Page 12 - A critical exposition of Jung's theory of alchemy

by the Form it possessed. Thus all substances had the same Matter but
different Forms, and could be changed into one another if it was possible
to change the Forms. All that had to be done was to strip away form,
producing a chaos of original matter (the prima materia), and then to
reinstate a new Form.

The most important Forms were the Four Elements: Earth, Air, Fire
and Water

O Fire

Hot Dry

M Air L Earth

Moist Cold

N Water

Heat O D Sulphur
Moisture N A Mercury.

Aristotle also proposed that the heavens, being perfect and
unchanging were composed of a fifth element, which did not enter into
earthly substance. These elements should be thought of as qualities
rather than substances (Matter is the substance), Earth was stability and
firmness, Water the property of fluids and so on. These elements were
themselves composed of two oppositions: Hot and Cold, and Dry and
Moist. Thus Fire was Hot and Dry, Water was Cold and Moist etc. This
allowed general transmutation. If the Cold was expelled from Water by
the application of heat it became Hot and Moist Air.

In the Metereologica, Aristotle argued that there were two
exhalations produced within the Earth. One was Smoky and hot, and the
other was Vaporous or moist, and the two congealed in various
combinations to produce the stones and metals. Again this suggests that
by changing the proportion of the exhalations any metal could be

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