Alchemy

: The search for a universal cure for all diseases and a means to achieve immortality or eternal youth.

: Known as the "Great Work" ( Magnum Opus ), this involved the purification of the practitioner's soul, using chemical processes as metaphors for inner growth. The Four Stages of the "Great Work" alchemy

To write a helpful essay on alchemy, it is important to distinguish between its history as a "proto-science" and its role as a spiritual and psychological philosophy. : The search for a universal cure for