Projection was the ultimate goal of Western

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

. Once the

philosopher's stone The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", ...

or powder of projection had been created, the process of projection would be used to transmute a lesser substance into a higher form; often

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

into

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

. Typically, the process is described as casting a small portion of the Stone into a molten base metal.

Claims and demonstrations

The seventeenth century saw an increase in tales of physical transmutation and projection. These are variously explained as examples of charlatanism, fiction, pseudo-scientific error, or missed metaphor. The following is a typical account of the projection process described by

Jan Baptista van Helmont Jan Baptist van Helmont (; ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to ...

in his ''De Natura Vitae Eternae''. Other reports include: *

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...

's ''

Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum ''Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum'' first published in 1652, is an extensively annotated compilation of English alchemical literature selected by Elias Ashmole. The book preserved and made available many works that had previously existed only in pr ...

'' lists an account of

Edward Kelley Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot (; 1 August 1555 – 1597/8), was an English Renaissance occultist and scryer. He is best known for working with John Dee in his magical investigations. Besides the professed ability to ...

making projections from lesser metals into both gold and silver. Kelley's success is also recorded by John Dee. * Alexander Seton was reported to have projected a heavy yellow powder onto a mixture of lead and sulphur resulting in a button of gold. * A variety of accounts are given of Sendivogius performing public transmutations. * In legend,

Nicolas Flamel Nicolas Flamel (; 1330 – 22 March 1418) was a French scribe and manuscript-seller. After his death, Flamel developed a reputation as an alchemist believed to have created and discovered the philosopher's stone and to have thereby achieved im ...

makes a projection of the red stone onto mercury, making gold. While it may not account for all claims of metallic transmutation, some alchemists of this time period give accounts of fraudulent projection demonstrations, distinguishing themselves from the projectors. Maier's ''Examen Fucorum Pseudo-chymicorum'' and Khunrath's ''Treuhertzige Warnungs-Vermahnung'' list tricks used by pseudo-alchemists. Accounts are given of double-bottomed crucibles used to conceal hidden gold during projection demonstrations.

In art and entertainment

The concept of projection appears in various fictional works related to alchemy. It's a notable theme in Ben Jonson's ''The Alchemist'' where the following dialogue can be found, commenting on fraudulent applications of projection:

References

* Charles John Samuel Thompson. ''Alchemy and Alchemists''. Courier Dover Publications, 2002. * Tara E. Nummedal. ''Alchemy and authority in the Holy Roman Empire''. University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Projection (Alchemy) Alchemical processes