What is alchemy? I looked up some dictionary definitions and tried to put it in a more simple text.
Dictionary definitions:
Alchemy (al-ke-my) n - 1 a pseudoscientific forerunner of chemistry in medieval times. 2 the practice of transmutation of base metals into precious metals (eg, gold or silver) 3 transmutation of Inner Self to a higher more Spiritual plane.
Veridel's definition:
Alchemy (al-ke-my) n - the use of esoteric science to influence a material or spiritual plane of existence.
When most people think of Alchemy, they start thinking of Medieval scientists in their basements desperately trying to discover a way to make gold or other valuable materials. However, the true alchemist knows that this is an image developed by popular culture and nothing more. Alchemists of this age (I'm talking about the now) think of alchemy primarilly as a way to gain a high spirituality, which is what alchemy was intended to be from the start. We can not deny that alchemy is useful on the material plane as well as the spiritual.
In Western Alchemy, it is mostly believed that every material object is made up of or can be characterized by one or a combination of the four elements; air, earth, fire, and water. These four base elements can only be broken up into what is called prima materia, which is believed to be the base of all created things, material and spiritual. In more modern science terms, prima materia is an atom, which is simply the basic building block of matter. As stated before, everything material is made of the four elements. All things, organisms, and events are products of the four elements.
In the FMA world, alchemy is executed by drawing symbols on a surface. The symbols in the anime are usually based on symbols used in alchemic texts to represent different elements. By cleverly arranging these symbols in transmutation circles, alchemists in FMA are able to perform alchemy by sacrificing the elements around them for the finished product. This is alchemy's "Law of Equivalent Exchange" that can be applied to literaly anything.
Something important to point out is that alchemy is not magic. Magic by definition is the use of spiritual forces to influence the material world, which in comparison to alchemy is pretty pathetic, is it not? Magic can be used to enhance alchemic processes, though. Because alchemy and magic are both forces that are powerful and dangerous is most cases, both subjects have been through percecution by many groups and is, therefor, not suggested that the two be combined in any way.
I hope this basics of alchemy section has been helpful to those new to alchemy. This section is and will probably be subject to revision in the future.
View User's Journal
My notes on alchemy
The more I learn, the more I write
 |
Former Veridel Hibiki
Community Member |
User Comments: [2] [add]
|
Dante Faust Community Member 
|
|||||||||||||||||
User Comments: [2] [add]
Community Member
eek
WOW!!!!! eek