Alchemy and FMA
18 Jun 2005 17:21![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shichahnFor those who are curious, some fascinating reading can be found here: http://www.levity.com/alchemy/texts.html
For instance, here is a modern translation of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes from Latin, which has been called the core of Western alchemical thought (particularly relevant lines bolded):
1) TRUE, WITHOUT FALSEHOOD, CERTAIN, MOST CERTAIN.
2) WHAT IS ABOVE IS LIKE WHAT IS BELOW, AND WHAT IS BELOW, LIKE THAT WHICH IS ABOVE. TO MAKE THE MIRACLE OF THE ONE THING.
3) AND AS ALL THINGS WERE MADE FROM CONTEMPLATION OF ONE, SO ALL THINGS WERE BORN FROM ONE ADAPTATION.
4) ITS FATHER IS THE SUN, ITS MOTHER IS THE MOON.
5) THE WIND CARRIED IT IN ITS WOMB, THE EARTH BREAST FED IT.
6) IT IS THE FATHER OF ALL WORKS OF WONDER IN THE WORLD.
7) ITS POWER IS COMPLETE IF TURNED TOWARDS EARTH, IT WILL SEPARATE EARTH FROM FIRE, THE SUBTLE FROM THE GROSS.
8) WITH GREAT CAPACITY (WISDOM) IT ASCENDS FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN. AGAIN IT DESCENDS TO EARTH, AND TAKES BACK THE POWER OF THE ABOVE AND THE BELOW.
9) THUS YOU WILL RECEIVE THE GLORY OF THE DISTINCTIVENESS OF THE WORLD. ALL OBSCURITY WILL FLEE FROM YOU.
10) THIS IS THE WHOLE MOST STRONG STRENGTH OF ALL STRENGTH, FOR IT OVERCOMES ALL SUBTLE THINGS, AND PENETRATES ALL SOLID THINGS.
11) THUS WAS THE WORLD CREATED.
12) FROM THIS COMES MARVELOUS ADAPTATIONS OF WHICH THIS IS THE PROCEDURE.
13) THEREFORE I AM CALLED HERMES THRICE-CROWNED BECAUSE I HAVE THREE PARTS OF THE WISDOM OF THE WHOLE WORLD.
14) AND COMPLETE IS WHAT I HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE WORK OF THE SUN.
Reminiscent of Izumi's "One is all, all is one" lesson; also, the "three parts of wisdom" remind me of how in FMA they distinguish between body, mind and soul.
A related comment from alchemylab.com draws similarities between the tablet and Taoist / Gnostic views: "They also shared a common view of the universe in which "All Is One," a pattern of creation and decay symbolized by the Ouroboros (the snake eating its own tail)."
A cool page on the Ouroboros can be found here: http://www.crystalinks.com/ouroboros.html
Including interesting pics such as:
Interestingly, it looks from the description of the ouroboros that other well-known dragons / serpents such as Tiamat and Quetzalcoatl are practically the same thing, though they came from different cultures.
This page has information on the symbolism of birds in alchemy, which obviously caught my eye (well, it's obvious if you know me..!), but also because I remember seeing not only the small birds around Al in the openings but also the rather conspicuous crow in one episode (don't remember which) that seemed to be associated with the homunculi, and of course the phoenix. The phoenix is the easiest link to understand- it represents the Philosopher's Stone, therefore seeing it on the Stone's transmutation circles and on Scar's arm in the show doesn't surprise me. I'm still not entirely clear on what the smaller birds and especially the crow are supposed to mean within the context of the show, however.
The last thing I'm going to post right now seems exceptionally relevant: symbolically, the philosopher's stone is created by the conjunction of two figures who are represented as the Sun and the Moon, Gold and Silver, Male and Female. They appear as two siblings, and their duality is reminiscent of the duality of Hermes and also of Yang and Yin. This image appears on the 18th Tarot card as well as in various alchemical texts. Additionally, as found on the page above, "Thus the alchemical process is driven by the sun as it turns through the Zodiac like the ouroboros serpent; the sun is the Lapis Philosophorum (Philosophers' Stone), the Quintessence, which unifies all the elements. But the Dark Sun and the Bright Sun are both required for the transformation, two brothers, alternately alive and dead like the Dioscuri" where the Dark Sun is the Moon. If after reading this you can't tell me who the Sun and Moon brothers in the show are, then.. you've got problems. ^_^; The "alternatively alive and dead" bit is intriguing, as in the show, once the Philosopher's Stone has been activated, neither brother is alive (or at least in the same world) at the same time as the other.
Ookay, if you made it through all that, congratulations! I hope you found it as interesting to read as I did to research.
For instance, here is a modern translation of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes from Latin, which has been called the core of Western alchemical thought (particularly relevant lines bolded):
1) TRUE, WITHOUT FALSEHOOD, CERTAIN, MOST CERTAIN.
2) WHAT IS ABOVE IS LIKE WHAT IS BELOW, AND WHAT IS BELOW, LIKE THAT WHICH IS ABOVE. TO MAKE THE MIRACLE OF THE ONE THING.
3) AND AS ALL THINGS WERE MADE FROM CONTEMPLATION OF ONE, SO ALL THINGS WERE BORN FROM ONE ADAPTATION.
4) ITS FATHER IS THE SUN, ITS MOTHER IS THE MOON.
5) THE WIND CARRIED IT IN ITS WOMB, THE EARTH BREAST FED IT.
6) IT IS THE FATHER OF ALL WORKS OF WONDER IN THE WORLD.
7) ITS POWER IS COMPLETE IF TURNED TOWARDS EARTH, IT WILL SEPARATE EARTH FROM FIRE, THE SUBTLE FROM THE GROSS.
8) WITH GREAT CAPACITY (WISDOM) IT ASCENDS FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN. AGAIN IT DESCENDS TO EARTH, AND TAKES BACK THE POWER OF THE ABOVE AND THE BELOW.
9) THUS YOU WILL RECEIVE THE GLORY OF THE DISTINCTIVENESS OF THE WORLD. ALL OBSCURITY WILL FLEE FROM YOU.
10) THIS IS THE WHOLE MOST STRONG STRENGTH OF ALL STRENGTH, FOR IT OVERCOMES ALL SUBTLE THINGS, AND PENETRATES ALL SOLID THINGS.
11) THUS WAS THE WORLD CREATED.
12) FROM THIS COMES MARVELOUS ADAPTATIONS OF WHICH THIS IS THE PROCEDURE.
13) THEREFORE I AM CALLED HERMES THRICE-CROWNED BECAUSE I HAVE THREE PARTS OF THE WISDOM OF THE WHOLE WORLD.
14) AND COMPLETE IS WHAT I HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE WORK OF THE SUN.
Reminiscent of Izumi's "One is all, all is one" lesson; also, the "three parts of wisdom" remind me of how in FMA they distinguish between body, mind and soul.
A related comment from alchemylab.com draws similarities between the tablet and Taoist / Gnostic views: "They also shared a common view of the universe in which "All Is One," a pattern of creation and decay symbolized by the Ouroboros (the snake eating its own tail)."
A cool page on the Ouroboros can be found here: http://www.crystalinks.com/ouroboros.html
Including interesting pics such as:
Interestingly, it looks from the description of the ouroboros that other well-known dragons / serpents such as Tiamat and Quetzalcoatl are practically the same thing, though they came from different cultures.
This page has information on the symbolism of birds in alchemy, which obviously caught my eye (well, it's obvious if you know me..!), but also because I remember seeing not only the small birds around Al in the openings but also the rather conspicuous crow in one episode (don't remember which) that seemed to be associated with the homunculi, and of course the phoenix. The phoenix is the easiest link to understand- it represents the Philosopher's Stone, therefore seeing it on the Stone's transmutation circles and on Scar's arm in the show doesn't surprise me. I'm still not entirely clear on what the smaller birds and especially the crow are supposed to mean within the context of the show, however.
The last thing I'm going to post right now seems exceptionally relevant: symbolically, the philosopher's stone is created by the conjunction of two figures who are represented as the Sun and the Moon, Gold and Silver, Male and Female. They appear as two siblings, and their duality is reminiscent of the duality of Hermes and also of Yang and Yin. This image appears on the 18th Tarot card as well as in various alchemical texts. Additionally, as found on the page above, "Thus the alchemical process is driven by the sun as it turns through the Zodiac like the ouroboros serpent; the sun is the Lapis Philosophorum (Philosophers' Stone), the Quintessence, which unifies all the elements. But the Dark Sun and the Bright Sun are both required for the transformation, two brothers, alternately alive and dead like the Dioscuri" where the Dark Sun is the Moon. If after reading this you can't tell me who the Sun and Moon brothers in the show are, then.. you've got problems. ^_^; The "alternatively alive and dead" bit is intriguing, as in the show, once the Philosopher's Stone has been activated, neither brother is alive (or at least in the same world) at the same time as the other.
Ookay, if you made it through all that, congratulations! I hope you found it as interesting to read as I did to research.
