[The status and significance of Paracelsus in the Modern Medical Revolution].

Paracelsus, the first person in the history of modern Western medicine, specified to break the shackles of the traditional medical system thoroughly and revolutionise the classical medical system completely. He introduced traditional alchemy into medicine, and changed it from making gold into producing drugs which were helpful to human health. He believed that nature and human were made by God with "three principles" - sulphur, salt and hydrargyrum. He also believed that human body, as a "chemical system", was full of a variety of chemical reactions. His ideas brought a new worldview, a chemical one, to the medical field influenced by the concept of"Humorism" for ages. The chemical worldview laid the foundation for "iatrochemistry" and channelled a path for the following medical development. The "three principles" of Paracelsus did not surpass the "Humorism" proposed by Galen in terms of underlining the balance of human health. However, the idea, that the mineral substances in nature in the "three principles" could be taken as medicines to help the recovery of human body, broke through the traditional medical system proposed by Galen, offered valuable ideological resources and experience for the following expansion and development of medicines.

[Study on difference of chemical compositions of Guilingji before and after alchemy based on mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis].

UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS/MS and ICP-MS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis was employed to explore the differences in chemical compositions of Guilingji(GLJ) before and after alchemy.The changes in organic chemical compositions and inorganic elements were observed and 39 differential organic compositions were found in GLJ after alchemy, 24 compounds of which were identified. The differential compositions of GLJ included violet ketones, chalcones, amides, and fatty acids whose contents were increased after alchemy, as well as flavones, isoflavones, dihydroflavones, flavonoid glycosides, and coumarins whose content were decreased after alchemy. This study showed 6 inorganic elements filtered out as markers for distinguishing GLJ before and after alchemy, including B, Si, Mg, K, Cr, and Ni.The contents of Mg, K, Cr and Ni were increased while the contents of B and Si were decreased after alchemy.The difference of the contents after alchemy changed the cold and hot properties of the compound, showing the decrease of dryness, and the hot property was changed to warm and neutral properties; in addition, the membrane permeability and absorption of the compound compositions were improved. In this study, we preliminarily investigated the changes of chemical compositions in GLJ before and after alchemy as well as the effects of alchemy on physical and chemical properties and cold-heat nature of GLJ, laying a foundation for further clarifying the scientific connotation of alchemy process.

Study on difference of chemical compositions of Guilingji before and after alchemy based on mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis / 中国中药杂志

UPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS/MS and ICP-MS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis was employed to explore the differences in chemical compositions of Guilingji(GLJ) before and after alchemy.The changes in organic chemical compositions and inorganic elements were observed and 39 differential organic compositions were found in GLJ after alchemy, 24 compounds of which were identified. The differential compositions of GLJ included violet ketones, chalcones, amides, and fatty acids whose contents were increased after alchemy, as well as flavones, isoflavones, dihydroflavones, flavonoid glycosides, and coumarins whose content were decreased after alchemy. This study showed 6 inorganic elements filtered out as markers for distinguishing GLJ before and after alchemy, including B, Si, Mg, K, Cr, and Ni.The contents of Mg, K, Cr and Ni were increased while the contents of B and Si were decreased after alchemy.The difference of the contents after alchemy changed the cold and hot properties of the compound, showing the decrease of dryness, and the hot property was changed to warm and neutral properties; in addition, the membrane permeability and absorption of the compound compositions were improved. In this study, we preliminarily investigated the changes of chemical compositions in GLJ before and after alchemy as well as the effects of alchemy on physical and chemical properties and cold-heat nature of GLJ, laying a foundation for further clarifying the scientific connotation of alchemy process.

Immortal Medicine: Understanding the Resilience of Burmese Alchemic Practice.

The institutionalization of indigenous medicine in contemporary Myanmar (Burma) placed alchemy at the margins of the formal health system. The practice, however, remains very much alive. Here, I explore the resilience of alchemic medicine by unraveling the relationship between this practice and the social space within which it operates. I show that the negotiation of a space for resilience comes from the gray areas created by the weak regulatory system of the medical sector and the gap left by biomedicine. I demonstrate that the marginalization of alchemic practice has come to invest it with new political meanings that help its practitioners navigate that hostile space.

Aspectos históricos da alquimia / Historic aspects of alchemy / Aspectos históricos de la alquimia

O autor realiza um passeio pelas origens da alquimia e por sua existência em diferentes culturas e em diferentes épocas. Reconhece a alquimia como originando-se de técnicas mágico-míticas, que surgiram com o despertar da consciência. As diferentes alquimias incorporam diferentes sabedorias, que buscam compreender as relações cósmicas do homem com a matéria. A alquimia precedeu no nível objetivo a química e no subjetivo a psicologia. Toda matéria tem sua alma, que é perene. Os corpos, porém, são formas transmutáveis. Acentua que a física moderna, também como a alquimia, admite a transmutação da matéria. A leitura que Jung fez da simbólica alquímica, como projeção de vivências inconscientes pessoais e arquetípicas, trouxe uma compreensão psicológica para o complexo simbolismo alquímico. O autor acentua que o psicólogo moderno deve saber que, em termos científicos, só pode descrever o processo psicológico, uma vez que a natureza real da psique transcende a consciência como um mistério da vida ou da própria matéria (AU)

The author describes the origins of alchemy and shows that it was present in several cultures and in different times in history. It is acknowledged that alchemy originated from magical-mythical techniques, which arose from the emerging consciousness. Alchemy seeks to understand various aspects of the cosmic relationship of man to matter, and each different school of alchemical thought has its own wisdom and brings light to valuable elements of this relationship. Objectively, alchemy preceded chemistry, and subjectively, it preceded psychology. Matter also has a soul, which is perennial. But, in its physical aspect, matter is transmutable. In this paper, it is emphasized that modern physics, like alchemy, admits the transmutation of matter. Jung's comprehension of the symbology of alchemy, as a projection of personal and archetypal unconscious experiences, brought a psychological understanding to the complex alchemical symbolism. The author emphasizes that, in the field of science, the modern psychologist can only describe the psychological process, since the real nature of the psyche transcends consciousness because it is one of life's mysteries as well as one of the mysteries of matter itself (AU)

El autor realiza un paseo por los orígines de la alquimia y su existencia, en diferentes culturas y en diferentes épocas. Reconoce la alquimia como originaria de técnicas mágico-míticas que surgieron con el despertar de la conciencia. Las diferentes alquimias incorporan diferentes sabidurías que buscan comprender las relaciones cósmicas del hombre con la materia. Respecto a lo objetivo, la alquimia precedió a la química, y a lo subjetivo, a la psicología. Toda materia tiene un alma que es perenne. Los cuerpos, sin embargo, son formas transmutables. La física moderna, tal como la alquimia, admite la transmutación de la materia. La lectura que Jung hizo de la simbólica alquímica, como proyección de vivencias inconscientes personales y arquetípicas, posibilitó una comprensión psicológica del complejo simbolismo alquímico. El autor señala que una vez que la naturaleza real de la psique trasciende la conciencia, el psicólogo moderno debe saber que solo se puede describir el proceso psicológico como un misterio de la vida o de la propia materia (AU)

Michael Maier--nine newly discovered letters.

The authors provide a transcription, translation, and evaluation of nine newly discovered letters from the alchemist Michael Maier (1568-1622) to Gebhardt Johann von Alvensleben (1576-1631), a noble landholder in the vicinity of Magdeburg. Stemming from the final year of his life, this correspondence casts new light on Maier's biography, detailing his efforts to secure patronage amid the financial crisis of the early Thirty Years' War. While his ill-fated quest to perfect potable gold continued to form the central focus of his patronage suits, Maier also offered his services in several arts that he had condemned in his printed works, namely astrology and "supernatural" magic. Remarks concerning his previously unknown acquaintance with Heinrich Khunrath call for a re-evaluation of Maier's negotiation of the discursive boundaries between Lutheran orthodoxy and Paracelsianism. The letters also reveal Maier's substantial contribution to a work previously ascribed solely to the English alchemist Francis Anthony.

[Early career of Michael Sendivogius]. / Michal Sedziwój--poczatki kariery.

One of the most influential alchemical authors of the early modern period was Michael Sendivogius whose early life is shrouded in mystery. He may be labelled the most famous Polish scientific writer between Copernicus and Marie Sklodowska-Curie, but because of the difficulties involved in researching the biography of any alchemist, there has been relatively little interest in him among Polish historians. The early work of Roman Bugaj (author of the still fundamental monograph) and Wlodzimierz Hubicki (who made his research available to the international community) has been continued only by the English-born Zbigniew Szydlo and the author of this article. The roots of many legends about Sendivogius were three mid-17th century short biographies, none of which is trustworthy, so it is crucial to verify the received myth and the version constructed in the 1960's and 1970's with primary sources and evidence from the recent "new historiography of alchemy". The present article examines them in the light of newly discovered sources and reinterpretation of the old ones. The genealogy of the Sedzimir family is discussed at length to show that Sendivogius most probably was not its member but only a pretender in order to assume (or prove) the status of a nobleman. Several possible hypotheses about his origins are presented. He is known to have studied at three universities (Leipzig, Vienna and Altdorf) but authors of early panegyrics dedicated to Sendivogius list more universities which he may have attended. The most interesting is that of Cambridge, listed as the first one, because practically no Poles or Czechs went there at the time. Finally, his marriage to Veronica Stiebar, a wealthy widow of a Franconian knightly family, and her interesting family relationships (links to Erasmus, Camerarius, Paracelsus and the original Doctor Faustus) are discussed. The period covered is that before Sendivogius moved to Prague in about 1597, having already been a courtier of Rudolf II since early 1594.

[Alchemy, freemasonry and homeopathy]. / Alchimie, franc-maçonnerie et homéopathie.

In this article we are showing that homeopathic doctrine has really esoteric and occult origins as it was suspected by a few authors, nevertheless we saw Hahnemann also using scientific writers. As early as twenty-two years old Hahnemann was initiate in the freemasonry, very in vogue at that time. He will be life long attached to it and will keep close to distinguished freemasons. Freemasonry has conveid enlightement philosophical ideas as well as occult, alchemical and theosophical ones by successive incursion of very different orders. Among these we can find a few rosicrucians orders. At the beginning of 17th century in Germany, the first rosicrucians authors appealed to Paracelse, and the first members of their legendary fraternity manifested their contempt for the practice of transmutation into gold and must devote themselves to gratuitous medical practice (famous utopia). Freemasonry took again these philanthropic views so that Hahnemann was certainly involved to the ideas of Paracelse and his followers through the Rosicrucians which played a substantial part within freemasonry before homeopathy rose.

A brief history of phosphorus: from the philosopher's stone to nutrient recovery and reuse.

The element phosphorus has no substitute in sustaining all life and food production on our planet. Yet today's phosphorus use patterns have resulted in both a global environmental epidemic of eutrophication and led to a situation where the future availability of the world's main sources of phosphorus is uncertain. This paper examines the important history of human interference with the phosphorus cycle from initial discovery to present, highlighting key interrelated events and consequences of the Industrial Revolution, Sanitation Revolution and Green Revolution. Whilst these events led to profound advances in technology, public health and food production, they have fundamentally broken the global phosphorus cycle. It is clear a 'Fourth Revolution' is required to resolve this dilemma and ensure humanity can continue to feed itself into the future while protecting environmental and human health.