![]() Black sulphur (residue from sublimation of sulfur) □ ( ) Īlchemical processes An extract and symbol key from Kenelm Digby's A Choice Collection of Rare Secrets, 1682.Amalgam (alloys of a metal and mercury) □ ( ) = a͞a͞a, ȧȧȧ (among other abbreviations).Spirit of wine (concentrated ethanol called aqua vitae or spiritus vini) □ ( ), S.V.Aqua regia (nitro-hydrochloric acid) □ ( ), □ ( ), A.R.Aqua fortis (nitric acid) □ ( ), A.F.Sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride) □ ( ).The following symbols, among others, have been adopted into Unicode. Nickel (in Bergman previously used for regulus of sulfur)Īlchemical compounds Alchemical symbols in Torbern Bergman's 1775 Dissertation on Elective Affinities.Bismuth ♆ ( ) (in Newton), □ ( ) (in Bergman).Mundane elements and later metals The squared circle: an alchemical symbol (17th century) illustrating the interplay of the four elements of matter symbolising the philosopher's stone Silver, corresponding with the Moon ☽ or ☾ ( or ). ![]() Quicksilver, corresponding with Mercury ☿ ( ).Gold, corresponding with the Sun ☉ □ ☼ ( ).The tradition remains today with the name of the element mercury, where chemists decided the planetary name was preferable to common names like "quicksilver", and in a few archaic terms such as lunar caustic (silver nitrate) and saturnism ( lead poisoning). "Saturn" for lead, "Mars" for iron compounds of tin, iron, and silver continued to be called "jovial", "martial", and "lunar" or "of Jupiter", "of Mars", and "of the moon", through the 17th century. Alchemists would typically call the metals by their planetary names, e.g. They started breaking down with the discovery of antimony, bismuth, and zinc in the 16th century. The associations below are attested from the 7th century and had stabilized by the 15th. The exact correlation varied over time, and in early centuries bronze or electrum were sometimes found instead of mercury, or copper for Mars instead of iron however, gold, silver, and lead had always been associated with the Sun, Moon, and Saturn. The seven metals known since Classical times in Europe were associated with the seven classical planets this figured heavily in alchemical symbolism. Main article: Classical planets in Western alchemy The shield in the coat of arms of the Royal Society of Chemistry, with the seven planetary-metal symbols ![]()
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