
The philosopher's stone is a mythic
alchemical substance capable of turning
base metals such as
mercury into gold or silver; it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder". Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to make an
elixir of life which made possible
rejuvenation and
immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit.
From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...
.
For many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal in
alchemy. The philosopher's stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest,
divine illumination, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the philosopher's stone were known as the
Magnum Opus ("Great Work").
Antiquity
The earliest known written mention of the philosopher's stone is in the ''Cheirokmeta'' by
Zosimos of Panopolis (). Alchemical writers assign a longer history.
Elias Ashmole and the anonymous author of ''Gloria Mundi'' (1620) claim that its history goes back to
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
, who acquired the knowledge of the stone directly from God. This knowledge was said to have been passed down through biblical patriarchs, giving them their longevity. The legend of the stone was also compared to the biblical history of the
Temple of Solomon and the rejected cornerstone described in
Psalm 118.
The theoretical roots outlining the stone's creation can be traced to Greek philosophy. Alchemists later used the
classical element
The classical elements typically refer to Earth (classical element), earth, Water (classical element), water, Air (classical element), air, Fire (classical element), fire, and (later) Aether (classical element), aether which were proposed to ...
s, the concept of ''
anima mundi'', and Creation stories presented in texts like
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
's
''Timaeus'' as analogies for their process. According to
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
, the four elements are derived from a common source or ''
prima materia'' (first matter), associated with
chaos. ''Prima materia'' is also the name alchemists assign to the starting ingredient for the creation of the philosopher's stone. The importance of this philosophical first matter persisted throughout the history of alchemy. In the seventeenth century,
Thomas Vaughan writes, "the first matter of the stone is the very same with the first matter of all things."
Middle Ages
In the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
and the
Arab empires, early medieval alchemists built upon the work of Zosimos. Byzantine and
Muslim alchemists were fascinated by the concept of metal transmutation and attempted to carry out the process.
The eighth-century
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
alchemist
Jabir ibn Hayyan (
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
ized as ''Geber'') analysed each classical element in terms of the four basic qualities. Fire was both hot and dry, earth cold and dry, water cold and moist, and air hot and moist. He theorized that every metal was a combination of these four principles, two of them interior and two exterior. From this premise, it was reasoned that the transmutation of one metal into another could be effected by the rearrangement of its basic qualities. This change would be mediated by a substance, which came to be called ''xerion'' in Greek and ''al-iksir'' in Arabic (from which the word ''
elixir
An elixir is a sweet liquid used for medical purposes, to be taken orally and intended to cure one's illness. When used as a dosage form, pharmaceutical preparation, an elixir contains at least one active ingredient designed to be taken orall ...
'' is derived). It was often considered to exist as a dry red powder (also known as ''al-kibrit al-ahmar'', red sulfur) made from a legendary stone—the philosopher's stone. The elixir powder came to be regarded as a crucial component of transmutation by later Arab alchemists.
In the 11th century, there was a debate among
Muslim world
The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
s on whether the transmutation of substances was possible. A leading opponent was the Persian polymath
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...
(Ibn Sina), who discredited the theory of the transmutation of substances, stating, "Those of the chemical craft know well that no change can be effected in the different species of substances, though they can produce the appearance of such change."
According to legend, the 13th-century scientist and philosopher,
Albertus Magnus, is said to have discovered the philosopher's stone. Magnus does not confirm he discovered the stone in his writings, but he did record that he witnessed the creation of gold by "transmutation".
Renaissance to early modern period

The 16th-century
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
alchemist
Paracelsus (''Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim'') believed in the existence of
alkahest, which he thought to be an undiscovered element from which all other elements (earth, fire, water, air) were simply derivative forms. Paracelsus believed that this element was, in fact, the philosopher's stone.
The English philosopher Sir
Thomas Browne in his spiritual testament ''
Religio Medici'' (1643) identified the religious aspect of the quest for the philosopher's Stone when declaring:
A mystical text published in the 17th century called the ''
Mutus Liber'' appears to be a symbolic instruction manual for concocting a philosopher's stone. Called the "wordless book", it was a collection of 15 illustrations.
In Buddhism and Hinduism
The equivalent of the philosopher's stone in
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
is the ''
Cintamani'', also spelled as ''Chintamani''. It is also referred to as Paras/Parasmani (, ) or Paris ().
In Mahayana Buddhism, ''Chintamani'' is held by the
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
s,
Avalokiteshvara and
Ksitigarbha. It is also seen carried upon the back of the
Lung ta (wind horse) which is depicted on
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
an
prayer flags. By reciting the
Dharani of Chintamani, Buddhist tradition maintains that one attains the Wisdom of Buddhas, is able to understand the truth of the Buddhas, and turns afflictions into
Bodhi. It is said to allow one to see the Holy Retinue of
Amitabha and his assembly upon one's deathbed. In Tibetan Buddhist tradition the Chintamani is sometimes depicted as a luminous pearl and is in the possession of several different forms of the Buddha.
Within Hinduism, it is connected with the gods
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
and
Ganesha
Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
. In Hindu tradition it is often depicted as a fabulous jewel in the possession of the
Nāga king or as on the forehead of the
Makara. The ''
Yoga Vasistha
''Vasishta Yoga Samhita'' (, IAST: '; also known as ''Mokṣopāya'' or ''Mokṣopāyaśāstra'', and as ''Maha-Ramayana'', ''Arsha Ramayana'', ''Vasiṣṭha Ramayana'', ''Yogavasistha-Ramayana'' and ''Jnanavasistha'', is a historically popular ...
'', originally written in the tenth century AD, contains a story about the philosopher's stone.
A great Hindu sage wrote about the spiritual accomplishment of
Gnosis using the metaphor of the philosopher's stone. Sant
Jnaneshwar (1275–1296) wrote a commentary with 17 references to the philosopher's stone that explicitly transmutes base metal into gold. The seventh-century
Siddhar
The Siddhar (Tamil language, Tamil (romanized) ''cittar)'' in Tamils, Tamil tradition is a perfected individual who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''.
Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who were early-age wandering ...
Thirumoolar in his classic ''Tirumandhiram'' explains man's path to immortal divinity. In verse 2709 he declares that the name of God,
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
is an alchemical vehicle that turns the body into immortal gold.
Another depiction of the philosopher's stone is the
Shyāmantaka Mani (). According to Hindu mythology, the Shyāmantaka Mani is a ruby, capable of preventing all natural calamities such as droughts, floods, etc. around its owner, as well as producing eight bhāras (≈1700 pounds or 700 kilograms) of gold, every day.
Properties
The most commonly mentioned properties are the ability to transmute base metals into gold or silver, and the ability to
heal all forms of illness and prolong the life of any person who consumes a small part of the philosopher's stone diluted in wine.
[Theophrastus Paracelsus. ''The Book of the Revelation of Hermes''. 16th century] Other mentioned properties include: creation of perpetually burning lamps,
transmutation of common crystals into precious stones and diamonds,
reviving of dead plants,
creation of flexible or malleable glass, and the creation of a clone or
homunculus.
Names
Numerous synonyms were used to make oblique reference to the stone, such as "white stone" (''calculus albus'', identified with the ''calculus candidus'' of Revelation 2:17 which was taken as a symbol of the glory of heaven), ''
vitriol'' (as expressed in the
backronym ''Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem''), also ''lapis noster'', ''lapis occultus'', ''in water at the box'', and numerous oblique, mystical or mythological references such as ''
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
, Aer, Animal, Alkahest, Antidotus,
Antimonium, Aqua benedicta, Aqua volans per aeram,
Arcanum, Atramentum, Autumnus, Basilicus, Brutorum cor, Bufo, Capillus, Capistrum auri, Carbones,
Cerberus
In Greek mythology, Cerberus ( or ; ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a polycephaly, multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Greek underworld, underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring o ...
,
Chaos, Cinis cineris,
Crocus, Dominus philosophorum, Divine quintessence, Draco elixir, Filius ignis, Fimus, Folium, Frater, Granum, Granum frumenti, Haematites, Hepar, Herba, Herbalis,
Kimia, Lac, Melancholia, Ovum philosophorum, Panacea salutifera,
Pandora,
Phoenix, Philosophic mercury, Pyrites, Radices arboris solares, Regina, Rex regum, Sal metallorum, Salvator terrenus, Talcum, Thesaurus, Ventus hermetis''. Many of the medieval allegories of Christ were adopted for the ''lapis'', and the Christ and the Stone were indeed taken as identical in a mystical sense. The name of "Stone" or ''lapis'' itself is informed by early Christian allegory, such as
Priscillian
Priscillian (in Latin: ''Priscillianus''; Gallaecia, – Augusta Treverorum, Gallia Belgica, ) was a wealthy nobleman of Roman Hispania who promoted a strict form of Christian asceticism. He became bishop of Ávila in 380. Certain practices of his ...
(4th century), who stated,
In some texts, it is simply called "stone", or our stone, or in the case of
Thomas Norton's Ordinal, "oure delycious stone". The stone was frequently praised and referred to in such terms.
It may be noted that the Latin expression , as well as the Arabic from which the Latin derives, both employ the plural form of the word for ''philosopher''. Thus a literal translation would be ''philosophers' stone'' rather than ''philosopher's stone''.
Appearance

Descriptions of the philosopher's stone are numerous and various. According to alchemical texts, the stone of the philosophers came in two varieties, prepared by an almost identical method: white (for the purpose of making silver), and red (for the purpose of making gold), the white stone being a less matured version of the red stone.
[A German Sage. ''A Tract of Great Price Concerning the Philosophical Stone''. 1423.] Some ancient and medieval alchemical texts leave clues to the physical appearance of the stone of the philosophers, specifically the red stone. It is often said to be orange (saffron coloured) or red when ground to powder. Or in a solid form, an intermediate between red and purple, transparent and glass-like. The weight is spoken of as being heavier than gold,
[Anonymous. ''On the Philosopher's Stone''. (unknown date, possibly 16th century)] and it is soluble in any liquid, and incombustible in fire.
Alchemical authors sometimes suggest that the stone's descriptors are metaphorical. The appearance is expressed geometrically in ''
Atalanta Fugiens'' Emblem XXI :
He further describes in greater detail the metaphysical nature of the meaning of the emblem as a divine union of feminine and masculine principles:
Rupescissa uses the imagery of the Christian passion, saying that it ascends "from the sepulcher of the Most Excellent King, shining and glorious, resuscitated from the dead and wearing a red diadem...".
Interpretations
The various names and attributes assigned to the philosopher's stone have led to long-standing speculation on its composition and source.
Exoteric candidates have been found in metals, plants, rocks, chemical compounds, and bodily products such as hair, urine, and eggs.
Justus von Liebig states that 'it was indispensable that every substance accessible... should be observed and examined'. Alchemists once thought a key component in the creation of the stone was a mythical
element named carmot.
[Burt, A.L. 1885. ''The National Standard Encyclopedia: A Dictionary of Literature, the Sciences and the Arts, for Popular Use'' p. 150]
Available online.
[ Sebastian, Anton. 1999. ''A Dictionary of the History of Medicine.'' p. 179. ]
Available online.
Esoteric hermetic alchemists may reject work on exoteric substances, instead directing their search for the philosopher's stone inward. Though esoteric and exoteric approaches are sometimes mixed, it is clear that some authors "are not concerned with material substances but are employing the language of exoteric alchemy for the sole purpose of expressing theological, philosophical, or mystical beliefs and aspirations". New interpretations continue to be developed around
spagyric, chemical, and esoteric schools of thought.
The transmutation mediated by the stone has also been interpreted as a psychological process.
Idries Shah devotes a chapter of his book, ''The Sufis'', to provide a detailed analysis of the symbolic significance of alchemical work with the philosopher's stone. His analysis is based in part on a linguistic interpretation through Arabic equivalents of one of the terms for the stone (
Azoth) as well as for sulfur, salt, and mercury.
Creation
The philosopher's stone is created by the alchemical method known as The Magnum Opus or The Great Work. Often expressed as a series of color changes or chemical processes, the instructions for creating the philosopher's stone are varied. When expressed in colours, the work may pass through phases of
nigredo (black),
albedo (white),
citrinitas (yellow), and
rubedo (red). When expressed as a series of chemical processes it often includes seven or twelve stages concluding in
multiplication
Multiplication is one of the four elementary mathematical operations of arithmetic, with the other ones being addition, subtraction, and division (mathematics), division. The result of a multiplication operation is called a ''Product (mathem ...
and
projection.
Art and entertainment
The philosopher's stone has been an inspiration, plot feature, or subject of innumerable artistic works: animations, comics, films, musical compositions, novels, and video games. Examples include ''
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,'' ''
As Above, So Below,'' ''
Fullmetal Alchemist,
The Flash
The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
and'' ''
The Mystery of Mamo.''
The philosopher's stone is an important motif in
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean me ...
, and originated in
William Godwin's 1799 novel ''
St. Leon''.
See also
*
Angelicall Stone
*
Biological transmutation
*
Cintamani
*
Kagome metal
*
Cupellation
*
*
Midas
Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house.
His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...
*
Nicolas Flamel
*
Nuclear transmutation
*
Panacea (medicine)
*
Synthesis of precious metals
*
The Net (substance)
*
Indra's net
*
Unobtainium
Footnotes
References
Further reading
* ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
'' (2011).
Philosopher's stone and
Alchemy.
* Guiley, Rosemary (2006).
The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy'. New York: Facts on File. . pp. 250–252.
* Marlan, Stanton (2014)
''The Philosophers' Stone: Alchemical Imagination and the Soul's Logical Life'' Doctoral dissertation. Pittsburgh, Penn.:
Duquesne University.
* Myers, Richard (2003).
The Basics of Chemistry'. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group, USA. . pp. 11–12.
*
Pagel, Walter (1982).
Paracelsus: An Introduction to Philosophical Medicine in the Era of the Renaissance'. Basel, Switzerland: Karger Publishers. .
*
* Thompson, C. J. S. (2002)
932 Alchemy and Alchemists'
Chapter IX: "The Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life" Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. . pp. 68–76.
External links
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