Alchemical Families

To many persons the word Alchemy may be of little or no meaning, but nevertheless, it has played a vital and tremendous role in the development of science of the twentieth century. History pictures the alchemists as bearded old men who lived in filth and squalor and who engaged in mysterious activities outside the comprehension of ordinary mortals. So intense were their efforts to find the Philosopher’s Stone, that they lived and died tending the fires in their dirty, smoke-flilled, smelly shacks. So eager were they that food and sleep were often forgotten in the excitement of some experiment. At most, the origin of Chemistry and Alchemy is obscure. Many and varied explanations have been put forth, but one of the most reasonable appears to be that ancient Egypt served as the starting point from which gradually spread the knowledge of scientific and artistic accomplishment which became known as “the Black Art.” It is generally recognized that ancient Egypt was known as “Khem,” and this black art practiced by the learned men of Egypt became known Islam as the Black Art al Khem, meaning doubtless the Black Art from Khem. Ultimately, the mysteries of these achievements spread to the western world as Alkhemy and finally as the present form, alchemy, which consisted of a crude chemistry, philosophy, religion, astrology, occultism, physics, magic and mythology. Alchemy then, may be looked upon as the foundation upon which is built our modern scientific knowledge.

Only a few metals were known to the alchemists. They were, namely, gold, silver, iron, mercury, tin, copper and lead. Since they knew only seven planets and seven gods, they named these seven metals after these seven gods of the planets. These metals then, were known as the “Seven Metals of the Ancients.” Gold, the noble metal, was named after Sol, the golden sun whose symbol was the perfect sphere; silver was named after Luna the moon, because of its white lustre, and represented by the crescent; iron, the hard metal of war, was named after Mars and given the symbol of Mars’ shield and spear; mercury or quicksilver, because of its mobility, was named after Mercury or Hermes, the messenger of the gods, and given the symbol of Mercury, which was the Caduceus(twined serpents on a staff); tin was named after Jupiter, the god of lightning. Copper, found on the shores of Cyprus, was named after Venus, because it was thought that Venus rose up all bright and shining from the sea shores of Cyprus, and since Venus was a vain maiden her symbol was the hand mirror. Lead was named after Saturn (Kronos) the dull, slow-moving god, often pictured as an old man carrying a scythe or hour-glass and whose symbol was the scythe.

The seven metals were each assigned a day in the week; thus, Sunday was gold (Sol), Monday was silver (Luna), Tuesday was iron (Mars), Wednesday was mercury, Thursday was tin (Jupiter), Friday was copper (Venus), and Saturday was lead (Saturn). In a similar manner, Astronomy and Astrology played a very important part in the art of Alchemy. The seven metals then had not only the symbols of the planets, but also the symbols of the Zodiac: Gold was Leo the Lion, Silver was Cancer the Crab, Iron was Scorpio the Scorpion and Aries the Ram, Mercury was Virgo the Virgin and Gemini the Twins, Tin was Pisces the Fishes and Sagittarius the Archer, Copper was Taurus the Bull and Libra the Scales, and lastly, Lead was Capricorn the Goat and Aquarius the Water-carrier.

The Zodiac table was also translated into alchemical use as the table below shows. By this method the signs would be understood only to the philosophers who knew that the signs of the Zodiac had at least two different meanings. By the use of such signs, involving more than one definite meaning, the alchemists were enabled to keep their art a mystery and a secret. In pursuing the secret art of transmutation, the work must be carried out under the proper astrological signs.

Calcination meant to oxidize, congelation meant to solidify or crystallize, fixation meant to make stable, and solution, digestion, distillation, sublimation and separation are self-explanatory. Ceration meant to bring the material to a soft, wax-like, or fluid state, fermentation meant the rarefaction of a dense body by the interspersion of air in its pores, multiplication meant transmutation or gold making, and projection meant that by the use of the Philosopher’s Stone at this point in the work, base metals could be changed into gold. The “stone” could be multiplied by dissolving it in mercury.

The tradition of existing brothers acting as “Bigs” to new brothers “Littles” started around 2006 when a brother from Zeta Chapter attended our university. It wasn’t until Fall 2016 that the concept of Alchemical Metal Families was devised. This would split the chapter into five groups corresponding to Lead, Iron, Mercury, Tin, and Copper. These metals are part of a set of alchemical metals corresponding to the days of the week. Gold and Silver, the two remaining metals out of seven, were reserved for those that filled the prestigious positions of Master Alchemist, Vice Master Alchemist, and Master of Ceremonies. All past and future Master Alchemists would be a part of Gold Family, while Vice Master Alchemists and Masters of Ceremonies would be a part of Silver Family.

These two families were reserved for many reasons. It was assumed that members would fight for Gold Family, Gold Family would be considered a “superior” family by those in it, and brothers in the past had wished for an order reflecting the Order of Altotus. At the time of creation, it was believed that there were not enough active members in the Beta Delta chapter to support six families, so Silver Family was reserved for Vice Master Alchemists and Masters of Ceremonies.