Materia Prima in Alchemy

Hey dear Community, first of all I would like to welcome you all to my new post and hope you had a day that was full of positive experiences! Today I would like to devote myself to the mysterious world of alchemy again and hope you are also interested in the topic and can expand your knowledge.

Here you can see pictures of different minerals and specifically I would also like to mention the Materia Prima which is also known as Mysterium Magnum and forms one of the most important basis of the elements and and all four elements are said to have emerged from it. It can also be considered as the first principle to which all other steps for the production of the philosopher's stone follow and it can also be described as the chaos from which the creation originated and according to the opinion of the old alchemists this is the state in which the transformation takes place and things begin to take shape and the idea of this matter is already strongly anchored and also in other cultures such as in ancient China there are similar views that this substance could bring the body to enlightenment. In addition to the material level, Materia Prima is also based on the psychological and can also be seen as a key to the development of the own soul on which the other stages of enlightenment follow and the understanding of this principle is of great importance for spiritual alchemy. There are also some interpretations that prima materia is a pure soul or the conscience that is just waiting to transform into its body and this principle was also related to the finishing of metals and was considered the step before substances were added to the metals to change them. In old artworks of the alchemists, Prima Materia is often associated with the Roman god of blacksmithing and fire Vulcan and it is the substance that was transformed in his oven with help of fire and according to some interpretations, he is also considered the creator of alchemy. If you are more interested in the connections between alchemy and mythology, I can recommend this contribution from me here.

Thanks a lot for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about alchemy! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens.