this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
507 points (100.0% liked)
Programmer Humor
853 readers
17 users here now
Post funny things about programming here! (Or just rant about your favourite programming language.)
Rules:
- Posts must be relevant to programming, programmers, or computer science.
- No NSFW content.
- Jokes must be in good taste. No hate speech, bigotry, etc.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Alchemy isn't even a strictly occult thing. It was something done in the medieval era that was basically a very early form of science before most of the things they were trying to do were considered impossible
I mean alchemy is an occult practice. It's just history only pays attention to the physical aspects (turning things into gold, etc). Often times the medium to turn a substance into gold is called the philosophers stone
But this is only a portion of it. The philosophers stone in alchemy is actually spiritual enlightenment or becoming one with everything. Hence the concept of turning anything into gold, gold being enlightenment and the universe and the plain material before the transformation is preenlightened individuals. They all become the same (one, gold) after attaining it.
Most alchemical philosophy is occult/spiritual and the chemistry aspects are a metaphor for the evolution of the soul.
I think because modernity is mostly materialist in its philosophy that we ignore the underlying spirituality associated with alchemy
And, to the extent that it was occult, it was typically biblical occultism. There was a big emphasis on the wisdom of Solomon in particular.
The church did frown upon it at the time, if I recall. For example, Newton spent years on alchemy yet that's forgotten
Glad he didn't overdose on alchemy