nabataean Agriculture</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Norton_(alchemist)" title="Thomas Norton (alchemist)">Ordinal of Alchemy</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Papyrus_Graecus_Holmiensis" title="Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis">Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Physika_kai_mystika" class="mw-redirect" title="Physika kai mystika">Physika kai mystika</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rosary_of_the_Philosophers" title="Rosary of the Philosophers">Rosary of the Philosophers</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rutbat_al-hakim" class="mw-redirect" title="Rutbat al-hakim"><i>Rutbat al-ḥakīm</i> (<i>Step of the Sage</i>)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Seventy_Books" class="mw-redirect" title="Seventy Books">Seventy Books</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sirr_al-khaliqa" class="mw-redirect" title="Sirr al-khaliqa"><i>Sirr al-khalīqa</i> (<i>Secret of Creation</i>)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Secretum_Secretorum" title="Secretum Secretorum"><i>Sirr al-asrār</i> (pseudo-Aristotle)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sirr_al-asrar_(al-Razi)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sirr al-asrar (al-Razi)"><i>Sirr al-asrār</i> (al-Rāzī)</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Splendor_Solis" title="Splendor Solis">Splendor solis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Summa_perfectionis" class="mw-redirect" title="Summa perfectionis">Summa perfectionis</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Suspicions_about_the_Hidden_Realities_of_the_Air" title="Suspicions about the Hidden Realities of the Air">Suspicions about the Hidden Realities of the Air</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Turba_Philosophorum" title="Turba Philosophorum">Turba philosophorum</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Twelve_Keys_of_Basil_Valentine" title="The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine">Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Compilations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Salomon_Trismosin#Aureum_Vellus" title="Salomon Trismosin">Aureum vellus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Bibliotheca_Chemica_Curiosa" title="Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa">Bibliotheca chemica curiosa</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/De_Alchemia" title="De Alchemia">De alchemia</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Deutsches_Theatrum_Chemicum" title="Deutsches Theatrum Chemicum">Deutsches Theatrum Chemicum</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Fasciculus_Chemicus" title="Fasciculus Chemicus">Fasciculus chemicus</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Musaeum_Hermeticum" title="Musaeum Hermeticum">Musaeum Hermeticum</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theatrum_Chemicum" title="Theatrum Chemicum">Theatrum chemicum</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Theatrum_Chemicum_Britannicum" title="Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum">Theatrum chemicum Britannicum</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Tripus_Aureus" title="Tripus Aureus">Tripus aureus</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Various</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Alembic" title="Alembic">Alembic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Athanor" title="Athanor">Athanor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Azoth" title="Azoth">Azoth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chrysopoeia" title="Chrysopoeia">Chrysopoeia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Classical_element" title="Classical element">Element</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elixir_of_life" title="Elixir of life">Elixir of life</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homunculus" title="Homunculus">Homunculus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iatrochemistry" title="Iatrochemistry">Iatrochemistry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alchemy_in_art_and_entertainment" title="Alchemy in art and entertainment">In art/entertainment</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Magnum opus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ouroboros" title="Ouroboros">Ouroboros</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pill_of_Immortality" title="Pill of Immortality">Pill of Immortality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosopher%27s_stone" title="Philosopher's stone">Philosophers' stone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prima_materia" title="Prima materia">Prima materia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rebis" title="Rebis">Rebis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Takwin" title="Takwin">Takwin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yliaster" title="Yliaster">Yliaster</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Alchemical_processes" title="Category:Alchemical processes">Processes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_alchemical_substances" title="List of alchemical substances">Substances</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alchemical_symbol" title="Alchemical symbol">Symbols</a> (<a href="/wiki/Alchemical_Symbols_(Unicode_block)" title="Alchemical Symbols (Unicode block)">Unicode</a>, <a href="/wiki/Suns_in_alchemy" title="Suns in alchemy">Suns in alchemy</a>)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow hlist" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, 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