Different ways of looking at alchemyThere are many different ways of looking at alchemy, the practical, the symbolic, the psychological and the scholarly being the primary perspectives.
- As a proto-chemistry, which gave a new impulse towards the preparation of medicinal remedies
- As a source of symbolism, in which various groupings of powerful archetypal symbols were brought together
- As providing insights into psychology, the inner archetypal structure of human thinking and feeling
- As a meditative exploration of the human soul through undertaking allegorical journeys
- As a type of mysticism, in which the alchemical transformation is paralleled with mystical experiences, and religious ideas.
- As giving insights into the metaphysical, which in a strange way elaborates parallels between alchemy and the investigations of present day physics
- As a newly recognised influence on cultural history, alchemy is now seen by historians of ideas as an important shaper of the world view of various writers, artists and musicians
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